We’re a family of artists. My wife Lisa is an author, our son Kilian is an illustrator/graphic designer, our daughter Kennedy is an actor, and I’m a musician. These are typically not stable career paths. One thing I’ve learned in watching each of us follow our dreams is that you have to take risks in order to have the life you really want.
Today, Lisa is a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two books and counting, but there was a time when she quit her job to try to make it as a writer and made no money for two years. When she did sell her first book for a relatively small amount, we rolled the dice again and invested that money back into promoting her career versus improving our standard of living.
Kilian has made a name for himself as a highly talented designer for the craft beer industry. I recently attended his highly popular class called Design With Beer In Mind, a part of Design Week Sacramento, that he envisioned, organized, and taught in. Kilian is loving the freedom and creativity his position affords him, but it came with a big risk. A year ago, he quit his secure job to go freelance and lived off his savings while he hustled to get his desired career off the ground.
Kennedy recently landed her dream job starring as Nancy Drew on a television series coming to the CW network this fall. But for a very uncertain shot at playing that highly coveted role, she took the risk of turning down a supporting part on another show that was guaranteed to air, even knowing that Nancy Drew might never get picked up for a series.
Having the life you really want requires risk. Your dreams won’t be handed to you. Planning, preparation, and hard work are all important, but at some point, you’ll be standing on the edge of a cliff. The life you desire will be just on the other side of a big gap. To reach it, you have to make the leap. You might make it. You might fall short. The only way to know is to jump.
That’s a risk I’ve recently taken. I left a comfortable, secure job as a musician to try to make it as a writer. My first manuscript secured me a top agent which I’m thrilled about, but so far, I have a growing list of rejections from publishers. Will I ever make it as an author? Will the risk pay off? I’m not sure yet. But either way, I’m glad I took the leap. Whatever happens, I’ll never have to live with, “What if?”
So how about you? What does your dream life look like? What risks would you have to take to make it a reality? Are you willing to take them? Visualize the life you want. Plan and prepare for it. Do the work. And when the time comes, take a deep breath, screw up your courage, and jump. If you do, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
Great post, Matt! My last bird in the nest is finishing up his Junior year and my focus is turning to myself and planning this next life stage. I’m trying something new and I am definitely nervous and scared. I’ll be referring back to this post!
Thanks, Lulu! So glad it was helpful. The empty nest stage was a big change for us and brought a roller coaster of emotions. That said, we quickly came to love it! Thinking and talking through the kind of life we really wanted, laying out steps to get there, and going for it takes time and effort and risk, but WOW has it been worth it! I really believe the same will be true for you. You can do it! As one of my favorite quotes says, “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” George Addair. I wrote a couple of posts this past January about facing fear and tackling change if you’re interested in checking the archives for those. Keep me posted on how it’s going! I’d love to hear about it 🙂 Thanks again for reading.
Love it! Yes, risk is a huge piece of the puzzle, in my opinion as well. As Marianne Williamson said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.” Whenever I feel afraid of taking a risk, I try to think of this.
Thanks so much for that, Bill! That is an amazing quote and so powerfully true. It’s so much easier to hide behind a false sense of our own helplessness than to dare something great. Thanks for that great reminder and for reading!