Echoes of COURAGE
My family loves museums—and I enjoy them too. But I’m more drawn to preserved historical monuments.
There’s something profoundly moving about peering into Nelson Mandela’s cell, standing where Joan of Arc was martyred, exploring a WWII bunker, or descending into the Củ Chi tunnels. These places make history visceral. They move it from the intellectual to the deeply personal—not an exercise in turning the pages to learn more, but in stepping closer to feel more.
I like to linger and reflect. As I sit on a rock someone once rested on, or run my hand along the same walls they stared at, I wonder: What were they thinking and feeling in those bleak, uncertain moments—surrounded by challenges and detractors—torn between the yearning for self-preservation and the stubborn tugs of an altruistic ideal.
The truth is that they invariably opted for the latter—even if they didn’t know how to get there. They knew that giving up meant certain defeat. Resilience, however uncertain, was the only way to keep hope alive.
I used to think hope was alluring but futile—naive, even. Now I believe hope is one of the greatest gifts we can give our purpose. Hope is not hollow; it is fuel. It is faith in a better future—and it is what courage needs most to live and fight for inorder to exist and sustain.
Purpose. Faith. Courage.
Most of us won’t be imprisoned for our beliefs or called to battle for our lives. But we will all face trials. We will all face moments of choice, when we must stand alone.
In our families. In personal crossroads. In moments of business trade-offs. In the organizations we lead. In ventures we dream of. In the C-suite and the boardroom.
Each of us will be challenged to ask: What do I truly believe? What future am I working toward?
These are our modern crucibles—and they require courage, too.
A few weeks ago, I stood on the TEDx stage in Berlin—a city that knows plenty about action, repercussion, and reflection. I didn’t offer revolutionary insights. Instead, I reminded myself, my children watching from the audience, and those who will hear the talk later, that: We already have the superpower of courage within us. We just need to use it more.
Incidentally, my visit coincided with VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) which marks the end of World War II in Europe and celebrates when Nazi Germany officially surrendered to Allied troops.
In difficult times, we must keep faith in a better tomorrow. We must reflect on what we truly care about. And we must be intentional about our courage—just as the legends of the past were.
Today, we are standing in tomorrow’s monuments. One day, our children—and theirs—will ask: What were they thinking and feeling back then? What choices did they make to tackle the world's greatest challenges and pursue its great opportunities?
I know why I love monuments. They remind me—in the most powerful way—that we can all be legends, too.
#TEDxBerlin #courage #impact #purpose #faith #governance #transformation
