Key Trait: Audacity

You know when you ball up a piece of paper you need to throw away and the trash can is across the room, half obstructed by a table, and there’s a remarkable headwind breeze from an open door and you’re about to take the shot?

I always think I’m going to make it. 

The fact of the matter is that I mostly miss, but when I pull up to shoot the pretend-paper-ball-jumpshot I completely believe I’m going to drain the shot. The odds are slim, but I guess they never cross my mind. Similarly, I heard an entrepreneur share an often estimated statistic that 99% of all new businesses fail today and I was reminded at how much I heard things like that and how little I paid attention to it. 

Some might call that audacity. In my opinion, audacity is a key trait for fringe level performers. Now, I love words and audacity is a great one. It’s strong and emotion inducing. It also has two definitions. One definition says that audacity is simply “a willingness to take bold risks.” The second definition says that audacity is “rude or disrespectful behavior; impudence,” which is funny because clearly I’m attempting to reference the former definition of audacity. But, maybe there’s a second point here. 

If the connotation of the type of willingness we need for fringe level success is inherently negative, then it’s no wonder far fewer people attempt their deepest desires than have them. To me, that’s a shame. It sounds like audacity needs a public relations manager. 

How’s your audacity quotient?