Genius gets more freely thrown around than hero. Both are grossly overused. But I'm still going to use genius when it comes to today's topic of boldness.

Bold has some terrific synonyms.

Daring

Fearlessness

Bravery

Courage

Audacity

Confidence

Enterprise

Grit

Guts

Moxie

I rather like them all. Now you can better understand why I'm going to use the word genius to describe it.

For me, it's the ability to be enterprising toward a goal without shame. It's the ability we have to move forward without embarrassment.

In the last episode, I talked about the power of your network and how I often wished I were more extroverted. Well, this is at the heart of it for many people. For me, it's just an energy thing. It's not so much a fear thing. I can look extroverted, but it's exhausting because it drains me. My son is an extrovert and you can see his energy go up when he's around people. I've learned that many people dread being around others because they lack the boldness necessary. Fear and embarrassment stall them.

But what about when it comes to taking action that you know would propel you forward? Or actions that you believe would take your business forward?

The One Common Denominator In Success

Boldness. That's why without reservation I use the term genius to describe it.

Last weekend I watched the short Netflix series, Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates. Like many of you, I've read lots of biographies about remarkable people in every area, mostly in business. It seems to me they all have one thing in common. And it's not brainpower genius, which admittedly Bill Gates may very well possess.

It's boldness. It's the ability to chase and pursue their goal without shame or embarrassment. They care more about achieving the goal than anything people may think or say about them. It's so simple and powerful that it's got to be considered genius.

For the past 10 years or so I've grown increasingly focused on the brain and the human mind's ability to create new realities. I'm still colossally ignorant, armed with just enough information to know I'm far from self-mastery. And with just enough information to know there's so much more, I need to learn!
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.
That has to be the most famous quote from Napoleon Hill's classic book, Think and Grow Rich. While I don't think it's an absolute truth, I've grown to appreciate how accurate it is.

For example, people can argue that you can think about being able to fly and no matter what you do we can't fly because we're not birds. But we invented machinery capable of helping us fly. So there's THAT.

I think the real emphasis belongs not on the word "conceive" but the word "believe." Bill Gates and so many other very accomplished people truly believe in their pursuit AND in their ability to achieve it. We look at them and wonder, "How did they do that?" Perhaps the answer is no more complicated than they conceived something, believed it and then vigorously pursued it with shamelessness. Watch that documentary on Gates and if you knew nothing about him before you came away knowing that he simply doesn't care what anybody thinks of his pursuits. Equally important is his insistence to surround himself with people who also believe in it. Easier to do when you're so devoted to something as he's been.

Much has been written about overcoming fear. It's still a message we need to constantly hear because for most of us, it just never goes away. We mostly are unable to conquer it once and for all. It's an ongoing project where some days we handle it better than other days.