Jump Off the Edge

The Guide to Extraordinary Living - Part 3

So far, we've found out that life is not about doing what we can to make ourselves happy, and we've learned to dream like we couldn't fail. Hopefully by now you have a glimmering of what your extraordinary life could look like. You might just have a sniff of freedom and you're drooling imagining what it could taste like. Don't worry if you don't have a huge, detailed plan on how to attain that freedom. You don't need to have it all figured out to get a start on it. And don't worry if you do have a huge, detailed plan, because most of it will probably fail and you'll need to find new ways anyhow. The great part is that there's no certainty in adventure, so you can relax and enjoy the ride a little.

So now that you have this small, shiny beginning of a life that goes beyond ordinary, what do you do with it?

This is a dangerous area. What you do next can either make or break you. There are basically two things you can do with a dream (besides ignore it and settle for the ordinary – but if you're reading this far I'm assuming that's not you):

Option 1: You can hide away the dream in like a tiny pet that you're not really supposed to keep. It's home is a shiny journal with artistic illustrations about what your dream will look like when it finally comes, someday. You slip it some food when you think no one is looking, and at night when you're alone you think about what you will do when you finally get a shot at your dream. You show it to your close friends, sometimes, but don't let them touch it – they can see it just fine from there. What you don't know is that the little pet dream will grow into a big, nasty excuse if it's kept like this. Having the dream will allow you to label yourself as a “dreamer” and help you to maintain your great self-image without actually risking anything. You can adopt a superior and put-upon demeanor with anyone who doesn't have “vision” or an “open mind.” You can smack-talk all the little people who live their little lives. All the while still living in the safe, secure drabness that marks an ordinary life, fooling yourself into believing you are doing something.

Option 2: By far the best option. Start right away making it happen. And I mean RIGHT AWAY. Quit your job. Start a business. Move to that country. Join that group. Attend that school. Sell your car or your house or your stuff. Just take a first step toward making the dream a reality. Do something! Narrow it down to something you can do today to get you at least one step closer to living your dream.

Now, there's some stuff that will try to stop you. Mostly excuses, which are just fear in disguise, will attempt to stop you. A great excuse is “But I don't know how! I don't know where to start!” I'm sorry, that's just not true. What you really should say is “But I'm scared to start! I'm comfortable in this drabness and the colors look too bright!”*

Why do I say its an excuse not to know where to start? Because starting is simple. Think about what you want your life to look like, and think about how your life looks now. What's different? Make a list of the things that are different. Now, pick one difference, and think what it would take to go from where you are to where you want to be. And remember, you can't fail. If the first way doesn't work exactly how you thought, you'll be a lot closer to figuring out a way than you were. Just start moving.

Another thing that will try to stop you is the edge. What do I mean, the edge? I mean that sometimes you will have to do something that you can't undo. You'll have to commit fully to a path of action that you can't see to the end of. It may end great, it may end poorly. There's no way to know until you try it. I see this all the time when I work at the Ropes Course. The Giant Swing is a platform almost 30 feet in the air that you jump off of attached to nothing but a 3/8-inch cable. You can't tell if the cable will hold until it's too late to go back. If it doesn't hold, you hit the ground. If it does, you have the ride of your life. You don't get to know until it's too late to change your mind.

The edge for me came when I quit my well-paying job as a salesman. There was comfort and security in a job that I didn't like – hated, even. When I felt called to start something in Portland, there was no way to stay my job and start this Portland thing at the same time. I had to step off the edge and fully entrust myself to the hand of God. I quit my job, moved to Salem, and have been living by faith ever since.

It is definitely a wild ride. Sometimes I think I'm in over my head and everything is going to come crashing down around me, and other times I think that there can't possibly be more beauty and adventure until I'm surprised by more the next day. But no matter what comes, I feel free – absolutely free.

So what is it in your life? Where's the edge for you? It could be quitting a job. It could be starting that conversation. It could be making a phone call. It could be packing everything up and moving across the country, or the world. Whatever it looks like in your life, I highly encourage you to take that magical leap off the edge. You never know, you might just find out you know how to fly...

Of course, in the next part we'll talk about safety nets.