What is important about this book

Ever thought to yourself If I just had the guts? Or held back from speaking up, afraid of what might happen if you did? We all experience moments when we know what we should do yet tail to do it. Even the most valiant among us sometimes struggle to be courageous. Fear of potential fallout clouds our judgment, fueling indecision, timidity, and sometimes outright cowardice. Our lack of courage limits our lives and threatens our future; fear creates the gap between thought and action, between what we know is the right thing to do and what we actually do. It takes courage to close it.

Our risk-averse society only widens this challenge: in trying to protect ourselves, we’ve become more exposed to greater dangers. Yet if we are the source of our risks, we are also the key to overcoming them. Each time we narrow the distance between what we do and what we can do, we close what the author calls the Courage Gap. Fear is contagious — but so is courage. Closing our courage gap isn’t about avoiding risks, but about showing up as our bravest self — tackling tough problems, facing storms head-on, and even reshaping the landscape around us.

Margie Warrell, PhD, bestselling author and international speaker, has spent over two decades helping leaders and organizations worldwide turn fear into courage and potential into real results. A trusted advisor to global companies such as Google, NASA, and Amazon, she also collaborates with universities and leadership networks.

 

Quotes

  • “Fear creates the gap between who you are and who you can be. Courage closes it”.
  • “Courage is a decision, not a feeling”.
  • “You can’t make the right step without risking a wrong one. In a world advancing rapidly, cautious inaction can be a high-risk strategy”.
  • “It is how you explain failure that determines future success, not the failure itself. Failure is an event, not a person”.
  • “Befriending failure won’t fracture your self-esteem; it will fortify it”.
  • “Never let a failure go waste. You can’t control the output of your efforts, but mining failure’s lessons improves future input”.
  • “To be human is to fail. Your job is to make each failure worthy of the person you’re on your way to becoming”.
  • “Be led by your values, not your emotions. When your values are clear, courage becomes easier”.
  • “Your focus on a positive outcome must exceed your fear of a negative outcome”.
  • “The feeling body is stronger than the thinking brain. Knowing how fear embeds in your body provides a target for intervention”.
  • “Inhabiting your body transforms the psychology of fear into the psychology of courage”.

 

Structure and contents of the book

This book has no chapters: it contains this introduction, five steps, and a conclusion that invites us to help others be braver, creating “cultures of courage” that unleash collective potential. Each step revolves around a core thematic that, when combined, form a holistic evidence-based framework that leverages the cognitive (Steps 1, 2, and 5), physiological (Step 3), and behavioral (Step 4) domains of behavioral change. The Resource section at the end of the book provides a QR code to access a “Courage Quiz” and a complimentary workbook.

  • Step 1 – Focus on What You Want, Not on What You Fear: based on the principle that what you focus on expands, it helps us shift from fear to clarity of intention, both for immediate challenges and for our broader life goals.
  • Step 2 – Rescript What’s Kept You Scared or Too Safe: examines the beliefs and stories we tell ourselves, showing how to rewrite them in order to move beyond fear and open up new possibilities.
  • Step 3 – Breathe in Courage: teaches us to transform the physiology of fear into the psychology of courage, learning to embody courage in daily life and draw strength from both our inner and outer environment.
  • Step 4 – Step into Discomfort: helps us reframe discomfort as a catalyst for action. Through the “one-brave-minute” rule, we practice taking that first step, building courage step by step.
  • Step 5 – Find the Treasure When You Trip: shows us how to rise after failure, transforming setbacks into lessons that build wisdom and resilience. More than “bouncing back,” it teaches self-compassion, forgiveness of our fallibility, and acceptance of our unfinished self. By releasing the shame of past mistakes, we gain the freedom to pursue our highest intentions with greater courage.

The sequence of the steps matters less than the inner work they demand. Facing the courage gap is uncomfortable and often daunting, but it is precisely this challenging work that shifts the balance in our favor. Stepping into it may never feel easy, yet it remains the most worthwhile of all endeavors — and this book is designed to help us take that first step.

 

Instructions for reading this book

Margie Warrell has crafted a concise five-step framework that translates research into a practical road map to close the gap between thought and action. Synthesized from adult development, cognitive psychology, somatic coaching, and neuro-leadership, the book deliberately distills theory into actionable steps. Her intention is to build mastery in the two essential dimensions of courage: managing fear and acting in its presence. At a time when values like integrity and character feel increasingly expendable, this book serves as a rallying cry to realign ourselves with higher principles that embolden us to move forward where others retreat. After reading this book, we will have concrete tools to help others step into their courage gap by reframing their fears, encouraging action, and offering the steady support everyone needs to flourish. As Amy Edmondson reminds us, courage and Psychological Safety are two sides of the same coin: rewarding brave behavior and responding constructively to failure counter hesitation and make vulnerability safer — the strongest predictor of high-performing teams. Through clear principles, relatable anecdotes, and compelling insights, the book equips us to be braver, use our full agency, and see even failure and hardship as catalysts for growth.

For leaders, The Courage Gap offers a practical roadmap to embed and expand a courage mindset across teams and organizations. By doing so, it helps leaders strengthen trust, break down silos, spark innovation, accelerate learning, and unleash collective courage in pursuit of a more secure and fulfilling future.

Closing the courage gap is not a short course but a lifelong endeavor — and in a time of division and disruption, The Courage Gap is more than a guide: it is a lifeline.