What constitutes a life well-lived? That is a vital question to consider if you are to create a life that is meaningful and fulfilling, be it joy, love, fame, fortune, achievement or inner peace.

In this series, we have seen various ways that courage can determine our success our failure to live and lead wholeheartedly. Yet, the process might not get very far without the seventh act of courage: to act in a meaningful way. Thought without action is like a car without a transmission – lovely to look at, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

A shining example stands out for me, for late in my father’s life he had created a company that was clicking on all cylinders and, on paper at least, was bringing in enough money to make him financially independent within a matter of a few years.

As I relate in my book, "The seven Acts of Courage", he lost it all because of the actions of his CEO. Dad went at home and went to bed for several days. He had received no income for more than six months and had nearly million dollars in commissions and revenue that had suddenly evaporated. Yet, on the third day of the event, he got up and went to work creating a new company and structure, but one that wasn’t reliant on someone else or their money.

My father was a career military man who served his country for more than a quarter of a century, fighting in both World War II and Korea. He was biased toward action but action informed by insight, passion and intelligence. His life-long preparation served him not only in the military and on the battlefield but also in his career after "retiring" from the Army.

The courage to take action is where all of the prior six acts of courage converge and come to life. Yet, action has no real precision or lasting power without the guidance, insight and skills provided by the other six acts of courage: the courage to dream, to see current reality, to confront, to be confronted, to learn and grow, to be vulnerable.

The courage to act is where the rubber meets the road, providing traction for your insights, competence, dreams and aspirations.

I still remember, more than 10 years ago, both the fear and the excitement I felt when I was thinking about creating my company. It took long thought and clear planning, but when it came time to actually take the leap into the unknown from the safety of the known, I hesitated.

Then I remembered the life-long example of my father and realized he had always made the leap. (No pun intended, but my dad did a lot of literal as well as metaphorical leaping since he was a paratrooper all of his military career.) As the character Yoda says in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, "There is only do or not do. No try."

The courage to act is where you fully commit to what you wish to create, to what you wish to claim as part of your life. This courage can be found in all real leaders, from the "March on Washington" with its searingly powerful and heartfelt speech, "I have a dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King, to Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural speech in South Africa, to the parent taking on a new job to help support the family.

Why does it take courage to act meaningfully? To contemplate doing something is one thing, to actually commit and actually do it is totally different. One is a pipe dream or mere speculation, the other is making it real – to fully embrace what it takes to live the dream.

What infuses life into a plan is to take the risk of putting yourself on the line. When you act, you open yourself to public scrutiny to the possibility of failure. A man I know has written the "great American novel", yet it sits on his shelf because to act and work on publication is to risk rejection, failure and disappointment. He lacks the courage to act. To act is to risk.

The barriers to action are many: inertia, fear, self-doubt, cynicism and lack-of-commitment.

Inertia is the simple challenge of generating the energy to break with the present momentum of your career and life, to break with the status quo. It takes effort and emotional energy to break out of the orbit of your life and create a new trajectory, direction and momentum.

Fear is two-edged: the fear of success as well as the fear of failure. To succeed brings expanded responsibilities and greater life challenges, and many of us are afraid to take on any more responsibilities or have trouble feeling we deserve success. If not the fear of success, then the fear of failure, of falling short, found lacking and not up to snuff is very daunting to many others of us.

This is always fueled and fed by a lack of confidence, by self-doubt. Others of us are cynical and have taken refuge in being a critic of change efforts or of the idea of human transformation, so we "argue" for our limitations. We are safe as long as we don’t "commit" to a dream, a mission, a plan, a team, a relationship. However, please keep in mind what a wise man once pointed out: "If you argue for your limitations, then you get to keep them."

It takes courage to face these fears, challenge self-doubts, let go of our cynicism, to commit ourselves and break the hold of inertia on our lives, careers and relationships. The key steps to take are to refocus on your vision or dream and choose it daily by reminding yourself what you really want and who you wish to become.

Tell yourself the truth about your current reality and what you want and then each day take some action that moves you a little closer to living and being the way you choose. Take the time to be vulnerable, ask for help, listen and let those around you know that you both need and appreciate them.

Remember to bite-size it, take little steps, small daily acts of courage rather than trying to do one grand heroic gesture. The small daily acts will stick and develop your courage quotient, but the one large heroic gesture won’t last, and it could backfire. Remember to create perspective, to take the longer view and think about the sum of your life, not just this one moment, incident or temptation.

Above all, stay aware, notice the cost to your soul when you are not acting with courage or taking steps toward your desired end states. Remember the phrase carpe diem – "seize the day". It is a motto for both leading and living fully and whole-heartedly. Your one precious and rare life is before you. Are you ready to take the next step to seize this day?