My family laughs at me every time the movie Transformers is on TV. Almost without fail, I jump into the story at the exact same moment…the point of inspiring motivation and life-changing wisdom. Do you see now why they laugh at me? I may be the only person in history who has ever described Transformers as life-changing, but it is.
There is a scene early on when the first Transformer reveals himself as Bumblebee, an alien robot. (And with that, the rest of you start laughing at me as well. A movie about alien robots shares life-changing wisdom?) But when Bumblebee invites the young heroes into his car, leading to unknown adventure and considerable risk, one of the main character hesitates. The other one utters the words that I’ve been saying to myself ever since…
“50 years from now when you’re looking back on your life, don’t you want to say you had the guts to get into the car?”
Life is full of choices, chances to try something new. These opportunities can also be filled with risk. It is not easy to take a leap and jump into something unknown. It is not easy to take a chance and know that you could fail, but nothing amazing was ever achieved without risk.
From our earliest years, we have to make choices about what adventures we will tackle and which ones we will let go. Auditioning for the school play is a risk. Trying out for the football team is a risk. Taking an Advanced Placement course is a risk. But those risks are necessary to create the best possible life.
Say yes!
I am a terrible bowler, but I always have a good time when I play. I am not a runner, but I’ve finished three half-marathons. Stand directly under the frozen, powerful waterfall at Smith Falls on the Niobrara? Every time!
When people are asked about their greatest regret, they almost always list the things they didn’t do. At the end of our lives, it is not what we tried and failed to do that haunts us, it is the times we failed to try.
Embracing this attitude is essential not just for the day-to-day things, but it is key to living the best possible version of your life. Taking risks is necessary in order to find success. Go back and get the degree. Apply for the job that seems beyond your reach. Volunteer to be the one who fills in at a meeting or on a committee.
Every day there is a chance to say yes. “Want to go to lunch?” “I have an extra ticket to the game, want to come?” “We need someone to lead this project, are you interested?” A good meal, a new relationship, a powerful experience might be the result.
Something we learn as we get older is that things will not always work out when we say yes. There is a winner and a loser in all epic battles. We only have one President. We only have one state champion. We only have one gold medalist. But without the risk of failing, we cannot succeed.
“50 years from now when you’re looking back on your life, don’t you want to say you had the guts to get into the car?”
Be That Person 