Dash of Courage: The Tax of Success

"Looking stupid is part of learning. Let it happen." - Douglas Ruben

Everyone celebrates the ending.
Almost no one ever talks about the awkward beginning.
But that's where every success actually starts.

After studying courageous people for 20 years, 
I've learned one simple truth:
The fixed cost of success is looking stupid.

By definition, courage means stepping outside your comfort zone.
Anything new will never be perfect. Not even close.

It'll be awkward.
It'll be messy.
It'll look stupid.

But Regret costs far more than failure. 
And Stupidity is the tax we pay for Success.

When I wrote my first book I had a grand plan of an international book tour.
52 countries in 52 weeks.
it was going to rival The Davinci Code.
It did not.
In fact, my first stop was in Kenya. And exactly zero people showed up.
I looked stupid. But I don't regret writing the book.

When we were promoting a non-profit I started, we had the (not so brilliant) idea to drop stuffed cows with parachutes from a helicopter over the University of Georgia. The FAA, police, and campus disagreed with our "creativity." 

The cows jammed traffic, filled the streets, and made the local news.
It was stupid.

But we raised more money that year than ever before.
Stupid? Absolutely.
Worth it? Every time.

Dash of Courage
Steve Jobs once said:

"Here's to the Crazy Ones.
The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers,
The round-pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently....

And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
We see Genius.
Because the ones who are crazy enough
to think that they can change the world,
Are the ones who do."

And ones who are brave enough to look foolish first, always find the courage to finish.

The Crazy Ones were once called stupid.
But Stupidity is the tax we pay for Success. 

Courage over Comfort,
Garrett