Carnival of Courage #11

Welcome to the Issue #11 of the Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

Success.  How we define it. How we dedicate ourselves to it.  How we relate to it once we achieve it.  How we accidentally toss it out the window when it doesn't arrive quickly enough.  These are the themes most of today's submissions centered on.  I can tell you, patience is not something I see many people learning to cultivate these days so I was pleased to see this theme emerge (do you all set this up behind my back or is this always just a coincidence??).

No entry from me, today, but those of you who read the last couple posts this week on our tax adventure can surely recognize that you don't get to be that calm in the face of a potential crisis without having done a LOT of work on yourself behind the scenes.  Do you have it in you to cultivate your character and to set the foundations for your success?  Will you dedicate yourself to developing yourself for the rest of your life?  What? You have something more important to do with the time??

Before we begin, though I want to put in a plug for a good cause sent by a contributor...

On the national Day To End Sexual Violence scheduled for April 5th, 2007, Marcella Chester will be coordinating a Blog Against Sexual Violence event. The goal is to get as many bloggers as possible to participate.  Read more at Blog Against Sexual Violence Day 5 April 2007 posted at Abyss2hope. This event is an opportunity for all bloggers to get into the trenches and help make the world a safer place by clearly communicating our opposition to sexual violence.

And a Carnival public service announcement for those wishing to submit in the future...

General personal development or coaching articles will not be accepted for this carnival. Well-written personal accounts of courage only, not just general motivation please.  Lots of slipping into gray areas with recent submissions, a couple of which I let slide today because I enjoyed reading them but no exceptions next time.  I can no longer spend time sending everyone e-mails explaining why I won't accept your submission if you don't respect the guidelines.  Thanks! 

And now, on with the show...

Success and the Successful

Walks The Edge brings up some excellent points on the way our feelings about success can hold us back and how achieving success can actually be disorienting if you have spent a life settling for less than you

are capable of achieving.  Some people take to bed to escape.  Here is a wonderful example of other options you may want to consider if you are willing to ask yourself tough questions in Throwing yourself into the path of success posted at walkstheedge.com.

Marcy Nala has a very nice post for you that I would love to make required reading for everyone. In this age of personal development celebrities I'd love to see more sanity out there and reminders to practice discernment.  It fell in the gray area of coaching articles (which I try to ban, in the favor of personal accounts) but I think holding your center in a huge room full of guru-struck fans IS a courageous act that speaks of strong character and integrity and the message is so good I have not choice but to highly recommend Be Your Own Guru posted at The Abundant Life.

This is dedicated to the one I love...

Each night before you go to bed, my baby, whisper a little prayer for me(or for money and success) my babyyyyy...Mamas and Papas. No? Anyone?  Ah, you young people don't even know what good music is.  Sheesh. Anyways...let's talk a little dedication and discipline, shall we?  Where do we draw the line between playing full out to produce the results we intended and being miserably attached to results we’re not really going to produce? Erek Ostrowski hits one of my favorite issues...attachment to outcome in Failure and The Measure of Success posted at Verve Coaching.

Susan Velez asks the simple question: Will you stick with your goals even if it takes you 20 years to achieve them? At what point would you walk away? Susan believes if you stick with it You Will Reach Your Goals posted at The Secret To Life.

Okay, how about seven years? Conan Stevens presents My Recovery From Nerve Damage (New Photos) posted at Conan Stevens Worlds Biggest Action Hero? Swimsuit weather is just around the corner, my babies.  No excuses this year.  Check out Conan who is here, seven years after a debilitating injury, back in action (and on cinema screen in 2 countries!)

How far down the ladder are you willing to start if you know you want to reach the top? What if the ladder is a bucket?  I say it all the time, you gotta chop wood, carry water.  Can you get your ego out of the way and do the work to lay the foundation while dedicating yourself singlemindedly to your dreams?  Sania Wyatt presents the story of jockey Grace Jones in The Hotwalker at Sania Wyatt.

GP presents Kiss me o Radiant Son posted at Fish Creek House - INNside Innkeeping. You can bypass the fear associated with any new endeavour, by having a plan, planning to succeed, looking at failure as a bump along the road to success.

Fear, Courage and the Psychology of Men

Gary van Warmerdam presents a very interesting post on the definition of Courage posted at Happiness. Marines have a reputation for being the toughest of the tough, but is there more going on than meets the eye in their acts of courage and heroism?  Complex topic!

That concludes this issue. Thanks again to all who submitted!

Ready to join us?

Next carnival is due out on 3/23/07.You are welcome to submit any courage related post you like, whether it's your own act of bravery, big or small or that of someone who has inspired you. Share your tales from the trenches as you wrestle with those things that are stretching and challenging you.

SUBMIT TO THIS CARNIVAL by March 21st.

Because I am so awesome: I know several of my readers do not have blogs but do have stories to share. If you feel inspired to share, please e-mail me your spell-checked and well-written submission for me to consider posting on your behalf. I want to give everyone a chance to participate but I'm a one-woman show here so pieces that require heavy editing will be returned to you for fixing.

For more on me, visit Wellspring Coaching.