I used to think I wasn't good enough to lead my own life
Now I’m helping others to lead their own
At 18 my life set before me seemed linear.
Go to college, graduate college, get a job, retire, then die.
Okay, I wasn’t thinking that far out into the future, but the immediate future looked straight forward: graduate with an engineering degree so I could make a decent living.
It seemed safe. And safety was my only guide up until that point.
Some may believe a childhood full of success and accomplishment leads to a confident and ambitious adulthood. In my case, it had the opposite effect.
By playing it safe, I cultivated a fear of failure. A fear which held me back from leading the life I wanted.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I wasn’t allowed to fail growing up. I can still remember like it was yesterday butchering “Taps” on my trumpet during a Memorial Day Boy Scouts ceremony. Ironically, standing alone on top of a hill with nothing but my sputtering lips was one of the lowest points of my childhood.
But that’s all I can think of.
Everything came easy to me, especially school. If something seemed too hard to go after, I wouldn’t bother. I played it safe and chose something I’d be sure to succeed at. Safe was good. Or should I say, safe was good enough.
Things changed after I ventured out into the real world.
When I left for college safe no longer appealed to me, and yet, nothing appealed to me. I knew without first acclimating myself to failure, I’d never be able to take control of my life.
I wanted to prove to myself I could handle failure.
So failure I sought. But I never found it.
I tried filmmaking, but it lead to me starting a cooking blog, which lead to me starting a second blog, which lead to me writing a book, which lead to me starting a business, which lead to me…
…Finally realizing the only failure we have to fear is not trying in the first place.
Through my experiences I discovered going after the life you want only leads to more opportunities. Each venture morphs into the next. Each journey builds upon the previous.
This is such a simple concept to grasp, and yet, there still exists people who are afraid to go after their goals and dreams because of their fear of failure.
You have more control of your life than you think. You ARE good enough to take control.
No longer do I think I’m not good enough to lead my own life. Nowhere do the thoughts of I don’t deserve to be happy doing something I love exist inside me.
I am free to lead.
And so are you.
I’m helping more people lead the life they want by cultivating a community of ambitious, goal-driven individuals.
Through support, accountability, and encouragement, we are empowering more people to hit their goals and go after their dreams.
If you are interested in joining SHRPA, I am extending the deadline for registration to December 24th. There are currently 10 spots left to join. Registration won’t open back up again until April.
If you have a goal or a dream you’ve been putting off, don’t wait until New Years to add it to your resolutions. Join SHRPA and start climbing after your summit today.
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