“Courage is the first of human qualities, because it is the quality which guarantees the others.”
– Aristotle
| No. | Topic | Description |
| 1 | Course Introduction | “Every journey begins with a single step.” ― Lao Tzu |
| 2 | Samurai Breathing | Breathe to steady the flow of energy and the right state of mind to act with courage. |
| 3 | Warrior Detachment | Don’t act out of fear; detach and learn instead to act with courage. |
| 4 | Mushin Meditation | Learn to act with ‘no-mind’ and find courage without looking for it. |
| 5 | Summoning the Ancestors | Connect to your spirit and draw on your inherited courage for any challenge. |
| 6 | Courage is a Moment | Seize courage in a moment to overcome fears so they become irrelevant. |
| 7 | Reframing Fear into Courage | Use fear as a powerful motivational tool that pushes you to your limit to succeed. |
| 8 | Course Completion | If the destination has no meaning, then the journey has no value. |
Why study this theme?
Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t stand up for yourself? Maybe you had the opportunity to share your thoughts during a meeting but didn’t speak up. Perhaps you didn’t tell someone how you really felt and missed a chance to fulfill a dream. Or maybe you’d like to start your own business, but fear of failure is holding you back.
When you reflect on these situations, you might feel regret that you didn’t take action to achieve what you really wanted.
Having the confidence and self-esteem to realize that you have the strength within to take risks and confront challenges when needed are the skills that you can learn. Even if you don’t immediately recognize it within yourself, you have the courage to stand up for yourself with confidence and realize your full potential.
In today’s world, courage is often misunderstood as a lack of fear. But this is not the case: courage is about doing what is right, irrespective of fear or even using fear as motivation. There is no courage without fear. The two complement each other as yin and yang.
Opposite to what many people have come to believe, Courage is not being reckless. Courage is about taking a calculated risk, knowing that you are prepared for what needs to be done, like seizing an opportunity when it arises to improve your life.
Regular expression of courage to yourself and others, builds self-confidence over time and helps you achieve results which may have seemed impossible or difficult to achieve previously.
“Courage is a moment”
Courage can be learnt and developed, like a muscle: something that can be trained over time and utilized when needed the most. Courage can be realized in just a moment, but it’s the careful cultivation of that courage within ourselves that allows us to implement it when needed.
We all need to have the Courage to live our lives without regret. To be the best version of who we can be and then give back to our community so that it is a better place for all.
In studying this program, you will learn a series of rituals, based on principles sourced from the samurai code and other timeless wisdom, which are designed to help you connect with your inner courage.
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In taking action and practicing them regularly, you are training yourself to be able to summon and use courage when you truly need to.
By understanding the rituals and principles behind each of them you will develop more confidence and self-esteem in who you are and in using inner courage to achieve the outcomes that you want.
“Have the courage to act instead of react.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes
Learning outcomes
By completing this program, you will be better able to:
- Understand how to focus and control your breathing to create the right mindset to act with courage.
- Understand and use the principles of connecting to your genetic energy and internal courage.
- Recognize that courage is often a singular moment in time, which will help you disconnect and overcome procrastination fears.
- Understand how to disconnect emotions to see what is real instead of what is not, to make the right decision when needed.
- Understand the concept of Mushin to help overcome distractions in the moment and overcome overwhelm to act.
- Recognize fear as something that you can use as a powerful motivational tool that pushes you to succeed.
