In the Jewish Bible reading cycle, we just read about the first major leadership transition. Moses hands over the reins to Joshua, and he challenges him with a noble goal. “Be strong and of good courage!”

As I was teaching this passage, someone asked about the meaning of courage. It is a word we use often, but it can mean different things to different people. I started to explore various its various meanings and usages, and encountered several inspiring examples.

Finding Courage

1. “It requires moral courage to grieve; it requires religious courage to rejoice.” Soren  Kierkegaard

2. “Courage is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

3. “Memory can’t change the past; but it can help us have the courage to change the future.” Leonard Fein

4. “Without character and courage, nothing else lasts.” David Brooks

5. “God does not reach down to remove tumors. But God grants courage, helps us to hope, strengthens our souls, and stiffens our spine.” David Wolpe

6. “Faith is not uncertainty. It is the courage to live with uncertainty. “ Jonathan Sacks

7. “God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr (The Serenity Prayer)

8. “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

9. “Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.” John Wayne

10. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ― E.E. Cummings

Do You Have Any Other Favorite Quotes on Insights on Courage?