Jason Engelhardt

Lately, I’ve found myself listening to the James Bond theme and the soundtrack from Top Gun. Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe it’s the music. Or maybe it’s because both stories revolve around something we often misunderstand. Courage. When most people think about heroes, they imagine individuals who are fearless. Confident. Certain. Unshakable. But the more I think about it, the more I believe that’s wrong. The heroes aren’t fearless. They’re afraid. They simply move forward anyway. Whether it’s...

Every meaningful initiative moves through phases. Some call them milestones. Some call them gates. I've started thinking of them as toll gates. Each one requires something different from you before you're allowed to move forward. In the beginning, the challenge is the idea. Can you see something others don't? Can you envision a future that doesn't yet exist? Then comes the challenge of momentum. Can you communicate the vision? Can you get others to listen? Can you convince people that the...

The moment a vision becomes bigger than the person who started it. I've been thinking a lot lately about Theodore Roosevelt's famous "Man in the Arena" speech. Most people focus on the courage it takes to step into the arena. The criticism. The uncertainty. The risk of failure. The willingness to act while others watch from the stands. But I've realized something this week. Being the man in the arena is only a phase. If the mission is large enough, there comes a point where it can't be about...