The Inappropriate Summer of Mark Konold...

About a week ago I was feeling angry and scared around not having a concrete direction in life. I don’t have a plan, anything to work on, no big objective to which I can devote my energy. Brighid, in her infinite wisdom, sat down with me and simply asked me a few questions around things I enjoy, how I like to spend my time and ways I can explore them without feeling too overcommitted to anything.

In about 30 minute’s time we had crafted a plan in which I would delve into these things via channels and avenues that I might not normally take. For example, my interest in the FranklinCovey Corporation has led me to a curiosity around those who facilitate their classes and possibly becoming one of them. At present I really do not have the money to sign up for one of their classes but why should that stop me from crashing one? I am heading down there to beg, deal and finagle myself into a class and get some face time with an instructor to get a sense of what their job entails.

From the perspective of a lifetime, it really isn’t that big a risk – I ask and the worst they can do is say, “No.” (I mean, they could call security but since I’m not wielding a weapon of mass destruction, I doubt anyone will go that far.) And at the same time, it puts that fearful turmoil in my stomach because it is outside my comfort zone, my standard operating procedure.

How many times do we take bold and inappropriate action to get what we want? Almost never, I bet. If the safety of all parties involved is not compromised, why should we not take that action?

Versus, how often do we back down in moments of being able to risk inappropriate or unusual action? When we don’t, there is drastic harm inflicted on our spirit and willingness to feel truly alive. Yet we let it happen all the time.