Commit to Plan a Strategy:
The strategy is best planned with the participation of everyone who will be involved in the project.  Write down the steps necessary to be successful and who will be responsible for each part. Also, predetermine interim points along the way to evaluate progress. Be ready to make changes.  While we anticipate obstacles, we will inevitably face unexpected detours.

It is normal to be afraid when we experience something for the first time.  It is not a new phenomenon.  The philosopher Aristotle wrote 2300 years ago, “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”  Author T.S. Elliot takes it a step further when he writes, "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

We all have to fight fear when something is unfamiliar, but the grace of courage is available to all who are willing to try.

Have you ever heard of a running marathon where 5,000 people start the race but only one finishes?  According to the BBC it happened recently in England.  The report says that, “Thousands of runners who took part in the Marathon of the North races have been told the course they followed was 264 meters short. Competitors … took a wrong turn in the Sunderland events because marshals were standing in the wrong positions. Only the winner of the full marathon completed the full distance. Only the lead athlete followed the correct route through the Sheepfold area near the Stadium of Light. Unfortunately, the second and third placed runners were not within line of sight of the leader and lead bikes and vehicle. This resulted in all those who followed taking an incorrect route through this section."  This story illustrates just how easy it is to get off course.