The Ride Of Your Life
During college I was hired over the summer to work in an amusement park. This job was hard to get and you did not get to choose your assignment. You guessed it my assignment was to work on the Blue Streak, the largest roller coaster in this park. While I was excited about the job I won’t lie to you I was more than a little nervous about having to deal with my fear of heights let alone in a car that was traveling down a track at 60 miles an hour. On my first day the ride supervisor had a group meeting with all of the ride operators and rustled us all into cars to experience the coaster.
You know that feeling that you get when you know you are about to experience something that could potentially turn out really bad…thats what I felt. Anyways I was not going to let this beat me so I reluctantly jumped into a car and off we went. As we headed up the first and tallest hill I felt my life pass before me..I am sure my eyes were closed and I may have been screaming. Down the first hill we went…oh my god get me off of this. By the time we reached the second and third hill and I realized that I was still alive but not totally onboard with the whole experience. Around we went up and down hills and back to the station. As we pulled into the station the supervisor must have sensed my fear or maybe it was the look on my face but he rushed to my car to get me off.
I have to admit that I was shaken but very proud of myself that I had taken this on. What I had come to realize is that being paralyzed by fear was much worse than the reality of the coaster ride. By the way I rode that coaster everyday I worked that summer many times in the first car.
I have carried this experience with me into my business and personal life and have come to realize that fear is driven in many cases by lack of information…fear of the unknown. I see this everyday in my practice as people consider business opportunity options. The reality is that unless you find the resources that you need to get useful information that you can direct towards your fear your brain will never allow you to move forward. You will experience the same paralysis that I experienced from the thought of riding that roller coaster.
I can’t tell you whether business ownership is a good thing for you or not…no one can, but if you spend the time to find good advisors, good resources, and get yourself educated your decision will be based on fact and not fear…I have room in the front seat of my roller coaster..join me it will be the ride of your life.