Be Brave Not Safe

Several days ago I received the following quote in my email.

One life. Just one. Why aren’t we running like we are on fire towards our wildest dreams?

This quote reinforces (for me) the reason why we are making the move that we are about to make.

You see, we have lived in our current home for over 20 years. We raised 4 awesome young men who have recently left the nest. It is now time to downsize. Not only downsize, but to begin the next stage of our life: lakeside living.

We have often said: “If only there was a lake behind our house we would stay put.” We love it here!

We are in a great location, surrounded by fantastic neighbors, trees, wildlife, friends in the community (church and otherwise), with access to everything needed to live a fulfilling life. This includes being about an hour away from the ocean, the mountains and the big city (Boston).

Yes, it is tough emotionally to leave the home we’ve lived in for over 1/3 of our lives and, more difficult still, the many people we’ve developed relationships with during that period of time.

But, did I mention, there is no lake at our doorstep 🙂

Living in a home on a large, crystal clear lake in Maine has been a major goal for many years. In fact, for a long period of time we had a picture of a lake home on our fridge indicating the year we were targeting to realize that goal: 2015.

Our new locale places us MUCH closer to our folks while remaining only a couple hours away from the boys (at least where they have presently chosen to live).

This move need not be the end of long-held and cherished relationships. We will continue to frequent the area to visit the boys as well as my clients, when I’m needed onsite to deliver Project Management services. In addition, we will be able to stay in touch online. And, finally, we hope to host visitors (family and long-time friends) who’d like to spend a day or two “at the lake.”

So, when I read the quote: “One Life. Just One. Why aren’t we running like we are on fire towards our wildest dreams?” I can respond with enthusiasm: “I am!“

You can too!

I recall a story told by Earl Nightingale, in the audio recording Lead The Field, in which an acquaintance of his learned that he and his wife lived in Monterey, California. The acquaintance said something to the effect of: “My, how fortunate you are to live in such a beautiful spot on our planet.” His response was: “Yes, we are fortunate. But we CHOSE to live there.“

Said another way, his arrival in Monterey, California did NOT happen by a freak accident. He and his wife decided where they wanted to live and then put in the time and effort (a.k.a. WORK) to achieve their goal. Luck had no part in it, unless you go with the more intelligent definition of the term luck. That is, the point at which preparedness meets opportunity!

Do you want to be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities available to you, to achieve your wildest goals and dreams? Listen to Lead The Field: over and over and over again! No joke. Just do it. You will be amazed at the insights gained and the accelerated progress you will make in life!

For us, it is now time to set the next major goal. Well, maybe we’ll wait until after we unpack 🙂

More to come!