Do Something!
I once heard Andy Andrews ask the question if 5 birds are sitting on a pier and 4 decide to fly away, how many are left? The answer is 5 because just because the 4 decided to do something doesn’t mean they actually did it!
What stops us from action? I think the most common reason is that four-letter word that is so paralyzing.
F-E-A-R
Most of us are more afraid then we would like to admit. There are many reasons we fear things but I’ll tackle a pretty common one. We are afraid to fail.
I love Google. One of the reasons Google is a great company they are not afraid to do something different. Plenty has been written about Google’s decision to take on Facebook with the launch of Google Plus. What I love about Google is they didn’t fear the failures of Google Wave or Buzz but instead continue learn, adapt and most importantly, do something.
Why do we let fear of failure stop us from acting?
Consider these great “failures” whose continued action have changed the world we live in:
- Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are both college dropouts.
- Famous retailers Frank Woolworth and Sam Walton were labeled failures early in their retail career.
- Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
- Sixteen agents and twelve publishing houses rejected John Grisham’s first novel.
What is your reaction when you see the quote “ What would you do if you knew you would not fail?”
The problem with that is we do fail. When we realize that failure can actually be a launching pad for even great success we will conquer our fears and accomplish even greater things.
What are you afraid of failing at? Give it a try, you might fail, but so what? Use that failure as your launching pad for something better.
Go ahead, don’t be afraid, Do something!
