MOTIVATION - Courage to Succeed

MOTIVATION – Courage To Succeed


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – June 2009

David Viscott says “If you could get up the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.”

We’ve all heard the words that every great journey starts with a single step!  I know that each time I hear those words they resonate deep down inside, but the words of David seems to take it to a completely different level.

You see I remember, I remember each time I embarked on a particularly difficult journey, how it felt inside and how scared I was.

Take for example when I started my business, now ten years old, how I struggled with myself and my decision.  Making the decision to go on my own was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, yet I knew that if I did not actually make the decision, I would be left ‘wondering’ for the rest of my life!  Wondering what life could have, should have been like and that I was not prepared to do.

Once the decision was made, it took about a year for me to set things up in my own mind and then when everything was set up and the first step had to be taken, that is when I seriously panicked!  I mean really, what was I thinking?  I was in my 40s, I had no alternative income – passive or otherwise.  I was seriously putting myself into what could potentially be a dangerous situation.  I hesitated and procrastinated, all the while knowing what I had to do but still petrified.

Eventually I got sick and tired of feeling fearful – it happens to me, I get bored with the way that I feel, particularly if it is fear, or even being in a bad mood (it never stays too long because I get irritated with myself).  So I took a deep breath and took the big step out into the void and found . . . solid ground.

It’s when I found the core of me, my own value – both issues that I had doubted for most of my life.  It was when I found my true strength and character.  It was when I took ‘my’ power back from all the others that I had allowed to have power over me and to control me.  It was when I found the ‘measure’ of the woman that I was to become.

It is an incredible journey that we travel, this life that we live and if we allow it to be all that it can be, we will truly be who we are meant to be and we would be victorious.

I had the courage to begin and I have never regretted it – do you?

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za