For Writers:
My friend Patrick called me up and asked me to jump out of an airplane with him. He and two other friends had decided it would be fun to hurdle toward the ground at great speed, and they wanted to include me in the fun. I asked him where they planned to go to do the jumping, and he named a local parachute club.
Although his offer was tempting, I begged poverty as an excuse. I simply didn’t have the extra money to join them, I said. While it was true that I didn’t have the money, any fear I might have of jumping out of an airplane I kept to myself.
None of them plummeted to their deaths that day, and all of them came back telling heroic stories of daring. Once they had returned safely, I felt bad not going. The experience had bonded them in such a way that I would forever be excluded from the “Three Flying Musketeers.” I promised to jump with them the next time they went, but they never jumped again. My opportunity to become the fourth Musketeer never came.
Today, make a list of all the things you’ll never do in your life, making your list as ordinary or as crazy as you’d like. After spending a few minutes making your list, go back through and explore at least 5 of the items in some detail. What are your reasons for not doing these things?
“While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity.”
Publilius Syrus
My friend Patrick called me up and asked me to jump out of an airplane with him. He and two other friends had decided it would be fun to hurdle toward the ground at great speed, and they wanted to include me in the fun. I asked him where they planned to go to do the jumping, and he named a local parachute club.
Although his offer was tempting, I begged poverty as an excuse. I simply didn’t have the extra money to join them, I said. While it was true that I didn’t have the money, any fear I might have of jumping out of an airplane I kept to myself.
None of them plummeted to their deaths that day, and all of them came back telling heroic stories of daring. Once they had returned safely, I felt bad not going. The experience had bonded them in such a way that I would forever be excluded from the “Three Flying Musketeers.” I promised to jump with them the next time they went, but they never jumped again. My opportunity to become the fourth Musketeer never came.
Today, make a list of all the things you’ll never do in your life, making your list as ordinary or as crazy as you’d like. After spending a few minutes making your list, go back through and explore at least 5 of the items in some detail. What are your reasons for not doing these things?
“While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity.”
Publilius Syrus
Comments
Post a Comment