Finding Your Courage

etsy on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Starting something new is one of the biggest challenges in life, whether it’s moving to a new place, changing a career, learning to play a musical instrument, or launching a new business. The one resource that is required above all else is simple in concept but difficult in practice: courage. In this talk, Chad will look beyond the logistics of starting something new and talk about how to overcome fear and find your courage.

About Chad Dickerson

Chad Dickerson is the CEO of Etsy. Chad was CTO at Etsy from September 2008 until July 2011.

Before joining Etsy in fall 2008, Chad led the Brickhouse and Advanced Products teams at Yahoo!. Prior to this role, Chad was senior director of the Yahoo! Developer Network and launched the Hack Day program globally at Yahoo!

Chad came to Yahoo! from InfoWorld Media Group (IDG) where he served as CTO for nearly five years. Prior to InfoWorld, Dickerson served as CTO of Salon.com and in various engineering positions at CNN, CNN/Sports Illustrated, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The (Raleigh, NC) News & Observer. Dickerson holds a BA in English literature from Duke University.

Comments and Questions

Nick Mango

You don’t find courage, you discover it.

Stephen Garcia

For me, courage comes respect. Respect for yourself, respect for those around you and respect for the idea that you can make a difference in this world.

breadandroses2

We become what we think, what we do. When we act with courage and are true to our innermost self, we become courageous. And as Nick says, you discover it – most often well after the fact.

Jana Costa

I’m an artist but I also have a “real” job. I’ve found that in the world we live in so many people don’t respect each other. They don’t connect. I want to do my art/design full time but financially I can’t….yet. I want to connect people through my art and make people smile if even for a minute. I’ve spent the last several weeks getting connected on the internet including facebook, etsy, twitter, and flicker. I’ve also started a blog on my website. What else do you advise for a newby to the virtual world. How do I get people to notice and of course buy? How do I make it on my own without the “real” job? Jana

Francesca Whetnall

Great talk, and really interesting and inspiring quotes.
I’m an artist with a real job but which I’m planning on giving up before the end of the year.
I have a website, blog, flickr and Etsy shop but running it all in my spare time has just given me a taste of the massive amount of work it’s going to take to try and make a success of it.
I know it will be a huge amount of work but I’m hoping if I persist I’ll be able to make a go of it, one small step at a time.

Brenda Green

I missed your talk, is this going to be taped so we can still see it. It looks like a great topic. Sorry, I missed it. Is there some-where else I can go to see it. Warmly, Brenda

Stephanie

I loved your talk live in Berlin Chad! You did a wonderful, warm, funny, inspiring job – and I’m glad you are the new CEO :)
Cheers from Berlin,
Stephanie

Jake

This is not a personal attack, but it just occurred to me that if we wish to inspire others with great initiatives, why do we continue to post these uninspiring bios of oneself? Everyone has had a the same (university education), a marvellous career, but surely that is not why we are where we are. So, I I say ditch the conventional bios and tell people something real.

elizabeth

It really is about one step at a time and “one day at a time” but one has to first “take the leap”. Now that is the tough part.
elizabeth

amanda

Loved your presentation, I watched it online. I found it very interesting, and with a sense of humour which is rare these days.

Esther

Courage is revealed by great faith. Faith to pursue your gifting (s) and develop it to the fullest at any cost. No one has the ability to take it away from you–you give it/courage away through non-belief.