The basic idea of courage in this context is that The Globally Conscious Leader® is not artificially held back by compulsive conformance to rules and convention. It takes a certain amount of courage to, first, even perceive a culturally-imposed but inappropriate limitation; and second, to go ahead and transcend it despite the pushback you’ll surely experience. In saying this, we’re not contradicting the idea of ethics at all. Rather, we’re recognizing that sometimes people create rules that are, in certain situations, inappropriate or outweighed by more important considerations.
There is a classic story of a famous rabbi visiting a small town one evening to deliver an important talk. All the townspeople were there, except… the rabbi didn’t show! They went looking for him and found him taking care of a crying baby who’d been left alone by his parents so that they, in turn, could go hear the rabbi speak! “He was alone and crying bitterly,” said the rabbi, “so it seemed important to stop and comfort him.”
The key here is to cultivate a mind that is attuned to what really matters, and that can see through the fallibility of our convenience-motivated constructs like schedules and rules.
Courage is slippery, because we absolutely need rules and regs. Without them, chaos reigns and people can get hurt. It’s just that, with clear insight and compassion, we recognize that sometimes something more important is at play, and it’s right to temporarily set aside the rules.
As you work to cultivate these essential qualities of The Globally Conscious Leader®, just notice where you have a gut feel that you ought to be following an XYZ rule or custom, but you’re also experiencing a competing gut feeling that something bigger is going on, something a bit outside that rule. Start by just noticing that. And then think carefully about what’s right. Small example: I’ll sometimes cross the street against a red light if there’s zero traffic; but never if there are kids around who would watch my crossing and possibly lose a little respect for a very important rule.
The key: cultivate a mind that’s attuned to what really matters, irrespective of convention.
