Courage Boys features stories to inspire and leave you feeling hopeful. Making a difference is not only possible, but something we’re all capable of accomplishing. These are the stories of ordinary people making the decision to be extraordinary with bravery, resilience and principle. This is Courage Boys.
Columbus' Secret
Not everybody in Europe liked Christopher Columbus. The year before his voyage across the Atlantic, he was nothing more than a poor geographer with a hunch --- and a strange confidence inspired by God. Upon his return, he was a hero.
Following his epic voyage, Columbus went directly to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who waited for him on their throne, outdoors under a golden canopy. Less than a year after setting sail as a nobody, the king and queen of Spain rose from their thrones to greet him. Motioning for Christopher to join them on their platform, on their level, he humbly obliged. The king and queen of Spain then knelt before him in unprecedented fashion. Columbus had become the most celebrated man in the world.
Sadly, great success often comes with a few enemies. When the king and queen honored Christopher at a feast, nobility and great men and women came together around one table. One guest, a man jealous of Columbus, asked him sneeringly, "Do you really believe that if you were not born, nobody would have discovered the Indies?"
Christopher Columbus was humble, and he was not afraid to let this man think what he would. Indeed, there were many great and brilliant men in Spain that could have made this voyage. At the same time, Christopher knew it was his calling, and he took pride in that.
So he said nothing, but took a fresh egg from a basket and handed it to the man. "Sir, would you please stand this on its end?" Columbus inquired.
The man tried for several minutes. Most at the table tried for a while then set the egg down without success.
Christopher Columbus lifted the egg again from the basket, tapped it gently on the table, barely denting the blunt end. He tipped it on that end and took his hand away. The egg stood on the table, to which the men replied, "I could have done that."
"Yes," Christopher Columbus replied. "You could have, but only after you had been shown."
He looked at the men and the women at the table again and said, "It was the Lord who put this journey into my mind."
And so it was. Christopher never spoke too highly of himself, nor did he speak too lowly. He was simply honest and inspiring.