The Greatest of All Virtues

Mel, Dr. Robert Knoll was the best teacher I ever had. He was my English professor when I was a sophomore in college. Made literature come alive. Every day in class was a mind-bending, horizon-stretching experience. Just from reading the papers I turned in and knowing that I was studying engineering, he predicted I'd someday go into technical sales (I'd never heard of such a thing at that time) and that someday I'd probably be "the president of the company" (I sort of assumed I'd be a wage slave prior to that point). Very prescient, very influential for me - definitely in my top 10 list of impactful people. Someone who could see around the corner and predict the future from a handful of clues. One day he posed a question to the class. He said "Somebody tell me, what is the greatest of all virtues?" Everyone sort of stared at him for awhile (as sophomores usually do). Then we suggested things like... love, honesty, self discipline, generosity, sincerity... to which he replied "No, none of those answers are correct." "No, the greatest of all virtues is courage, because if you don't have courage, you'll never live out any of those other virtues." One of the key elements of courage is conviction. Belief that what you are doing is good and valuable, not just that it will work. I heard a rumor the other day about a marketing seminar somewhere, where a guy showed a website which he claimed was live but was actually canned. Somebody in the audience detected the ruse, called his bluff, and the audience ate him alive. Can you imagine the ruthless piranha attack? Gives a whole new meaning to "Eat your competition alive." It's kind of hard to have courage when you're hoping nobody finds out you're a fraud, ya know? When you know what you sell has a rock-solid center, it lends you a confidence that bluster alone can never replace. The next step, then, is communicating that courage to the larger world. Conveying your sense of confidence to them. If advertising is the making of promises, virtue is the keeping of those same promises. Many have failed by only doing one or the other. Lifetime success flows from doing both. Take courage. Perry Marshall **NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email. Instead, visit http://perrymarshall.com/support with any questions or concerns.  Update subscriber options

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