The Will to Act: Batman’s Lesson in Courage

Not too long ago, when I probably should have been doing something more productive, I was flipping the channels and came across Batman Begins—the 2005 predecessor to the more recent Dark Knight films. As the movie chronicles Bruce Wayne’s ninja-style training on a remote mountaintop in Asia, I am often struck by the words of Wayne’s mentor, Henri Ducard, played by Liam Neeson:

“Training is nothing! Will is everything!” Ducard tells Wayne as they spar across a frozen lake. “The will to act!”

It was a pity that a character who played such a strong role in Bruce Wayne’s transformation into the legendary superhero, turned out to be one his greatest arch enemies. But the lesson I took from that cold mountaintop (in the comfort of my couch!) is that training is indeed meaningless if it is not used—if it is not acted upon.

Why do so many of us fail to act? We invest in programs, in books and videos, yet we remain stuck in our old routines. Or worse, we go back to doing nothing. We know what we must do; yet we lack the will to do it. In reality, I wonder if some of us lack the courage.

I know that I have lacked it at times.

Greatness cannot exist without courage. Much of the erosion in business and our culture today is the result of people lacking the courage to do what they already know they should do. Consider that historically, many people who have fallen from grace were those who had the highest training and competency, and they knew the ethics, but lacked the courage—the will—to act.

Courage does not come easily. Remember, when we speak of courage, we are not referring to fearlessness or foolhardiness. Courage cannot exist without fear. It’s human to be afraid—as is the temptation to take the easy way out of a situation. However, what separates goodness from greatness is the courage to do what is right each and every day.

Christian author Tim Kimmel, in his book Legacy of Love, describes courage this way: “Although it takes unusual courage to die for something; it takes an even greater courage to live for something. Dying for a right cause takes one right choice; living for a right cause requires hundreds of choices each day, every day.”

“Although it takes unusual courage to die for something; it takes an even greater courage to live for something. Dying for a right cause takes one right choice; living for a right cause requires hundreds of choices each day, every day.” —Tim Kimmel

Bruce Wayne faced his fear, which gave him the courage and the will to advance something he believed in. What about you? Do you truly believe in the value you can bring to peoples’ lives this year? Do you know what you must do? If so, what might be holding you back, today?

Don’t worry about tomorrow or next week. You are here, now. For today, identify one action for today, and take it. Summon the will.