being bold

I think I missed out as a younger man on some adventures because I was terrified of failure. The one that I remember right now is my attempt to play baseball. I was so scared to play Pony League that I did not try out until the last year I was eligible. I worked out to try out for high school baseball but never could get myself to actually go out. I probably would not have played but I think in retrospect I could have practiced with the team and sat on the bench. They never had a large team even though the team did pretty well.

I have regrets about roads I did not travel.

I speak of this because I see some of my children doing the same thing, sometimes. They have to make their own decisions, they are grown now. But i hope they will not be sorry they did not attempt things simply because there was some risk of failure.

I do not want to overstate this. Fear can be a good thing. It can keep us out of dangerous situations. We do not need to try everything. Some are really dangerous. you have to weight the risk/reward.

But some things, like education or hobbies, will teach you some great things and involve you with interesting people. Even if you ultimately fail to completely succeed you will still have gained. If nothing else you learn you cannot do it. You never know until you try. You only have your fears.

If you aim for the stars you may not make it but you may hit the moon. You may succeed in an important way that you could never have envisioned if you did not try.

My dad went to law school with the idea of having a career in politics. That did not work out but he found that he really loved practicing law. He had a successful law practice and he helped many people along the way.