Connect with us

Entrepreneurs

How Entrepreneurs Can Cultivate Courage and Use It as a Superpower

Courage starts with the decision to take action, even when it’s daunting

Published

on

cultivating courage
Image Credit: Midjourney

“You can become a hero.” – Izuku Midoriya (Deku)

Entrepreneurial Take: This simple yet powerful statement embodies the courage to start. No matter your background, you can take the leap to build something extraordinary.

My daughter is a fan of the Japanese anime My Hero Academia. In the show, which takes place in a fantasy universe, some people are born with a genetic “quirk” which is a type of superpower. Examples might be super strength or speed, or the ability to shape-shift. 

When these quirks first come online, usually in adolescence, they overpower the person. They begin by hurting others and themselves with their quirk. Anime is more than entertainment—it’s a creative resource to reframe challenges, connect with others, and inspire innovation.

Each person on the show must learn to tame their quirks and use it for the power of good rather than destruction. 

Our limbic system, meaning fear and anxiety and our fight or flight reactivity, is like such a quirk – it can easily overpower us and run the show if we don’t learn how to put it to good use. 

While this is challenging, once you can do it, it becomes the closest thing humans have to a superpower. You can learn to live free of your prehistoric programming and find new freedom in your life. 

To get physically strong, we need muscle. To increase muscle, we need to lift heavy weights. To get psychologically strong, we need courage. To increase courage, we need to face uncomfortable truths about reality and do hard and scary things. 

When we lift weights, we experience pain as the muscle tears, but it grows back stronger than it was before. When we do hard and scary things, we will experience the discomfort that our primitive limbic system produces in us, but our courage will grow as a result. 

I call my approach to cultivating courage the Iron Path.

Build your “Iron”How to Cultivate Courage as an Entrepreneur

You should start working on your courage outside of work first. 

Commit to building what I call your “Iron” – your storehouse of courage that serves as the foundation upon which you can build future actions. You build Iron by taking personal risks. 

These could be being more assertive with a parent or spouse, being more vulnerable with a child, or by making a medical appointment you’ve been avoiding. The key here is to practice doing something that you don’t want to do, and would prefer to avoid, but you do anyway. 

Each time you succeed and go against your old programming, you earn some Iron. 

Once you’ve earned some Iron outside of work, you can bring it into the business environment and start using it there. 

  • Courage can help you reach out to new potential clients, 
  • have a tough conversation with a colleague without getting triggered,
  • or ask a boss for a raise or new title. 

Iron can be like a superpower that will drive you to new levels of success. Yet, like all superpowers, it needs to be developed through training first.

As with muscle, courage must be developed through training and discipline. 

In My Hero Academia, characters don’t just tame their quirks, they master them through relentless training and guidance from their mentors. Entrepreneurs, too, benefit from mentorship and intentional practice as they cultivate courage. 

Surrounding yourself with others who embody bravery can inspire you to confront your own fears and embrace the growth opportunities hidden within them. By sharing experiences and strategies, you sharpen your own skills and contribute to a culture of courage that uplifts everyone around you.

Many anime feature characters solving complex problems.

By cultivating unique team dynamics and the pooling of diverse skills, survival can depend on people thinking outside the box and leveraging their individual strengths. 

At the end of the day, so many entrepreneurs face challenges, much like a hero overcoming obstacles on the path to achieving greatness. Anime often portrays characters who grow stronger by facing adversity head-on and learning from their failures.

One can also build a brand story as a “hero’s journey,” showing how you’ve overcome struggles to create your business, as well as create marketing content that inspires your target market to see themselves as heroes in their lives, utilizing your product or service as their tools for success.

“If you don’t like your destiny, don’t accept it. Instead, have the courage to change it the way you want it to be.” — “Naruto”, 2002

“To be strong is not just about physical abilities. It’s about having the courage to make tough decisions.” — “Fairy Tail”, 2009.

“Power is not will. It is the phenomenon of physically making things happen. But that’s not what matters. What matters is having the will to take that first step.” – Shoto Aizawa (Eraserhead)

This reminds us that courage starts with the decision to take action, even when it’s daunting.

Dr. Noah Laracy is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Los Angeles. His book coming out in 2025 is the first book to provide a practical, actionable program for growing your courage as shown in the twelve most common fears that humans have. Sign up here for his free articles on growing your courage.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

The Entrepreneur’s Reading List That Transforms Ideas Into Empires

These must-read titles and writing insights reveal how entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into empire-level success.

Published

on

top entrepreneurship books for business growth
Image Credit: Midjourney

Entrepreneurship is powered by stories—of accomplishment, failure, and decision moments that define businesses. Books are maps, providing insight from individuals who’ve traversed the road ahead. (more…)

Continue Reading

Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

Published

on

Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

Continue Reading

Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

Published

on

entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
Image Credit: Midjourney

When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

Continue Reading

Entrepreneurs

Building a Business Empire: Lessons from the World’s Boldest Entrepreneurs

Learn essential lessons, success strategies, and mindset shifts every aspiring entrepreneur needs to overcome challenges and build a thriving business.

Published

on

how to build a business empire
Image Credit: Midjourney

Back in July 2017, I attended a business seminar on entrepreneurship in India. With my appetite for learning and meeting new people, I wanted to explore the latest developments in the entrepreneurial world. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending