Be Bold About It

Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.  Alan Alda

Start now.

Be Bold! What a command. Is anyone born bold?  Or is it something that’s developed when the desire to get that one thing that you want outweighs the idea of living uncomfortably, regretfully without it? I think it must be the latter. I’ve yet to find a book or missive that can wake up your internal boldness. However on that special day that you wake up, find a mirror and realize that you can’t look at yourself quite the same if you don’t move in a certain direction or take that deliberate step – that’s the beginning of your boldness.

There are those BHAGs from Built to Last (big, hairy audacious goals) that unify and motivate a person or team. They seem like pie in the sky to the outer world, but inside the goal is totally reachable.  But a lofty goal is not the only way to demonstrate your boldness.

But “bold” doesn’t always mean doing something “big.” Often, there’s so much happening in our lives that simply getting out of bed and dressed is a bold move. Actually opening the door and walking step by step can take as much energy as running a marathon when life circumstances take their toll. If you’ve been there, you know what I mean and you can’t discredit the personal audacity and grit necessary to make it through one more day. Once you get there and make the moves that keep you going, then you can declare your boldness.

The Alda quote says that you can’t leave any part of yourself in a safe, sheltered environment in you plan to meet those bold goals. After you move yourself to unknown or turbulent territory, boldness requires that you remove self doubt. That must be an automatic outcome because I don’t see how doubt and boldness can co-exist comfortably. Walking into the world naked with your business idea or life goal exposed demands that you look squarely ahead and ignore the doubters. That’s not the same as ignoring healthy, smart advice. It’s simply listening and learning how to differentiate between the naysayers and caring constituents.

So folks, there’s not much left to say. The mission is possible.

Be bold!