Courage Emerges in Uncertainty

Cindy and I had latched onto the makings of a clear purpose as our careers progressed, separately in our full time roles and together in each side hustle we pursued. That purpose allowed us to keep pushing forward through each adversity, even when we didn’t have as much clarity around it as we probably should have. In the last several months of Cindy’s final full time role, though, finding purpose wasn’t the challenge. She was drawing tremendous fulfillment from all she did and that fueled the long hours she was putting in. The rub came from a values-disconnect. As difficult as it was for her to step away, then to hash out the role she would fill in our still relatively new business, remaining in a situation with so much direct conflict to the values she held most dear was no longer an option.

When she made that move, the only thing we were completely certain about was that the role she had been in was no longer a fit. Uncertainty filled every other aspect of what would follow; who we would serve, how we would do it, and what role she would fill in that process. Bold leaps and family shifts amid uncertainty often feel risky or like self-inflicted setbacks, but when rooted in prior lessons of adaptability, responsibility, and doing more than paid for, they forge courage and long-term clarity. Making the best of these situations isn’t about eliminating fear—it’s about using uncertainty as soil for values-aligned growth and influence that compounds beyond any single role or paycheck.

While our household income took an immediate hit, we looked for every opportunity we could find to build our collective business resume so we set ourselves apart from anyone else operating in a similar space and provide each client with measurable results immediately. Every single one of those opportunities to build our expertise required investment - at a time when we needed to be very cautious with each dime we spent.

Friends and business associates often comment on how courageous we were to take that leap, questioning whether we were afraid of failing. Courage isn’t the absence of fear - it’s action despite it, rooted in prior preparation. Each adversity we lived through to that point, all we had done to identify and nurture the seeds we found in those adversities, and every step we had taken to hone the leadership attributes Hill detailed in Think and Grow Rich served as the preparation that courage was rooted in. We had seen time and again that adversity’s seeds grow strongest when we choose courage over comfort and commit to doing more than required. This was just a culmination of the work we had done for years prior.

Cindy stepped away from that full time role in September 2016. We didn’t generate a ton of revenue in the twelve months that followed, but we sure did lay the foundation future revenue would be built on. She had been putting in at least 80 hours per week in that role, but that may have been light compared to all we were juggling through 2017. And through all that, I still held down a position as safety and human resources manager for the construction company with around 100 employees. As time progressed, though, I felt more and more tension between the compliance based tasked in my day job and the measurable impact we were beginning to help clients achieve through our business. We’ll dig into that tension and the definiteness of decision it led to next. Before we do, think about how you’ve applied unwavering courage in a shift you’ve made. How did your values drive your decision? What seed of greater purpose might still be hidden?