FIND OUT WHY?
A 20 foot plank 6 inches wide and 2 inches thick was placed on top of two cinder blocks 20 feet apart. A man who was in deep financial debt, was offered $20 to walk the length of the plank which was sitting just inches off the ground. The man considered the simple task and accepted the offer. Moments later the same man was shown a similar plank which was considerably longer in length. However this time, he was offered $50 to walk the length of the plank. which was also just inches off the ground. Knowing he and his family could use the money he once again accepted the offer.
After he completed the second simple task, he was given one more challenge. There was a much longer plank that had been placed between the 30-story building he was in and the apartment building across the street where he lived. They were a city block apart, from roof top to rooftop (for you engineers and architects, the plank was reinforced so as not to break under it’s own weight). Due to the additional length and height, the man was offered $1,000 to cross the length of the plank from one building to the other. Although tempting, when he thought about the additional danger involved, he declined. So the offer was raised to $10,000. Although he considered it a little longer, he once again declined. The offer was raised several more times and each time the man declined. Eventually, he was given a final offer of $100,000. $100,000 was a lot of money and would do a lot for his family’s finances. It could pay off his debt and give him a considerable savings. Once again, the man considered the width of the board, the distance between the two buildings, the height, his ability to balance and stay calm, and ultimately the consequences should he fail. He thought long and hard, but the risk was too great and he politely, but sadly declined.
Just before leaving the rooftop, out of the corner of his eye he noticed a small child on the other rooftop; his child. Somehow, his 5 year old son had gotten to the roof of the building. His heart rate immediately jumped and he began calling to his son. But through the sounds below and the winds above, his son couldn’t hear him. He noticed the small boy wandering dangerously close the to edge. He continued to call out to him, but to no avail. Knowing he needed to get to him quickly, he noticed smoke rising from the building. It was on fire. In the distance he could hear the squeal of fire engines on the way, but he could now see flames and he knew there was no time to wait. Calling out to his son he went to the edge of the building and continued to walk toward him, faster and faster. The closer he got, the faster he seemed to run. All was a blur now. Finally reaching his son and grabbing him in his arms, he ran quickly back to the other building.
They were both safe. Clinging his son in his arms, crying tears mixed with fear and joy, he slowly calmed himself and realized the he had crossed from one building to the other on that 6 inch wide plank 30 stories above the ground. He had done so unconsciously putting aside all of the same fears that had stopped him, just moments ago.
Fear is relative to our needs and desires. Find a strong enough reason and you can accomplish anything. A strong enough why will give you the conviction, focus, will, drive, and determination to accomplish any goal. Find that reason, put it first, and you can achieve anything.
Click here to read last weeks post, START! AND DON’T STOP
Bearj Jehanian is a Maximum Potential Speaker and Trainer. Through a combination of inspiration and online tools, Bearj inspires his audiences to build a foundation of belief, to support a decision to act on any idea and bring it to completion. Believe, Decide, Act. You can find out more about Bearj here.