Fortitude

The word for this week is Fortitude.  

Fortitude is a noun, defined as possessing the strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage.  It is a strong, hard sounding word that reminds me how important it is to maintain a strong mind and spirit, especially during the most difficult times. It is the courage to keep moving even when it seems impossible.  It is the strength to see something through, even though you feel discouraged and want to quit. For me, fortitude also involves faith in God and in myself.  

How many times in your life have you felt like stopping or turning back, but after continuing on you discovered that you were closer than you thought?  

In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey teaches us  to "begin with the end in mind".  It is important to always have a plan, a dream and a vision, but the path from beginning to the end is rarely crystal clear and not without challenges. There will most assuredly be ruts in the road and periods where you can't see more than a few feet in front of you. There will be times when you will run out of gas.  Maybe you will need to map out a different course. No matter what happens, don't stop there and don't give up.  Tomorrow may be the day.        

Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, I'll try again tomorrow. 

 ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Here are some successful people who demonstrated fortitude:


Henry Ford - His early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he founded the Ford Motor Company.

RH Macy - He started seven failed businesses before finally hitting big with his store in New York City.

Thomas Edison - In his early years, his teachers told him that he was too stupid to learn anything.  He was fired from his first two jobs and made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.  All of those attempts eventually led him to discover a design that worked.

Winston Churchill - He struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. He was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became Prime Minister at the age of 62.

Stephen King - He received 30 rejections for his first book Carrie, and threw the manuscript into the trash.  His wife retrieved it and encouraged him to try again.  He did and the rest is history.