I admire people who live their lives by the “Just Do It” Nike
credo. And, apparently, Mr. Ferriss counts himself among that elite few,
happily exhorting the rest of us to embrace this motto. We all know people like
this: the ones who successfully, and
seemingly with little effort, make a
major change in their lives, like quitting smoking,
losing weight, or even walking away from their “Sure Thing” job in order to seek
their passion in life. These people are the high-wire acts in the circus of
life, the ones who courageously go out on a limb and then willingly saw
themselves off.
I have a different philosophy, which I think of as the
anti-Nike approach to life: “Just Don’t Do It.” Born out of fear, a mean lazy
streak, and the immortal words of Louisa May Alcott who said, “Let us be
elegant or die,” I have no problem with not doing something—especially if there
is a chance that I do it wrong or, heaven forbid, risk looking stupid.
Or, maybe it’s just that I’m more of a Canon “Image Is
Everything” kinda gal.
One of Canon’s most successful ad campaigns, the “Image Is
Everything” commercial featuring Andre Agassi, was all about style over
substance. “Overnight,” Agassi wrote in his autobiography, Open, “the slogan
became synonymous with me. Sportswriters likened this slogan to my inner nature,
my essential being. They said it’s my philosophy, my religion, and they predicted
it would be my epitaph.”
And could you blame them?
In the early years of his male-pattern baldness, a rabidly
narcissistic Agassi took to wearing a flamboyantly high-maintenance weave. As
if it wasn't enough that the hair that made him famous was fake, Agassi admits
that it was a crappy fake, too: At the 1990 French Open, Agassi's conditioner
caused his weave to fall apart, forcing his brother to bobby pin it to his head
and the horrified tennis diva to go all sweaty-palmed over whether his scalp
pelt would go flying mid-match.
Yeah, I get that.
Let us not forget that I’m the one who, once I escaped from
the barn I had accidentally locked myself in by climbing out of a window and
falling precipitously to the ground, proceeded to casually brush myself off and
stroll nonchalantly back to the house on the sheer chance that one of my
neighbors just happened to be looking out towards my barn in the wee hours of
New Years Day.
For most of my life, I was one of those people who didn’t
start something until I felt I was totally and completely knowledgeable
about the thing I wanted to try. And while it made my resume look good,
it didn’t do much for my self-esteem. Because I did this out of fear. Fear of
the consequences of not doing something “right” or “perfectly.” Fear of financial
insecurity or insolvency. Fear of having to ask for help or even having to
admit that I needed help. Fear of being vulnerable.
But now I’m trying to learn how to put my toe in the water
just a bit, how to at least climb the tree even if I don’t go out on the limb. I’m
trying to learn how to turn off the critical “image is everything” mindset and
allow myself to have a few bad hair days. To be willing to correct my course if
I find that I’m off the path.
John Kenneth Galbraith said, “If all else fails, immortality
can always be assured by spectacular error.”
I don’t know about you, but knowing that I can assure my
immortal image just by making one spectacular error takes the sting out of giving
new something a try.
Maybe the next time I say to myself, “Someday I’d like to do
that,” I might be a bit more willing to Just Do It.
Have you been saying, “Someday” to your dreams?
Think about it!
Want to know more about how I managed to lock myself in the
barn in the first place? Check out that my blog about that spectacularly stupid
wake-up call.
Want to know more
about transforming limited thoughts and beliefs into limitless possibilities?
Check out my Examine–Envision–Emerge Personal Transformation Book Series. Each
book explores a particular aspect of thought healing. Find yours online at your
favorite retailer today!
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