The kind of bravery that everyone will notice

The true story of Felix Baumgartner’s act of bravery can be seen everywhere you look online. Just this past weekend he became the first person ever to break the speed of sound with his record-breaking skydive from 23 miles.

Jumping from higher than 23 miles meant he had enough time to reach a speed of 833.9 miles per hour. That translates into 1,342 kilometres per hour.  And that roughly translates into Mach 1.25, which is faster than the speed of sound.

Sounds unbelievable right?  No one has ever traveled at that speed in clothing alone.  And no person has ever jumped from so high before either.

Imagine the emotion.  Imagine the thoughts going through his head. Imagine the fear.   In the Washington Post, he noted, “I thought for a few seconds that I’d lose consciousness.” “I didn’t feel a sonic boom because I was so busy just trying to stabilize myself. ”

In spite of that daunting fear, Felix was audacious enough to try it anyways.  Don’t get me wrong –of course he did the math and understood the risk. But he went against all fear and decided to jump anyways. And in the end, he became the first man to break the sound barrier and three other world records.

I’m not saying you should go out and beat his record tomorrow.  Or come up with a new cliff diving record next week. But I am saying you should think about how to be audacious in your own field. Calculate the risks, do the math, and take big risks and see what happens.

Nothing truly great was ever done by someone that shied away from being brave. Instead being brave is how the Wright Brother got started and how airplanes were created. It’s how game winning shots were made. Billion dollar companies were formed.  Insurmountable campaigns were won. And how the greatest stories of our time conceived.  It’s the kind of bravery that billions of people on our planet have noticed over and over again.

In the meantime, maybe try to get Red Bull to sponsor your project too. Perhaps one of the best consumer marketing ideas in a very long time.

Monday, October 15th, 2012 Careers, Leadership

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Jeremy C Wilson is a JD-MBA alumni using his site to share information on education, the social enterprise revolution, entrepreneurship, and doing things differently. Feel free to send along questions or comments as you read.

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The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect the views or position of Kellogg, Northwestern Law, the JD-MBA program, or any firm that I work for. I only offer my own perspective on all issues.
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