Courage, Guarantees & Elbows to the Front: Moving Without Knowing the Outcome

If you’re honest, there’s probably at least one thing in your business you haven’t done yet because of this thought:

How can I guarantee something will work before I put in all the effort?

It might sound more like:

• What if no one buys?
• What if I look foolish?
• What if I waste time and money?
• What if this is the wrong move?

Underneath that is a very human question:

Can someone promise me this won’t hurt?

In a Buckets and Boom Gates episode, Jill and Kim unpack what real courage looks like in business, why guarantees are an illusion, and how to tell the difference between healthy visibility and the kind of ego‑driven “elbows to the front” behavior that breaks trust.

This post pulls out the key ideas and offers a simple path forward if you’re afraid to move—but also tired of staying stuck.
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What Courage Really Is (And Isn’t)

We often imagine courage as a feeling:

• Fearless
• Certain
• Loud
• Untouchable

But in practice, especially in business, courage doesn’t usually feel like that.

Here’s the definition the episode uses:

Courage is the choice to move forward despite fear, doubt, or uncertainty. It’s not the absence of fear, but the decision to act in alignment with your values, goals, or convictions even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed and discomfort is real.

Courage is a choice, not a personality trait.

It might look like:

• Sending the email to invite people into your offer even though your heart is racing
• Going live for the first time even though your voice shakes
• Raising your prices even though you’re scared people will say no
• Ending a misaligned offer or relationship even though you’re afraid of what comes next

Being afraid to build a business but doing it anyway is exactly what courage looks like.

Waiting to feel “ready” forever is what keeps many good ideas sitting in notebooks instead of in the world.
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The Seduction of Guarantees

Let’s put the hidden question on the table:

How can I guarantee something will work before I put in all the effort?

In other words:

• "How do I know this offer will sell?”
• “How do I know this niche is the right one?”
• “How do I know this investment will pay off?”
• “How do I know I won’t regret this?”

We want certainty before we take the risk.

But business doesn’t work that way.

There are too many variables:

• Your season of life
• Your audience
• The market
• Timing
• Your energy
• Global events you can’t control

Anyone who offers you a guaranteed outcome is either simplifying or selling.

You can gather data, make informed decisions, and design experiments. You *can* dramatically increase the odds that something will work.

But you cannot remove all risk.

Waiting for that mythical guarantee keeps you frozen, even when everything in you is saying, “This matters. I want to do this.”
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If There’s No Guarantee, What Can You Have?

If we accept that no one can promise us a perfect outcome, what can we hold onto instead?

You can have:

• Clarity: on your why, your values, your goals
• Support: mentors, peers, community
• A Plan: even a small one, for your next steps
• Experiment Mindset: “I’m testing this, not marrying it forever”
• Resilience: a decision about how you’ll treat yourself if it doesn’t go as planned

More honest questions sound like:

• What’s the smallest version of this I’m willing to try?
• What would I need in place to feel supported while I test this?
• If it doesn’t work the way I hope, what can I learn—and how will I recover?

Those questions move you forward. “Guarantee this will work” keeps you circling the starting line.
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Enter the “Stage Busters With Elbows to the Front”

When we talk about courage and visibility, it’s easy to swing to the other extreme and think:

“Okay, so to be brave, I have to be the loudest, boldest one in the room at all times.”

Jill and Kim use a phrase for that energy:

Stage busters with elbows to the front are people who aggressively push themselves into the spotlight, crowding others out so they can be seen, heard, and praised first. Instead of sharing space, collaborating, or elevating the group, they lead with ego and urgency, using their “elbows” to claim attention and control, often at the expense of trust, safety, and genuine connection.

You’ve probably seen this:

• Someone hijacks a group Q&A to talk only about themselves
• A “leader” jumps in front of others’ moments so they can be the focus
• A coach or speaker constantly one‑ups stories to keep the spotlight on their genius

At first, stage busters can look “courageous”:

• They’re visible
• They’re loud
• They seem fearless

But that’s not courage. That’s ego.

Courage is:

• Rooted in values
• Willing to share space
• Interested in serving the room, not stealing the show

You don’t have to become a stage buster to be seen.

You also don’t have to disappear because you’re afraid of being perceived as one.
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Courage vs. Elbows: What’s the Difference?

Here’s a simple way to differentiate:

Courageous Visibility

• “I’m willing to go first if it helps others.”
• “I’ll share this story because it might serve someone, even if it’s vulnerable.”
• “I’ll make this offer clearly because I believe in the value.”

The focus: service, alignment, and contribution.

Elbows‑First Showboating

• “I have to be first to speak or I’ll be forgotten.”
• “Every conversation needs to circle back to my achievements.”
• “If I don’t dominate this space, I’m losing.”

The focus: control, ego, and optics.

You can check your heart by asking:

• Am I sharing this to serve or to be seen?
• Would I still feel okay if I shared this and got no applause?
• Am I making space for other voices too?

If you realize you’re elbowing a bit more than you want, that’s not cause for shame—it’s a chance to recalibrate.
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Practicing Courage Without a Guarantee

So how do you start moving bravely without trying to bulldoze your way to safety?

Here are two practical steps drawn from the episode.

1. Name One Scary, Aligned Action

Ask yourself:

“What is one thing I’m afraid to do in my business right now that is *still* aligned with my values and goals?”

Examples:

• Reaching out to a dream client
• Pitching yourself as a podcast guest
• Announcing your offer clearly instead of hinting
• Ending an offer that drains you

Write it down.

Then ask:

“What is the smallest version of this I can commit to in the next 7 days?”

Smaller versions might be:

• DMing one person instead of twenty
• Sending one pitch email with a simple template
• Posting once clearly about your offer
• Announcing that an offer is ending at a clear date

You’re not promising to suddenly become fearless. You’re committing to one act of aligned courage.

2. Decide How You’ll Treat Yourself Either Way

The outcome is uncertain. That’s the point.

So decide now:

• If this goes well, how will I celebrate without making it my entire identity?
• If this flops, how will I speak to myself? Who will I reach out to for perspective?

You might write a simple statement like:

“If this doesn’t work the way I hoped, it does not mean I’m a failure. It means I tried something aligned with my values. I will debrief, learn, and adjust.”

This is you building resilience before you need it.
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One More Reframe: You Don’t Need A Guarantee, You Need A Track Record

There is something better than a guarantee: your own history of showing up, learning, and adjusting.

Over time, if you practice small, brave actions, you’ll have real data:

• Times you launched and it worked
• Times it didn’t and you survived
• Skills that improved with practice
• Relationships and opportunities that came from taking chances

That track record won’t remove fear from future decisions, but it will give you something solid to stand on:

“I don’t know exactly how this will go. But I know I can handle trying, and I know I can handle learning from it.”

That’s courage.

Not the absence of fear.
Not the loudest voice in the room.
Not the person with the sharpest elbows.

Just you, taking the next honest step in alignment with what you believe, without a guarantee—and without shoving anyone else out of the way.
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If you’ve been waiting for certainty before you move, consider this your nudge:

You might not get a guarantee.
But you can still go.
And the world you’re called to serve needs *that* version of you—the courageous one, not the certain one.

If you missed the conversation between Kim and Jill on their podcast Buckets and Boom Gates, you can listen to Episode #137 here

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Blog #198