Boldness is a term often associated with courageous acts, but what does being bold truly entail? Sometimes, being bold signifies confronting your pain head-on, acknowledging its existence, and deciding to do something about it. Just like a brave warrior preparing for an uphill battle, being bold requires looking at the pain in the face and declaring that you’ll overcome it. Most of us tend to shy away from or even completely deny our pain, which only leads to a prolonged battle with it. Boldness, then, is staring at the painful truth without flinching and resolving to change your situation for the better.

The journey to overcoming our struggles is not often an overnight trip; it is more like a marathon with plenty of painful moments, setbacks, and pauses in between. The truth is, it might take another day, another month, or even another year to completely rise above it. However, this isn’t a reason to be discouraged. Rather, it should be taken as a kill-or-be-killed battle that requires consistent practice, as the samurai would say. The perfected art of a samurai doesn’t happen in a single day; it’s a result of years of unbroken devotion to practice. Similarly, our aim should be to persist in the face of setbacks and disappointments.

In one of the classic lessons of bravery, we learn from the ancient samurai’s warrior ethos – they understood that looking at death in the face was a pathway to living a fulfilling life. This same principle can be applied to facing our fears and pains. Just like the samurai facing death without fear, so too must we face our pain. We must implant in our minds the assurance that we aren’t just going to bear it; we are going to face it head-on. This mindset helps breed a bravery that wouldn’t just make us survive life’s challenges, but also grow stronger through them. In the words of a samurai, staring at the grim face of death (or in our case, pain), makes us appreciate life and live it fully.

Being bold involves more than reckless abandon; it’s about staring down our fears, struggling steadily to overcome them, and finally transforming them into stepping stones for growth. In essence, we need to approach life with the heart of a samurai- disciplined, consistent, and never backing down, irrespective of how challenging the battle gets.

I am Grant Sparks, an entrepreneur coach. I help ambitious creators achieve big goals! We help others spark vision, ignite success, explode significance, and radiate purpose by offerings tools and training entrepreneurs need.