Why Every Transformation Needs a Little Courage to Take Flight

Transformation doesn’t begin when we feel perfectly ready. It starts when we take one small, trembling step into the unknown—when we choose to believe, even for a moment, that we can fly.

Recently, I sat down again with Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring as part of our chapter-by-chapter conversation through their book, Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane. In chapter 4, Fly, our hero, OC the Origami Crane, finally takes flight. But as the Schubrings reminded me, flying isn’t just about soaring through open skies. It’s about courage, trust, and community. It’s about every invisible act of preparation that comes before lift-off.

The Courage Hidden in Preparation

We love to celebrate the moment of takeoff—the promotion, the launch, the applause. But the Schubrings remind us that real courage often happens earlier, in the pre-flight checklist that no one sees. That’s the stage when we’re still being folded and refolded by experience, still learning how to work with the tension between fear and possibility.

“Flight is what happens after we’ve tried a bunch of times. Each attempt builds reassurance, emotional awareness, and focus. Flying is never sudden—it’s the result of repetition meeting readiness.” ~ Brian Schubring

In Unfolded, OC learns to fly only after failing, falling, and trusting again. The story mirrors our own leadership journeys: transformation often feels like an undoing before it feels like momentum.

Letting Others Fold You Back Into Shape

When OC’s friends unfold her completely—flattening her into a square—she panics. “Squares don’t fly,” one character says. And yet, that unmaking is exactly what allows her to become something new.

The Schubrings see this as a metaphor for community. None of us transforms alone. We need people who remind us who we are, people who see potential we can’t yet feel, people who challenge us when we’d rather retreat.

Some of those friends will cheer us on; others will push and prod in uncomfortable ways. Both are necessary.

“Welcome help without judging the shape it takes,” Dr. Linda Schubring said. “Encouragers, planners, even critics can still play a role in helping us fly.”

True transformation requires the humility to be unfolded, to trust that those helping hands are not tearing us apart, but preparing us for flight.

Trusting People, Process, and Place

The Schubrings describe three kinds of trust essential to any transformation: people, process, and place.

We trust the people who stand beside us, the process that shapes us, and the place—the season or moment—where all of it comes together. Courage, then, is less about fearlessness and more about faith: that what’s happening in and around us is forming something capable of lifting.

When you’re standing at the edge of a platform, staring into uncertainty, that kind of trust is everything. Transformation isn’t about knowing exactly how you’ll land; it’s about believing you’re meant to jump.

Finding the Eagles in Your Sky

In Unfolded, the moment OC finally flies, she meets Eagle—a character already flying who helps her adjust to the altitude. The Schubrings call these people, our Eagles, the mentors who tell us, “You were meant to be here.”

“Eagles recognize the accomplishment of where you are—and remind us the imperfections are still there too,” Brian Schubring said.

The idea stopped me. So often we chase the feeling of having “arrived,” forgetting that even at our highest point, the creases and folds remain. The imperfections don’t disqualify us—they prove the story of our becoming.

And just as we need Eagles, we are invited to become them for others. For someone else still gathering courage to step off the ledge, our story might be the wind beneath theirs.

Flying in a World That Still Scares Us

As our conversation wound down, Linda said something that’s been echoing in my head ever since:

“What small step of belief or courage can I take toward that dream—even if it scares me?”

That might be the essence of transformation. Flying isn’t the absence of fear—it’s movement through it. It’s the willingness to step into a new season knowing the ground will not feel the same.

Every transformation—personal, professional, or collective—requires a little courage to take flight. The question isn’t whether we’re ready. It’s whether we’re willing.

So today, ask yourself: What does flying mean to me right now?

And what would happen if I believed—just for one brave moment—that I was built to fly?