Just say “Yes!” to helicopters and zip lines (and other assorted adventures!)

Thinking Out Loud has been on a couple week hiatus because I was doing this kind of stuff!

I recently had the opportunity to take the trip of a lifetime to Alaska. Forget about planes, trains, and automobiles (though we used all three!). While on this trip I kayaked in the Icy Straight, rafted down the Mendenhall River, zip-lined in Ketchikan, helicoptered to a glacier, took an 8 hour bus ride in Denali National Park (a little rough), road a bike Vancouver, and cruised in an ocean liner (not so rough!!).

Now a couple of these modes of human conveyance were smack in the middle of my comfort zone – namely, the cruise ship where everyone aboard is well fed and pampered and the bike riding which I pretty much mastered as a child. Others, however took me a bit out of my comfort zone which got me thinking out loud about the rewards of risk taking.

You see if I had not taken the risk to kayak with my wife (who is a trooper by the way and the one who usually gets me in this situations!) in the Icy Straight, I never would have seen the incredible Alaskan scenery or wild life from that vantage point. The most incredible opportunity was taking a helicopter to the Yanet Glacier at the foot of Mount Deborah. In doing so, I was able to walk on a glacier that had existed for thousands of years. But the point being is this, there was no other way to get to these places thus bringing me to the REALLY big point:

Taking some risks now and then gets you to where all the good stuff is!

In order to see the wondrous sights and sounds of Alaska, I had to take some calculated risks. I had to ignore the lizard part of my brain that said suspending myself 50 feet off the ground from a rope was a good idea! 

Now would the world have come to the end if I had not done those things? Of course not, but it would not have changed much either! It would not has been as fulfilling.

So what risks do you need to take to get a change of scenery?

-      -In your personal life?

-      -In your career and professional life?

-      -In your spiritual life?

What new horizons are just a zip line away?

-       -What’s next?

What possibilities are waiting for you to explore?

-       -Versus just what is probable?

As always, if I can help you Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would love to hear from you. Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

www.outloudinc.com

www.facebook.com/outloudinc

www.johnmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner