Courage Is A Muscle

Lewis Pugh is a remarkable athlete. An endurance swimmer campaigning for marine protection reserves.

His latest challenge being to swim the entire length of the English Channel. All the way from Land’s End to Dover (25min explanatory vid).

I watched The Long Swim (23min documentary youtube at foot) tracking his training in Cape Town’s seas, made by Skynews.

Almost the last line – as he went out in storm conditions in which the lifeboat service might not venture – stayed with me.

Trying to come into shore it proved tricky and dangerous to navigate entry into the chosen landing bay.

Rocks and swells and seaweed and trouble.

Then he triumphed; “it’s now in the bag”.

Followed by his main belief;

“Courage is a muscle.”

It can be trained and it must be trained.

This is a daredevil supreme swimmer. Yet even he seeks to train up his levels of courage.

Oh how I wished for so many a salesteam to do similar in their stormy waters. What different types of courage could be developed, so that when you need them, you’ll kick straight into the required gear?

Cold-calling, pitching, presenting, persuading, closing?

All are surely selling muscles and all can and ought be trained.