Stretch

Discover the rewards of innovation and risks

Don’t settle for things as they are at the moment. You can hit new heights by stretching. The key to stretching is to enjoy where you are, on the path to your future.

This step is where I am today. I’m stretching and getting outside of my comfort zone in a number of ways. And yes, I am enjoying the moment. The first stretch was to start an entrepreneurial venture, some years ago—something I always wanted to do. But I was unsure of myself, thinking that maybe I wasn’t ready. I was afraid of failure. But I decided that being “ready” was a choice and a thought, and that I would never be ready if I continued to question myself. Sometimes you just have to do it—and so I did.

If you really want the new job that just opened in your department, step into your boss’s office and ask for it. If you really want that degree, sign up for a course at the nearest college. What’s holding you back? Change your thoughts about it! Move, and you will find the wings to help you soar like an eagle.

In his book, Common Denominator of Success, Albert Ian Grave wrote:

“Successful people do things that failures don’t like to do. These people focus on the feeling of accomplishment. They take on the task that someone won’t like doing. They get in the arena to make a difference.”

Theodore Roosevelt once said:

“The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who know the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause. Who at best know the triumph of high achievement, and who—at the worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Are you in the arena, or on the sidelines?