As advanced thinkers, we equip ourselves with the wisdom of fellow adventurers. We need not go it alone.

Many have gone before us. Many have imparted the wealth of their vision, experience, and openheartedness. They blazed a trail we can advance along, by way of their example. We must not fail to learn what they have to teach!

“eQuips” are quick epiphanies! The practical philosophies of advanced thinkers, distilled. The movers and shakers of innovation and big ideas instruct us. Writers, artists, business leaders – entrepreneurs of commerce and culture – share their journeys.

These are not just quotable quotes. They are bold, concise prescriptions for life. And they aim at a particular ethic – advanced thinking.

Advanced thinkers are courageous. They are brave enough to think critically about hard, sometimes uncomfortable problems. Advanced thinkers are also no strangers to whimsy, the quixotic – loving for the hell of it and dreaming without apology.

Advanced thinkers are courageous.

COURAGEOUS

Courageousness is our first concern. Because Maya Angelou was right, without courage we cannot practice any other virtue.

Furthermore, being courageous is a choice. It appears to be one we have to make every single day. We make it, sometimes, hour to hour or moment to moment.

We may fail to see the frequency with which we come face to face with unknowns, small and great. But it is almost constant! The most pernicious, every day, challenges include:

• Admitting we are wrong
• Admitting we don’t know something
• Fear of failure – or success
• Being judged in a negative light by others
• Standing up for an idea or principle we believe in
• Fear of losing our jobs
• Taking risks – trying new things

Whether we hesitate to dive into dark waters or we hold our tongues in a business meeting, it’s the same. We confront the same fear of some uncertain consequence. And yet, as Nelson Mandela states with such eloquence, courage is not the absence of fear but the overcoming of it.

The lesson is clear and bears repeating. We have to brace ourselves and choose to be courageous.

We have to choose to be courageous

Choose courage, above all. It is of the essence.

If our lives were Hollywood movies, we could muster our strength in a single culminating moment. We could confront our personal demons all at once, and then ride off into the sunset. Of course this is not the case! For us, the struggle is real – and palpable – if unspectacular.

In a significant sense, it takes courage to step outside and face the world every day. But let’s assume we manage that leap of faith. The rest of the day will find us on the threshold of our comfort zones again and again. – We have to choose to be courageous, always.

It helps to see that others have made that choice. Indeed, the greatest testimonies of courageousness come to us from people who faced the greatest adversity. Yet they took action that advanced them forward.

Let us learn from other advanced thinkers. And let us chose to be courageous at our own level of personal challenge.