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Secrets From a Navy SEAL on Courage During Crisis More than half of the Fortune 500 businesses started during a recession. This is your time to shine.

By Cheryl Snapp Conner

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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When it comes to leading with courage in the face of fear, there are few people with more experience than Navy SEALs. I recently had the chance to hear combat veteran and retired Navy SEAL officer Larry Yatch, co-founder of SEAL Team Leaders, present on leadership to a select group of entrepreneurs.

The secret to success in business, Yatch says, boils down to five components: stewardship, strategy, people, execution and planning. Most companies are only good at one or two of these things, and Yatch says he has yet to meet a business that is inherently great at all five.

Yatch is an expert on how to differentiate between necessary and unnecessary fear, and what to do about each. In times of uncertainty and rapid change, stalling out or freezing in inaction can often be more dangerous than the actual threats we're facing.