Ah, yes. The infamous words from the game we all played growing up, “Hide and Seek”. When we heard those words shouted across the playing area, our stomachs dropped. Whether we truly were ready or not, they were coming. All we could do is breath through our mouth (because it’s quieter than breathing through our nose), don’t move and be a tree. Oh, the anxiety! Waiting to see if we’ve been found. THEN!!!! LIke that, BUSTED!!! We take off running like crazy towards the base! That place we know is safe. If we can only get there before getting tagged!! The “I” in this scenario is life. Are you ready? Are you a “down for whatever” kind of person? Do you like to be in the mix vs watching to see what happens? Those are the two kinds of people on this planet. Some people are just born that way and others, through life’s experiences move from one to the other. Most times, people move from being the watcher to being the doer. Let’s dive in a little deeper.
I’ve never really cared what people thought about me or my actions. That can be detrimental, but who cares. I like adventure and I like seeing what’s under the rock. So, I flip the rock. Yes, there could be a creepy crawler up under there but we’ll never know until we flip it. Looking back on life, I sit and chuckle now at the reality of this, I was always the guy who was jumping over fires, sticking my hand where it didn’t belong, eating something that shouldn’t be eaten, etc. Curiosity has always gotten the best of me, and the fact that I just couldn’t live without knowing the effect. I had to really see if the outlet would zap me. I actually remember sticking a knife into a socket when I lived on Wheatridge.
Living like this can be deadly. It can also be extremely rewarding. I’ve heard so many times from so many people, “We’re waiting to have kids until we’re more financially stable and get settled a bit more”. Yeah, whatever. Most of us over 40 have seen how that plays out. You’ll never be ready enough. Why, because we’re meant to never stop learning and growing. You will never hit a point when you’re 100% ready. If you have, you’ve gotten comfortable and taken the easy route. More than likely, you fear failure greatly. I look at challenges as an opportunity to win. Yeah, I may lose, but who cares. What if I win? I like biting off more than I can chew. Volunteering for things you have zero experience with is a great way to break the habit of being the observer in life. You just jump in. “Hey!!! I need 3 people who know how to drive this bulldozer! We need to level this field”. Uhhhhhh, YES PLEASE!!! I actually did this a couple years ago. I was up at the Engineer school at Ft. Leonard Wood and the 12N “Horizontal” Engineers asked if a couple guys wanted to come out and help smoothing out a training site. I asked, “What are you guys doing”? My buddy said they were gonna take a couple “Dozers” and “Scrapers” to the site to fill in all the holes and smooth it out. I had never driven a Scraper and told him I’d be there. Once there, I jumped in the driver’s seat, asked for a some basic operation tips and off I went. That was so much fun!!! And… I got to check the box on operating one of those giant scrapers.
Shooting things, building things, investing in things, whatever… I’m in. You can always count on me to be a “Yes” guy. When I fail, which I do often, I don’t let it bother me. I’m like, “Oh well. At least I tried it”. We never know until we try. Those people who are the doers vs the watchers are not afraid of failure. They look at trying something new as an opportunity to learn and win. Again, mindset is everything. Back in 2006, while contracting for the government, I told my employer that I wanted to move over to the “Mobile” side of the house. I had been working as a security guard at a U.S. location overseas. I wanted, more. So, I contacted my program contact, told them I wanted to try out for the “Mobile” gig. He told me I wouldn’t make it because I had no background in Special Operations. They were only hiring guys who had that experience. So, I told him I didn’t care. I still wanted to try. See the “Closed Door” there? I knocked again. After a couple months of bugging him about it, he “Opened the door” and allowed me to enter. I started the 3 week selection course with 13 guys. Some were Army Rangers, others were Marine Recon guys, a handful of Navy SEALS and a couple British fellas. One got injured on day 1. Down to 12. I looked at it as trying to beat all the others. Even though we could all get selected if we performed well and passed the rigorous shooting and tactical packages. At the end of the 3 weeks, 2 guys passed. I was one of them. Don’t just enter an open door. Walk through the unknown with confidence.
Bottom line? Life is much more enjoyable when you step out and reach for open doors. We walk past open doors every single day of our life. You can live in comfort and be an observer, playing it safe and making sure you’re financially stable for that first kid, or you can see the opportunities when offered and take chances. If you fail, cool. Learn from it and move on. If you succeed, cool. Learn from that, share your experiences and help others, then move on to bigger and better things.
Keep yer chins up and keep moving forward in life!!! Please, Like, Subscribe and Share!!! If you’d like to leave a comment, I love some feedback. Thanks for reading!!
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