Does fortune favor the bold?

"Fortune favors the bold" (from the Latin proverb, "audentes Fortuna iuvat") may sound like trite or even dangerous advice. Yet, it's a motto employed by military units, family crests, and even universities across the world. It resonates strongly enough with me that I adopted boldness as one of the three words on my decision-making measuring stick.

It might help to clarify that in the original Latin, "Fortuna" refers to luck as personified by a Roman goddess. Boldness, sometimes translated as "bravery," is not recklessness. It's an invitation to forswear cowardice and adopt the courage required to move into something frightening and worthwhile.

The Latin proverb is probably a reworded translation of the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, "Boldness is the beginning of action, but fortune controls how it ends." In other words, fortune's favor is something that must be earned through a discipline of dauntlessness.

What possibility do you want to pursue but feel resistance or anxiety toward? Maybe that fear is a compass pointing to the very thing fortune is beckoning you to explore and step into more boldly? What happens if you act just half-a-shade braver and take a small step into that potential?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at The Art of Encore Living

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