I've heard people use both of these statements as a reason for not giving something a "best shot". What empty statements to hide behind! It takes much more energy to howl at the moon over being mediocre than to give any goal all we have-and discover how much more we are capable of giving in the process.
I was once asked to make one wish for all of mankind. After a little thought I said that my wish would be that each person would feel great and all-encompassing self-esteem. That, too, is an empty statement. What I truly would wish is that each of us would stop being so full of fear-fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown to such an extent that we, in varying degrees, immobilize ourselves-condemn ourselves to a life of mediocrity and meaningless survival.
Each of us can find something, whatever it is, that will give us the courage to go all the way and more. Even in this one area, the same lesson can be learned to apply to everything we do. In my case it was my music and when, after a while, the "fear" of performing started getting in the way of that, I found bodybuilding. Those last two repetitions, when you "know" you can't do any more and, as if by a miracle, you do it. As you catch your breath and the blood stops pounding in your ears you wonder "Why did I feel I couldn't do those two final repetitions? What is wrong inside of me that makes me set these imaginary limits?"
Where DID we learn to let fear rule our lives? As small children we didn't let it govern us. We learned to walk because we weren't afraid of falling down. We learned to read because no one ever told us we couldn't. We smiled and said "Hello" to strangers in elevators because we weren't afraid of being rejected. I'm not recommending a blind, headlong dash into a haphazard life of risk-not by any means. But what I am recommending is that we think a little bit less and do an awful lot more. Find that one thing you can push yourself to do where you can block out your preconceived limits-and just do it...and do it and do it. And let that doing teach you what LIMITLESS really means: just "baby steps", but what a world they can uncover.
Phillip Dieckow
May 23, 2000
