ABSTRACT
The word COURAGE itself is beautiful, strong, and foundational for making the bold moves life requires from us. We human beings are risk-averse by nature. As women, we especially seem to have a tendency to stay in our comfort zones as long as we can, even when those comfort zones are not pleasant, productive, or rewarding at all. And when we try to step out of them, there will always be people who, for some reason, will tell us why we should stay where we are. It requires courage to move on when things no longer work out. And that moment comes for every one of us. This chapter will present COURAGE as an acronym: a roadmap to unite a number of things we all know, but rarely think about when we go through our daily swings, or even when we consider life as a whole. The terms or behaviors that will be reviewed are: choice, open-mindedness, usefulness, reality-check, attitude, genius, and education (COURAGE). Each of these concepts will be discussed as it applies to fulfilling our own leadership journey in a rapidly changing and continuously challenging world.
