“The world needs invention and daring now more than ever. Now is the time for audacity, not austerity.” This month’s HBR is spotlighting being happy and being audacious.  Why are we not exploiting the power of happiness and why are we not encouraging audaciousness?

We need to decouple audacity from ego with the distinction that audacity comes from internal confidence while ego seeks external recognition, the beauty in audacity occurs without ego.  Audacity is really about giving courage to your internal fire.

Proposing audacious ideas (and acting on them) takes courage and the wisdom to embrace risk and failure.  The call we are hearing for audaciousness is essential to solve today’s economic and social issues, but this call is so much more than that, being audacious and having the courage to live with purpose manifests a happiness within that grows and spreads like wild fire.

What audacious ideas do you have stirring in you? Be the change you want to see and be bold about it.