Rewarding Courage

October, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, 7pm. The mayor, business leaders, rock stars and residents of the city have gathered in a beautiful open-air theater to see the award ceremony. After some usual waiting and anticipation, the mayor comes on the stage. A few thanks to the event organizers for a well-done job. Applause. Finally:

— “I am pleased to announce the much anticipated Courage 2012 Award. This year’s award goes to… Bee Gingell for the Exode startup.”

Applause.

— “Bee had a revolutionary idea on how to improve the quality of life in our city. Starting his business took a lot of courage. Although he failed because the market circumstances turned out to be unfavorable and he now owns the bank 100K, we are here today to honor his courage. Let’s hear it from him!”

Standing ovations as Bee takes the microphone…

Ever since we are little, we learn tales of courageous knights. We honor our countries’ heroes and the entrepreneurs who dared to bring change. Nobody could oppose the idea of rewarding courage; we take it for granted. Of course courage is good; of course we admire it; of course we should reward it. But take a closer look and you will realize that we hardly ever reward courage. What we reward is success.

We don’t really admire courageous people; we admire successful ones. However, success is many times circumstantial. To truly reward courage, we should do so regardless of the outcome of the action, of whether one thrives or fails. The scenario described above is inconceivable today. People who fail are treated as losers, not as heroes. We don’t call them courageous; we call them irresponsible fools.

Instead of being given an award, today Bee is a social outcast. His parents tell him, “You should have stayed in school.” His bank says, “Don’t try again!” His friends secretly pride themselves for having taken the safe job instead. Rather than admiring Bee for his courage, we feel superior for having stayed in our comfort zones and played it safe. Unfortunately, such lessons, which we are being thought later in life, betray those of the courageous knights of our childhoods.

If you want us to grow from naïve children to responsible adults who do not live in conformity, let us fail if we must, but when we do, don’t scold us. Instead, reward us for having had the courage to try. Tell us it is all right, tell us that failure is part of life and that we are responsible for picking ourselves up again. Help us to stand up and encourage us to have the audacity to try again.