The Small Moment That Changed Everything
A New Year's invitation to share the tiny brave act that changed everything
This Week’s Courage Newsletter
"There are times when dreams sustain us more than facts." - Helen Fagin, Holocaust survivor and teacher
Why your story matters more than you know
Scare Your Soul Challenge: Share Your Smallest Giant Step
Bottom line: The tiniest acts of courage often leave the largest legacies
Dear Courageous Souls (and Sacred Story-Keepers),
The early morning light streams through my office window as I write this first newsletter of 2025.
My coffee is hot, my heart is full, and I find myself thinking about courage in a different way today.
Not the big, bold, headline-making kind.
But the quiet kind.
The type that happens in small rooms on ordinary days when no one is watching. The kind that changes lives with a whisper rather than a roar.
Like the text message I received last week from Jake, a newsletter subscriber in Seattle:
"Scott, I finally told my dad I love him. Just three words, right before hanging up the phone. I'm 47 years old, and I'd never said it before. He called back immediately, crying. We talked for two hours."
Or the email from Maria in Dublin:
"After twenty years of writing stories in secret, I finally read one at an open mic night. My hands shook so badly I could barely hold the paper. But afterward, a teenage girl asked if she could hug me. She said she'd been writing in secret too."
These stories - your stories - have become my lighthouse.
They've become proof that the bravest moments often come disguised as tiny choices.
Which brings me to my New Year's request...
I need your help in creating something extraordinary. I’d like to ask you to share your answer to this simple question:
What's a small act of courage you've taken - one so simple it barely felt brave at the time - that ended up changing your life forever?
Let me share mine:
In 2004, I hovered over my keyboard, debating whether to send an email to someone new in town. Just a simple coffee invitation. My finger trembled over the "send" button as my inner voice listed all the reasons not to do it.
But I clicked "send" anyway.
That email led to coffee with Samantha. Coffee led to immediate friendship. And that friendship has carried me through some of the darkest and brightest moments of my life. All because of one shaky click.
Now it's your turn.
Maybe you:
Finally said "I love you" first
Did something that no one thought you could
Sent that text you'd been drafting for days
Took a different route to work
Asked for help when you usually struggle alone
Said "no" to something for the first time
What matters is that it felt small at the time, but looking back, you realize it changed everything.
When you click that link, you'll find a simple form with just one question.
No need for your name. No need for lengthy explanation.
Just your small moment that created big change.
I promise to gather these stories and weave them into something that will help light the way for others who might be standing at the edge of their own courage right now.
Will you help me light the way?
With profound gratitude and anticipation,
P.S. Please submit your answer in the next 72 hours. (Not because there's any real deadline, but because sometimes a little time pressure helps us bypass our inner critic and speak straight from the heart.)