Martin Luther King took a stand and Rosa Parks took a stand and, because of their courage, they helped to change America. [But] we still have a long way to go and our people today, especially our young people, need to be willing to take a stand for what is right.

– Reverend Stanley McDonald, Ashland, KY, 01/20/2014.

Courage is something that, in recent posts on our blog, we’ve written a great deal about. It’s the OM Year of Courage and, as we go about our business here in our studio, we’re convinced that such a quality is essential in our efforts.

If our planet is to become better and our people more connected, we’re all going to need to be a little bit braver. In order to do so, however, it’s important that we all understand courage, for this is something that comes in all shapes and sizes. Before reading any further ask yourself this: what is courage?

Courage is something that can be difficult to articulate, so we’ve done a little research in order to help. We just read an interesting article in Psychology Today, in which the author (Melanie Greenberg Ph.D) identifies six different areas that she calls the Attributes of Courage. These are: 1) Feeling fear yet choosing to act; 2) Following your heart; 3) Persevering in the face of adversity; 4) Standing up for what is right; 5) Expanding your horizons [and] letting go of the familiar; and 6) Facing suffering with dignity or faith.

To illustrate and explain each attribute, Melanie has selected certain quotes that she believes define courage. These are something for us all to bear in mind in 2014 and we’d like to share our favorites here . . .

• “Bran thought about it. ‘Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?’ ‘That is the only time a man can be brave,’ his father told him.” – George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones.
• “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” – Steve Jobs.
• “Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” – Orison Swett Marden.
• “Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.” – Maggie Kuhn.
• “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Lord Chesterfield.
• “There is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bear witness that a man has the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” – Viktor Frankl.

Here at OM®, such things strike a certain chord. These point to principles that, were we all to ascribe, would give us the courage required to connect, to reach out to others and to make our communities better places in which to live.

There are more quotes and if, like us, you’re feeling inspired, we suggest reading Melanie’s article in full. We hope it’ll give YOU the fortitude to stand up for what is right, to persevere in the face of adversity and to follow your heart in 2014, the OM Year of Courage.

Be brave, have courage and stand tall, it can make all the difference . . .

We are all connected.