Recommendation

What makes one person brave and another fearful? Are you born with courage? Can you
cultivate it? Entrepreneur and speaker Franziska Iseli pondered these questions during a
multiyear motorcycle journey. Her thoughts and experiences form the basis for this slim,
inspiring volume. Using the language of a road trip to structure her text, Iseli unpacks
foundational ideas about the nature and benefits of courage, and shares tips and action steps
formulated according to 13 principles or values to help you learn to live a more courageous
and meaningful life.

Take-Aways
• Courage is a vital life skill. It is not recklessness.
• Understand that you can expand your “courage boundaries.”
• Build your courage journey around 13 principles or values: “Stories, truth, intentions,
trust, intuition, love, kindness, imperfection, nonattachment, flow,
playfulness, evolution” and “commitment.”
• Rewrite the stories you tell about yourself. Live in accordance with your personal
truth.
• Live with intention. Trust yourself and others.
• Follow your intuition. Keep an open heart so you can embrace love.
• Practice kindness. Accept that people, including yourself, are imperfect.
• Master the art of nonattachment, adopt a playful attitude and go with the flow of life.
• Evolution is a personal choice. Choose to make a plan and commit to courage.

Summary
Courage is a vital life skill. It is not recklessness.

You need courage for many aspects of crafting a meaningful life – a life that embodies your
personal values and has a positive effect on other people. Courage is not the opposite of fear.
Rather, courage allows you to face your fears and react mindfully in ways that serve your
interests and those of the people you encounter. Building your capacity for courage will help
you stay true to yourself. The actions of the crowd won’t sway you. You will know what you
believe and feel enabled to stand up for your convictions, even when doing so is
uncomfortable. Courage helps you pursue grand, risky goals and try new things.

“Courage is not about being fearless; it’s about making brave decisions despite fear.”

Recklessness means taking a risk that is not worthwhile or responsible. Often, reckless
behavior springs from a desire to prove something to someone else. Courage means taking
worthy risks – risks with a purpose. For example, when author Franziska Iseli quit her
corporate day job to start a new business, Basic Bananas, the move took courage, but it
wasn’t a pointless risk. Courageous living means building a life that reflects your essential
values and helps you avoid “what if” regrets.

Understand that you can expand your “courage boundaries.”

As people age, their experiences often cause their “courage boundaries” – their comfort zones
– to dwindle. When your courage boundaries shrink, so do your options.

“Becoming aware of my own mortality and witnessing how quickly life can change has
helped me to actively choose the way I live instead of being driven by fear.”

The good news: You can reverse this process and become more courageous. Draw a “courage
map” to guide you on your personal journey toward a fuller, more authentic and adventurous
life. Consider these factors as you create your map:

• Definitions – How do I define courage? What does a courageous life look like?
• Courage versus fear – What makes me feel brave? What makes me feel fearful?
How have those feelings affected my actions?
• Relationships – What impact would I like to have on others?

Build your courage journey around 13 values or principles: “Stories, truth,

intentions, trust, intuition, love, kindness, imperfection, nonattachment, flow,
playfulness, evolution” and “commitment.”

These 13 principles can be the foundation of your courage journey. Courage extends beyond
yourself and creates “positive ripple effects” in the world. Your integrity, kindness and
empathy will inspire others.

Rewrite the stories you tell about yourself. Live in accordance with your
personal truth.

You tell stories about yourself that guide your approach to the world and your actions. Those
stories prompt you to act courageously or fearfully, but they are not set in stone. Rewrite your
stories in ways that encourage boldness rather than fear. Iseli’s father didn’t talk about his
love for her. Instead of telling herself that her father didn’t love her, she focused on his loving
actions and found an empowering narrative. No one other than yourself has a right to create
your stories. Never let other people’s fears control you.

When your life reflects your truth, you will feel less afraid of bold leaps. First identify the
values that matter most to you – for example, freedom and love. Don’t worry if other people
don’t share your values. Living your truth will give you greater respect for their values, even
when you don’t agree. Ask what steps you can take to own your truth more completely and to
respect the truth of other people. These traits are obstacles to your truth:

• “Entitlement” – You believe you “deserve” to act however you want, even if it
harms others.
• “Ignorance” – You are uninformed and uninterested in learning about other people
and cultures.
• “Making assumptions” – You interpret other people’s actions inaccurately from a
place of fear.
• “Lack of appreciation” – You seldom feel gratitude.
• “Inconsistency” – Instead of committing to your truth, you waver under pressure.

Live with intention. Trust yourself and others.

Courageous actions begin with the intention to live more bravely. Those intentions should
spring from your values. Intentions differ from goals in that they are not something you
“accomplish.” Intentions are more flexible, and enable your goals by guiding the way you
live. If, for example, you wish to start a new enterprise by next year, choose the intention to
stay adaptable or open-minded to further that goal. Follow four steps to select your own
intentions:

1. Think positively – Frame your intentions in positive terms, such as “I am kind”

rather than “avoid rudeness.”
2. Challenge yourself – Make sure your intentions stretch your courage boundaries.
3. Remember your values – Intentions that don’t align with your truth won’t help you.
4. Relax – Don’t try to set intentions when you feel stressed or fearful. Wait until you
are tranquil, and then see what comes to mind.

Your ability to set useful intentions hinges on your capacity for trust: “Trust in yourself, trust
in others and trust in the process, or ‘universe’.” Trust in yourself stems from knowing your
strengths and weaknesses. When Iseli was motorbiking in the mountains, she did not try to
keep up with her more experienced friend. Instead, she set her own pace. Trusting people
takes a leap of faith, but if you heed your instincts, and assume most people mean well, you
will experience unprecedented kindness. Embracing whatever comes will empower you to
live more courageously.

Follow your intuition. Keep an open heart so you can embrace love.

Intuition derives from the subconscious, and it allows you to make brave decisions even
when you don’t have conscious logic to back up your choice. When you trust your intuition,
courage becomes more natural. Accessing your intuition might be difficult if you don’t have
much practice. Iseli finds that writing about her thoughts and feelings helps her bond with her
“internal guide.” Try these five ways to tap into your intuition:

1. Pay attention – Make self-observation a priority. Take note of how you respond to
people and circumstances.
2. Listen to your heart – Keeping your heart open lets you discover information and
ideas you are not even aware you possess.
3. Meditate – Mindfulness will help you “cut out the noise” that blocks you from
accessing your intuition.
4. Spend time alone – Solitude helps you distinguish your inner voice from other
people’s thoughts and opinions.
5. Don’t hesitate – Practice making quick decisions, which you base on your initial gut
instincts.

Keeping an open heart connects you with your intuition and encourages you to
seek connections, even when the prospect seems scary. Just as fear can drive you toward
rudeness or anxiety, love prompts you to respond to others with kindness and understanding.

“Making a brave decision becomes easier when you come from love.”

Try this “heart drop-in technique” for opening your heart when you feel fearful: Close your
eyes. Put your hands on your chest. Visualize loving energy flowing through your heart.
Breathe and visualize until you feel at peace. Don’t fight your emotions, good or bad. Let
them flow through you. Ask what in your life causes you to want to close your heart. How
would your life and relationships change if you chose to embrace the intention, “I always
keep an open heart.”?

Practice kindness. Accept that people, including yourself, are imperfect.

Acting with kindness is part of the intention of keeping an open heart. Choosing to act with
kindness is no more difficult than acting unkindly – but deliberate kindness makes a
difference. For instance, when Iseli chose to respond to a car rental employee’s bad
attitude with kindness, the woman’s demeanor changed. A commitment to kindness does not
mean you accept poor treatment. It means you can hold on to your boundaries without
becoming angry. Encourage kindness six ways:

1. Believe the best of people – Even if others act poorly, assume they are having a bad
moment, rather than that they are bad people.
2. Help others succeed – Do what you can to make someone else’s life or job easier.
3. Avoid judgment – Assigning blame helps nothing and no one.
4. “Pick your flavor” – Different “flavors” of kindness are appropriate at different
times. Sometimes, simply being a kind presence is sufficient.
5. Lead by example – Act with kindness to inspire other people to do likewise.
6. Practice – Choose kindness regularly, and it will become a habit.

Learn to be kind to yourself by practicing the all-important step of accepting imperfection as

a fact of life. By acknowledging that “everything is imperfect,” you free yourself to act
boldly. You won’t fear failure or “not being good enough.”

“When you adopt the belief that you are imperfect and that it’s OK, you don’t need to wait to
be courageous.”

Understand that failure can help you identify areas where you need to evolve. When you
accept imperfection, you stop comparing yourself to others and start focusing on how you can
be the best version of yourself. When you seek perfection, look for it in “tiny moments,” such
as having dinner with a friend. Even if the experience is not flawless, accept it as perfect “for
now.”

Master the art of nonattachment, adopt a playful attitude and go with the flow
of life.

Learn the art of nonattachment to stop focusing on your desired outcome or expectation, and
to be present in the moment. Stop trying to control what is beyond your control, and stop
worrying about what you might lose. Nonattachment does not mean you aren’t going to try.
“Detach from the outcome,” so you don’t allow it to control you. Think about how you might
behave differently if you know that, whatever happens, you will be OK.

“Having an attachment to the outcome is giving your power away.”

When you detach from expectations, you become more capable of accepting the flow of life.
You adapt and keep moving forward, even when obstacles appear. As a river flows around
rocks, you find new paths without compromising your values. Recognize that everything
always changes. Whatever happens as a result of your actions, that outcome is likely not
permanent. To become more comfortable with flow:

• “Push gracefully” – Be proactive, but adapt your plans as the need arises.
• Let go of control – Trust that what’s meant to be will be, and stop trying to control
the uncontrollable.
• “Embrace all your colors” – Everyone is multifaceted. Appreciate the various
aspects of your personality so you can adapt more easily to unusual or uncomfortable
situations.
• Go with “option B” – Don’t get upset when your plans fall through. Embrace
alternatives wholeheartedly.
• Stay in the moment – Stop worrying about the future.

An attitude of playfulness helps you to remember the importance of curiosity and fun, even
when you face tough times or difficult conversations. Add playfulness to your days by
embracing self-deprecation and friendly body language, working to make other people feel
important, sharing hard-hitting thoughts in a light tone, undercutting attempts at drama and
staying true to yourself without being aggressive about it.

Evolution is a personal choice. Choose to make a plan and commit to courage.

Evolution begins when you make the choice to stretch your courage boundaries. Stretching
means undergoing some discomfort. You can evolve in these ways:

1. Mentally – Your mind-set will either aid or hinder your growth. Focus on thoughts
that support your courage journey and reject fear-based thinking.
2. Emotionally – Nurturing your emotional intelligence helps you get to know yourself
and others more deeply.
3. Physically – Exercise and eating well bolster your health, well-being and ability to
make courageous choices.
4. Intellectually – Embrace learning to spur bold decision-making.
5. Spiritually – Attempting to connect with something beyond yourself boosts your
intuition.

As you grow, some people will grow with you. Others won’t. Committing to courage means
making a plan to grow and taking action. Understand your goals. Identify the areas of your
life in which you’d like to become more courageous. Then pick and choose; don’t try to grow
in every area at once. Master one or two areas and move on to new challenges.

“It takes courage to put yourself into situations that are outside your comfort zone. Yet it is
exactly those moments that stretch you that will help you grow and become a more evolved
and courageous version of yourself.”

Be patient; the longer you stay the course on courage, the more positive results you will
see. And correct your course as needed. As long as you live your truth, you can adapt as you
need to without compromising your integrity. Dream big. Your actions will inspire people to
follow suit. Consider how to take your first step toward greater courage today.