Safety is a trap. It is also an illusion that is turning many of us into spineless blobs.

Safety watches re-runs. Risk writes the next smash hit.

Calculated risk turns mediocrity into excellence.

Life reminds me of crossing the Missippippi headwaters on stepping stones when I was a kid.

First you must decide to get to the other side.

Then you size up the risk. How far is it? Can you make the leaps? Are the rocks slippery? What’s the worst case scenario? Do you know how to swim? If you fall, do you get wet or do you drown?

You make the first first leap. You land safely. The water’s rushing by. You make a few more leaps. You’re halfway there. The next leap is much farther than it looked from the shore and the rock you need to land on is covered in slime. The water is deeper than you realized. You look back at where you came from. You look forward again. You focus. You find faith. You leap. Your foot lands on target, but slides out from under you and you fall backward into the water. You grasp at a boulder and catch a ridge in you finger tips and crawl back onto the rock. With bruised pride, dripping wet, you look back again, you look forward, you find that same faith, and make the same leap again. This time your foot sticks. From here the rest of the leaps are easy. You stand on the other shore, knowing you’ve accomplished something difficult looking for the next challenge.

Andy Liu inspired this post today.

Life is so much more refreshing and invigorating when there is risk involved.

Hop over and read his post.