title: The Fortitude Factor: Stop Dreaming & Start Succeeding
author:  Nicole Balaam 
description: Mrs. Balaam is an Award-winning entrepreneur and author. As the author of The Fortitude Factor: Stop Dreaming and Start Succeeding , Nicole emits that if you want to put your dreams into action and discover that the impossible is possible, then this book is your blueprint for success. Nicole is the Founder and creator of B-Risqu Fitness. Nicole s dreams of being an entrepreneur began at a young age in Baltimore, MD. She always knew that she would one day run her own company. Nicole has been the first of many things including being the first person in her family to graduate from a University. She went on to receive her Masters degree and matriculated in a doctoral program. After achieving many of her academic goals, Nicole knew it was time to go after her real passion, entrepreneurship. Nicole worked as an Engineer and Project Manager for many years before deciding to branch out on her own. After researching a fitness business opportunity, she discovered that no one had tapped into the group fitness market as B-Risqu Fitness would. Nicole knew that B-Risqu Fitness would set a precedent in the Charlotte area and that is exactly what happened. The company received great success and expanded very quickly.
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  ![](../images/00001.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Dedication](part0002.html#ded)
  
  
  
  
  
  For ELLEN,  
  
  
  who has been there for everything,  
  
  
  including the books.
  
  
  
  
  
  —SJD
  
  
  
  
  
  For my sister LINDA LEVITT JINES,  
  
  
  whose creative genius amazed,  
  
  
  amused, and inspired me.
  
  
  
  
  
  —SDL
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  [Dedication](part0001.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  [1\. What Does It Mean to Think Like a Freak?](part0003.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  An endless supply of fascinating questions . . . The pros and cons of breast-
  feeding, fracking, and virtual currencies . . . There is no magic Freakonomics
  tool . . . Easy problems evaporate; it is the hard ones that linger . . . How
  to win the World Cup . . . Private benefits vs. the greater good . . .
  Thinking with a different set of muscles . . . Are married people happy or do
  happy people marry? . . . Get famous by thinking just once or twice a week . .
  . Our disastrous meeting with the future prime minister.
  
  
  
  
  
  [2\. The Three Hardest Words in the English Language](part0004.html