Why Your Unfulfilled Dreams Are the Biggest Risk

And the true cost of doing nothing

I wrote about this previously on Marketing the Right Way

I see you.

I know you’re out there. You want to change your life. But it’s terrifying, like when you watched a scary movie as a kid, laid in bed with a blanket wrapped tightly around you. You didn’t dare close your eyes, afraid of what might be waiting in the dark.

I was in your shoes not too long ago.

So many questions run through your mind like water rushing through a river.

What if I make the wrong move?

What if I need a better plan?

What if I’m making a mistake?

I see you.

Blowing everything up and starting all over is a big risk. But so is doing nothing.

Les Brown has a famous quote that shook me when I first heard it. Because even though I knew it was true, I still didn’t have the courage to do anything about it.

“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”

I see you.

Sometimes I imagine walking through that graveyard filled with unfulfilled dreams.

People who dreamed of a more fulfilling life, but they let it slip through their fingers.

They wanted to make a difference but some unseen force kept whispering:

“You’re making a mistake.”

And I can almost see what they left behind.

Books that would have moved me to tears.

Songs that would have filled my heart with joy.

Artwork that could have been hung in the Louvre.

I see you.

All you need is the courage to say yes.

To give your dreams a chance.

To change your life in beautiful unforeseen ways.

If I didn’t say yes I would be sitting in a cubicle, staring at the clock, praying for time to move faster.

I would be spending my weekends at home binging Netflix, wondering where all the time went when I finished another show.

I would be watching videos on Youtube admiring creators who were fulfilling their own dreams wondering, “Why can’t that be me?”

I see you.

Because I said yes…

Because I decided I wanted something more…

I’ve experienced the most beautiful things.

I danced joyfully in a parade under a rain soaked sky, with a band blasting in the background, while people filled the streets.

I swam in the cold blue waters of the Pacific, waves crashing down on me, soaking in the afternoon rays of the sun.

I sat on a kayak, in the middle of a beautiful lake with Anita and Pookie, and a majestic volcano towering behind us

I see you.

I was you.

And if I could say yes… maybe you can too.