"Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.'"
- Peter Drucker

Courage is defined as the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc, without fear. Although the word courage is easily defined, it is much more difficult to measure. Each individual faces a different set of fears, therefore what may be considered courageous for one, may not carry the same value for another. Take jumping out of a plane for example - one may be considered courageous for facing a fear of heights, or danger, but if that fear does not exist in another, well then it's just plain fun for them! Whatever the interpretation may be, the quote above still holds true that the success of a business, or the success of an individual, is likely due to someone at least once making a courageous decision.

There's very few examples of successful businesses that happened from only luck or opportunity. Even if an opportunity were to land in one's lap, it still takes courageous decisions and dedication to make it successful. When I first started my business, courage came in the form of entering an industry I knew nothing about; it came in the form of interacting with other business people that were much more experienced than me; and it came in the form of dedicating a lot of time to something that did not guarantee some sort of return. More than 13 years later and courage now comes in the form of making decisions that are ultimately responsible for the incomes of many families and for occasionally taking time away from my own family in the hopes of creating a better future. Without the courage to be successful, there's much more chance for a business to fail as the world continues to move on with or without us.

As in business, courage can lead to much success personally as well. I recently attended a memorial service for a gentleman that undoubtedly had a lot of courage. You could tell by the number of people in the room mourning his passing and celebrating his life that this was a successful man that shared his success with others. Did I mention that this was a full room of people in a city to which he moved to retire? The impact he made on people here in his retirement years sheds such light on the impact he made back at home during his many years of success in his practice, and in his family. There's no doubt that his courage serving in the military during war, his courage in establishing his practice and his courage in guiding his family was a key component to the success he achieved in all areas of his life.

Courage is easy to define and difficult to measure, but it is a key ingredient in the recipe for success.

Jeff R. Helvin is Blogging for Balance - a balance of both personal and professional aspects, to ultimately achieve more in life overall.