The most dangerous risk of all–The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.
Today, I want to simply remind you that time is running out for you, my friend, and no matter how much you wish it would all slow down, so you can get your bearings and hang on the truth, time marches onward, whether you like it or not. The world is spinning, and if you’re like most people I talk with, you’re just hanging on for dear life…hoping to not get thrown off the gerbil wheel.
This time of year makes the concept of life moving on at a rapid rate a reality: When you attend your kid’s graduation, or watch your son or daughter get dressed for the prom or if you spent some time with your mother for Mothers Day, you saw it all too clearly—life is flying by, and there is nothing you can do about it because kids grow up and move on—graduate, get married and have kids of their own—and the seasons of life take our parents to their twilight years, all before our very eyes.
And with all that being seen and said, the truth of my statement today is what I want to spend some time discussing with you, because, “The most dangerous risk of all is the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”
The freedom to do it later is not a reality for most today; in fact, that is the cruel joke that life plays as you are sitting on the sidelines waiting to do what you are called to do—born to do, desire to do—with your life. While you are sitting there, life is passing you by, and I’ll add that it is moving faster than you can calculate for your future, so consider getting into the game before the ending buzzer sounds and the game is over.
It’s a harsh reality that, no matter how much money you have, my friend, you will never have enough to buy yourself the freedom to do it later, because you have no idea of what later means. And, goodness, who knows what the cost will be at that time if you do find a bit of freedom.
Let me remind you of the line, Better a bird in the hand than two in the bush. So, do what you can with what you have so you will, at the very least, have some success in your field of dreams.
So what will you do today to make sure that you spend your life doing what you want? Do you want to travel, build a lake house, take a cruise, get married, go scuba diving or take that dream vacation to Hawaii? You know, what I find so interesting is that many dreams are not out of reach financially (if you save some money), but they are out of reach mentally, because you keep telling yourself that you have time to do it later.
Friend, by your waiting, think about the tremendous risk you are taking on a bet I doubt you can back up, if you think you’ll have the freedom, the time, the energy or passion to do it later.
I often remind you that start is the most important word for many today…because if you don’t at least start the process, I can guarantee you’ll not get very far down the road.
I found this quote by Randy Komissar, The most dangerous risk of all–The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later, in his book, “The Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur.” This book describes how one Silicon Valley insider has blazed a path of professional and personal success playing the game by his own rules.
But it is an out loud reminder that not everyone who tries makes it, and the worst part is, many people never achieve what they set out to do.
Why? Because for many, life is about waiting. Think about that. When you were younger, you had to wait on your mom or dad to help you; then you got a bit older but were still waiting to be old enough to drive the car, get a job, graduate from school; and then one day you were old enough, but you still had to wait for others to help you with your job or career or future. So you’re pretty comfortable waiting in this life, but then the waiting becomes a habit that you’ve grown into, and then one day you look back and realize you’re much older now—sometimes wiser, sometimes more wealthy—and some of you are just a step ahead of where you were last year, not making much progress towards the future you once held so bright. So, now, what are you going to do? Don’t risk your hopes and dreams and future by not making plans and taking action on the things you want to do in your amazing life.
I love this time of year, seeing all the graduation photos posted, and it takes me back to when I was younger and had such a rosy view on life and where I’d end up by the direction I was planning to go…but as I look back, my path did not go where I thought it would. If you’d known me back in the day, I was headed to Washington, DC, to work in politics, but it didn’t work out that way, and my life—thankfully—took a turn for me to do what I really wanted to do.
So what is it that you want to do? Within the guidelines of an honorable living, what is it that you’re waiting for? Now only you can answer that question, and today I would ask that you consider giving it some thought because time is not going to slow down for you and I don’t want you to risk spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.
When I push you to make movement in your life, please hear me, I don’t mean to do it with the idea of fear. I don’t believe in stirring up fearful thoughts to get you to take action in your life for a number of reasons (one being that it is not my place to cause you fear), but, as your friend, I think it my place to have you look down the road 10, 20 or even 30 years from now, and imagine how you will feel when you do look back and see that you didn’t take the plunge to accomplish the few big dreams you had, because you thought you’d have more time.
Here is the good news. You’re in control, and you can avoid the most dangerous risk of all by living your life to the fullest, biggest, brightest adventure you desire, because you can spend your life doing what you want…and you can bet that when you do, you’ll discover the joy of living.
