It might not work. It could go very badly. You could be laughed at. You could take a financial hit. You could come in second. You could fail. You could even die,

But?

Is life without risk possible? Could you possibly hope to make it through the world, to borrow a powerful rhetorical question from Meditations, without encountering any of these setbacks?

Of course not. This is why courage was such a critical virtue to the Stoics—because life demands it. You cannot do anything, go anywhere, be anyone without it.

The greatest Stoics were defined by their ability to go out there and do what they thought needed to be done, despite the incredibly unlikely probability of success. Cato went against Caesar…his daughter, Porcia, did the same. George Washington, in that winter of discontent at Valley Forge, drew on that exact example, putting on Addison’s play about Cato to inspire himself and his men. Stockdale had every reason to think he would not survive, that he would not triumph over his captors, but he never gave in.

We will not always win in life, but we will never win without an ability to face loss, without the courage to proceed anyway. Be not afraid. Be brave.

P.S. Courage is the mother of all virtues, Aristotle said, because in a world that’s not virtuous, it’s a brave thing to go out there and do what needs to be done. That’s why Courage is Calling was the first book in the Stoic Virtues series, followed by Discipline is Destiny and the newest book, which came out just last month, Right Thing, Right Now (check out Ryan’s recent book tour vlog!). Head to the Daily Stoic Store to get these and all of Ryan’s books on Stoicism today!