Seize Your Fear

"A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths." ~Stephen Wright

Each of us are different in what concerns or bothers us. There are those that share some of those concerns and others that tend to be out on the edge. But any of those things we are afraid of can be overcome. Even being afraid of widths!

Some overcome these obstacles quickly and others take years to overtake them. Myself, I have signed up for swimming lessons. Yes, at this age I am working to overcome my fear of water. To be more precise, my fear of drowning.

I have reached the point where I have decided that this fear will not be my undoing. You can reach the same point for your fear. All it takes is deciding within yourself to not let the fear rule your day.

My own fear has deprived me of experiences with my sons while they were growing up. My fear has deprived me of adventure with friends. My fear has had it's day and now it's over. I am reclaiming my life from that fear.

You do not deserve to let fear rule your life. Overcome your fear and let your life blossom into it's greatest potential. Carpe diem or better yet, carpe vereor, "seize the fear."

Kennedy Center Honors Johnny Carson

Well, born and raised in Nebraska like Mr. Carson...you just can't take the Nebraskan out of me. Go Big Red!



Enjoy the weekend everyone.

Accidental Chocolate Bar

Percy Spencer

"Accidents, try to change them - it's impossible. The accidental reveals man." ~J. B. Priestley

There was a man many years ago that worked for Raytheon as an engineer. The year was 1945 and this former WWI Navy veteran by the name of Percy Spencer was already known for his knowledge of electronics.

One day Percy was 'playing' with a microwave-emitting magnetron which was a device used in radars. All of a sudden he started feeling something odd in his pants pockets. It was a sizzling sensation which turned out to be chocolate bar that was starting to melt.

Through his reasoning, Percy supposed that is was microwave radiation of the magnetron to blame. This led Percy down the path of discovery which eventually ended up with the invention of the microwave oven. That very same appliance all of us take for granted and probably couldn't imagine a world without. All because of an accidental encounter with a melted chocolate bar.

So many times each of us have an accidental encounter with opportunity. It might be an accidental encounter with another person that turns out to be the connection to a new job. Or maybe attending a gathering of people and accidentally encountering your future wife or husband. A hundred other accidental encounters in life that present opportunity for something great to happen in your life.

But two things have to happen when it comes to accidental encounters. Two things that are necessary for accidents to turn into opportunity.

The first is that you have to participate in life. In order for accidents to happen, you have to be out amongst others, among other things happening, and risking yourself to the fact that these accidents will happen. Sitting alone in your home, not attending that gathering, not taking a rafting trip; each of these may protect you from accidents. But each of them will keep you from experiencing life's opportunities.

And secondly, when the accident happens you need to acknowledge it and do something with it. There is an old saying that "when opportunity knocks, you have to get up and answer the door." When an accident occurs, there is an opportunity to change your life. You have to recognize it and answer the call. You have to open that door and take hold of it.

In the end, accidental events are really just opportunity for greatness to occur in your life. It may not seem like it at the time. Percy could have fussed and complained about ruining a pair of pants, failing to recognize the true significance. When accidents happen, look upon the event as an opportunity to turn it into something great. Take your life to a higher level accidentally and then realize it was not an accident at all. Rather it was an opportunity answered.

Whitewater Fear

"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

There are some of you that may be aware of my lacking skill in the area of swimming. For the greatest share of my life, I have feared drowning. In a previous post called "Help, I'm Drowning", I spoke a little bit about why I've had this fear. Many may call it silly, but one person's road bump is another person's mountain.

So I have begun a process to confront and get over this fear of the water. A previous kayak trip was a start and then this past weekend, my wife Laura convinced me to go with her and others to raft upon the Ocoee River in the lower, eastern corner of Tennessee. I will be quite honest to tell you that the fear began building inside while signing in at the outfitters location.

We chose to use one of the best outfitters in the area called Ocoee Outdoors. Our adventure was going to take place on the middle Ocoee River in class III and IV rapids. Oh joy I thought to myself, at least I'll die around family this fine day.

As we road the bus to the top of the course and I could see the rapids off the right side of the road, it just got more intense for me. This process of taking a raft down the Ocoee isn't a sign a form and jump in the river type of process. You go through a short safety lesson at the base camp, you get a semi-long bus ride about 13 miles up the river to the start. There is another lesson with the boat, oars and signals by your assigned guide. So there is plenty of time to think about what you have just gotten yourself into.

I was trying to think of every excuse in the book on the bus ride to the top. Could I get sick, could I trip and fall getting out of the bus; what would be my escape plan this time? So many times before, I was able to find a way out of having to deal with the fear. This time it just wasn't going to happen.

I won't bore you with the details of my trip down the river. The description of the rapids and ride are available at American Whitewater. But to say the least, the first rapid was a III+ called Grumpy which forces you right into the thick of things. From there on down, just over 20 more rapids to go.

And as you can see, I'm writing today so I survived my fear. I survived the trip down the Ocoee River. Have I overcome my fear? Not yet, but I'm working on it. Next step is to start those swimming lessons again that I quit taking nearly forty years ago.

Overcoming your fear of anything in life requires confronting it first. Admitting that it exists and understanding the impact it has on your life. It certainly has affected my life and those around me for many years. But now I can change my life, my attitude towards the fear, and so can you.

I'll let you know how the swimming lessons go once I start. Keep me honest folks if you don't hear that I'm taking them. And then send me a note about how you overcame your own fears. I'd like to put together a book about how we each have done so. Together we might just be able to help a few others overcome their own fears.

NOTE: Yes, that really is me in the picture (back left), my wife Laura (back right) encouraging the whole way. Up front taking all the water are my wifes good friends Sarah on the left and Rachel on the right. Our guide Valerie was fantastic; making sure we hit every rapid (thank you very much) and giving us a great tour of the five mile stretch.