Damned if you do or Damned if you don’t…

Damned if you do or Damned if you don’t…  Many times in life people aren’t willing to take risks. They see taking risks as an avenue to more problems or more stress. Which could technically be true? But if you want to grow your kingdom, build wealth and more importantly grow you, then you will need to take risks. Risks do lead to new problems. That is a fact. New problems although lead to new uncharted waters and uncharted territory. Territory and waters that you haven’t seen before. So before you judge the problems that will arise, take a step back and think; do I want to venture into the unknown. Do I want to see what else is out there in life? Else being whatever you want it to be. Now I am not saying take a crazy risk on your dreams that may or might work out, or am I, ;). In life you can be damned if you don’t or damned if you do. Which would you want? In this fable you are going to be “damned” either way. No matter what you chose. Why not chose forward movement and progress. Why not chose problems that will lead to greener pastures and higher mountains? 

The problems that you will face if you don’t take a chance and move forward are things like regret, further self-doubt, complacency and the worst being average. This list reads like a medical side effects list. None of those side effects are worth taking the “drug” that leads to not taking a chance on yourself. You have an endless amount of energy in life. Everyday that you are alive, you get 24 hours to move yourself forward or stay still and wait for the luck fairy to show up. I will tell you this that waiting for the luck fairy will leave you sad and depressed because she isn’t coming. Hey I am still waiting for a call from Hollywood, but until then I know that I need to take chances on ME. No-one else is going to do it for you, that is the sad truth. 

You have two choices in life. I mentioned earlier with the fable, but I am going to expand on that. I really view it as two paths in life. One path that leads to average [ewww there is that word again], mediocre [eewww] and regret [super ewww]. If this is the path you chose you will live in a constant round-about of ideas. You will have an idea, like opening your own restaurant or traveling the world, then you will talk yourself out of the action that is required to make these happen. I always mention these. These distractions come in the forms of work life balance, Netflix marathons, happy hour, hobbies that don’t lead to your dreams or goals and many others. Then once you have your idea and talk yourself out of it you feel regret later in life or you feel jealousy when you see others doing what you wanted to do. They weren’t born with the magic restaurant owning abilities and blessed by the god of prosperity. They took a chance on themselves, spent countless of hours learning how to cook and took action/walked down the path that lead to more problems. 

The path that leads to more problems is the path, that I love to travel. If excites me, it invigorates me, it challenges me and therefore grows me. I don’t worry about what is going to happen if I travel to unknown and face new problems. Hey, Jack, you want to problems, remember? Calm seas never made a good sailor, metal is forged under heat and pressure, diamonds are created from intense heat and pressure, etc. Would you agree? See you don’t to worry about the new problems, those will come, I promise you that. But what you have to worry about is taking that first step into the unknown. The first step into anything is weird, uncomfortable and scary at first next thing you know you aren’t scared anymore. It is like getting into a pool. Your friends always say its warm once you get in for a few minutes. Who hasn’t been tricked with that line, Sean Fry, I am looking at you buddy. But it really is true. At first you are freezing and after 5 minutes you are good to go. 

Don’t be scared of the unknown. Be damned if you do. Go on the path that leads to new and bigger problems. That is how you get hardened and grow. Snakes do this all of the time. They shed their skin to grow, but when they do they are a little bit vulnerable. Vulnerable to attack, life and everything. Look you can either go after dreams by taking a chance on yourself or go to the end and wonder what could have been. The choice like always is yours.