The Courage Map

Why do some people have the courage to make brave decisions that steer them to lead exciting, rewarding, and impactful lives - while others only sit on the sidelines, watching enviously?

Entrepreneur and adventurer Franziska Iseli believes that anyone can learn to access their inner courage. Iseli came up with the idea of writing a book about courage while on a multi-year motorbike journey around the world. All of that “helmet time”, allowed her to ponder what so many people ask her, whether in relation to her businesses or to her crazy international adventures:

Where do you find the courage to do what you do?

In this, her third book, Iseli shares what she has learned.

The book is cleverly designed as a metaphor for the author’s round-the-world motorbike journey. Iseli starts with a comprehensive introduction which both presents why she has come to think of courage as perhaps the defining attribute that has led to her exceptional life, as well as how she developed such courage even at a very young age (hint - it was her brother’s fault). She also develops an in-depth analysis of courage: What it is and why it is necessary for living a life that matters and, importantly, distinguishing true courage from other seemingly equivalent characteristics such as fearlessness and recklessness.

From here, the book presents 12 principles, each peppered with sometimes-funny, sometimes-scary (and often both) anecdotes from her motorbike adventures - while presenting actionable exercises to help her listener choose the life they want to live and the person they want to be.

“Think of life like a road trip with loved ones. Your vision is your ultimate destination, the place you are travelling towards. Your values are the compass showing you which turns to take at a crossroad. Your intentions are your mode of travelling and determine whether you hop, skip, run climb, ride, drive, skate, or swim along the journey. And your actions are the path you choose”.

Franziska Iseli is not afraid to be quirky - even cheeky at times - as she guides you how to courageously deal with everything that life may throw at you: From navigating past “poop showers” to making brave decisions without becoming fearful about the outcome. Her fresh prose is not only a delight to listen, but it is full of both insight and inspiration.

This is not your normal personal development audiobook. This is real, raw, honest and practical story-telling from someone who is walking the talk.