Best Of Ryan Holiday's "Courage is Calling"

Here is a selection of memorable quotes from Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors The Brave by Ryan Holiday

A scare is a temporary rush of a feeling. That can be forgiven. Fear is a state of being, and to allow it to rule is a disgrace.

p. 14

The fear you feel is a sign. If courage is never required in your life, you're living a boring life.

p. 56

The Greek word for this kind of courage was parrhesia. It was the speaking of truth to power. It was refusing to buy the lie or to play it false. Socrates was the classic parrhesiastes, a man who said what others were afraid to say to the people they were afraid to say it to. To paraphrase an ancient historian: No one could make Socrates do, say, or think anything that was alien to his character.

p. 111

A nation should have brave soldiers (physical courage) and wise statesmen (moral courage). One fights the battles, the other cultivates the relationships and policies that reduce their necessity. We need generals and conscientious objectors, because both are courageous warriors in their own way, fighting for important causes.

p. 206

Remember: Between mountains lies the valley. You may have tumbled down from your former heights. You may have been thrown down. Or simply lost your way. But now you find yourself here. It is a low point. So?

A long desert. A desolate valley. Either way, you'll need to cross it. You'll need patience and endurance and most of all love.

You can't let this period make you bitter. You have to make sure it makes you better.

Because people are counting on you.

Don't give up hope. Don't give up on them. They know not what they do. You, on the other hand, do know. This desert, this wilderness was given to you to cross. It's part of your journey.

To struggle makes the destination glorious. And heroic.

p. 213

In sports, there are two types of athletes. There are those generational talents, those feats of genetic and physical excellence who can make plays and take our breath away. Then there is another type, a little less gifted, a little less impressive to watch, but without them the game would not be possible. These are the role players, the teammates, the leaders who bind the others together and give the team the heart they need to win. John Wooden talked about how it wasn't how tall you were but how tall you played. More impressive still is the athlete who makes the whole team taller. When we think of the Chicago Bulls, we think of Michael Jordan. We're forgetting Bill Cartwright, the captain who was literally and figuratively the center of the team for their first three consecutive championships.

p. 218-219