It was February 1519, many of you were not around yet, while Hernando Cortez went on the final leg of his journey from Cuba to Mexico.
The plan was simple here: hit up Mexico, conquer, and become super-rich! When the crew arrived on the shores of Yucatan, Cortez told his army to, “burn the boats!”
Yes, they burned their only source of transportation as they went to engage in battle. Kind of crazy, huh?
Why would you burn the boats? The logic here was that the army would conquer their enemy, take everything, and come back on their boats. Well, that or they would die trying to conquer. All or nothing.
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What’s the point of this story?
Sometimes in life we have to go all in. We looked at failing to launch last week because too many of us are avoiding launching that next big project (paying off debt, saving money like mad, or getting into freelancing.).
I can be a hypocrite. I promote taking risks and all of that stuff, yet sometimes I get super-comfortable and take zero risks. I do nothing or become completely boring. I know what I should be doing, but I avoid it.
I’m really working on getting in the habit of going all or nothing.
The last few months I’ve started taking more risks. Some of my recent risks include:
- Enrolling in pro wrestling training.
- Taking BJJ seriously.
- Entering a half-marathon with zero training.
- Launching new blogs.
- Selling my condo.
- Booked a ticket to Argentina where I will test my Spanish lessons.
I’m not saying this to brag. I just want to be transparent and accountable for my actions.
Sometimes we need to be a bit radical and take on some risks. With that being said…
It’s time to choose your next battle or adventure!
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy” – Dale Carnegie
The time for making excuses is over. I’m not here to be some motivational speaker. I’m just hear to wake you up with a few questions and statements.
What’s holding you back?
The only thing that holds us back often is our fear of failure. I find that many of us are concerned about what would happen if we failed and how others would react to this. This holds us back from truly chasing after what we want. Instead we settle for whatever comes first or what’s easiest.
It’s time to conquer your fears.
I always ask myself: what’s the worst case scenario?
When I got into saving money aggressively, the worst case scenario was that I worried that my friends would judge my frugality. Then I came to accept that not everyone will always agree with you and that’s OKAY. The worst case scenario is actually not that bad most of the time.
When I first told my family that I was going backpacking through Europe they thought that I was going crazy. They just didn’t understand why someone would travel alone to a different part of the world. For me this just sounded like an exciting adventure. I went solo because nobody else could get the time off. My parents thought that I would be totally bored wandering around alone. I ended up meeting more friends than I could handle and I was never alone.
There’s nothing wrong with doing something unconventional. This is what got me to read The Art of Non-Conformity book and blog. This is what got me into the 4-Hour Workweek and the work of Tim Ferriss.
Normal is boring. Radical is exciting. You don’t have to backpack through Europe and get on the piss (drunk in Aussie slang) to be radical. You can be radical in your parents’ basement.
What are some ways that you can be radical with your thinking?
What are a few new things that you can try to change your life or at least improve things so that you’re not always pissed off?
- Move.
- Plan your first trip.
- Quit your boring job.
- Set a goal to have financial freedom by 30.
- Switch up your boring routine.
- Meet new friends.
- Start training.
- Save money when you go out so that you’re not always a broke joke.
- Take time off.
- Pay off your debt.
- Become more aggressive with your savings.
- Become more frugal.
- Start that blog that has been on your mind forever.
The last one is what started this all. I have been sharing my ideas with the world for five years now all because I started this blog.
You want an incentive to do something?
You need to check out my article on how to start an online business. If you’re willing to put in the work, I’m willing to help you out for free.
The same also applies to every item on this list. Go to my contact page and shoot me over an email. You can also leave a comment here or message me on Twitter. If you take the time to message me, I take the time to respond.
That’s how you can make your life a little bit more radical. Once you try to embrace one of the tips from above, you’ll notice a shift in you’re thinking.
“You wanna be afraid, really afraid, take a look at what your life’ll look like not if you try and fail… but if you keep on keeping on for decades. That’s the real nightmare scenario for most people.” – Jonathan Fields
Its as almost you read my mind and pre-empted it! Fear can stop us in our tracks when attempting something new, radical and unique and more often than not its not fear of the project actually failing but fear of what our friends or other people will percieve of that failure.
I have picked up Tim and Chris’ books hoping to maybe pick a glimmer of inspiration. Am taking you up on the email though – I could use a mentor sorta 🙂
Awesome Simon. The email is md @ this domain.