My friend, the author and Internet strategist, Chad Barr, often asks his clients if they have the courage to be successful.

This means something different to everyone — but here’s how I interpret it when it comes to leading businesses and marketing:

• Are you willing to do the work? Success is difficult to attain. Overnight success is often years — sometimes decades — in the making. You must put in the work. Do you have the courage to do the work?
• Do you have a clear understanding of how you improve the life and business of your customers? This is your value, and it must be the center of your marketing. Which means that specifications and functionalities and methodologies should not be prioritized in your outbound communication. So, do you have the courage to deeply understand what your customers find valuable about you?
• Are you willing to build relationships? By this, I mean are you meeting with your buyers instead of calling them? Are you helping journalists one-on-one, providing value to each of their audiences, or are you blasting press releases to them en masse? Do you have the courage to become a trusted partner instead of a vendor or pitcher?
• Are you thinking big? Are you leading your category with new ideas, products and work? Do you have the  courage to play offense, or are you reacting to others?
• Do you have the courage to move forward in spite of your fear of failure and rejection?
• Do you have the courage to learn from your mistakes, and integrate and apply that learning immediately?