Cold water stands before you.  Maybe it's a pool, maybe it's a lake.  What's the best way to handle it?  Do you wade in, little by little, doing that little dance with your arms up in some unnatural Frankenstein pose, or do you jump right in, get it over with, and become acclimated all at once?

Sometimes you have to shock your system to make real progress.  This is pretty much a univesally acceptable principle.  You want to make big gains in the gym?  You put your muscles through something they aren't used to, and tear them down so they can rebuild.  You want to learn a new technology?  You have to dive right in and just consume yourself with it until you have it.  You want to expand your career horizons?  You might have to take a big leap of faith and see how it plays out.  You want to get the girl?  Sometimes it's a bold move that does the trick.

Timothy Ferriss touches on a similar  thought stream in his book, The 4-Hour Workweek.  At the end of each chapter he presents you with challenges to help you get over your various fears, whether it be a fear of rejection or fear of speaking to people by asking for 2 phone numbers a day from strangers, or your fear of saying no, by saying no to everything.  He makes the point that only by doing that which is the opposite of your nature will you expand yourself and see real personal gains.

History is filled with bold moves that did (and did not) play out for the mover,  but these same people would have been nowhere had they not tried.  And even when the move doesn't play out, you certainly learn from it, and the people that really succeed take those lessons and apply them to the next bold move.

There are famous examples, such as Bill Gates dropping out of Harvard to take a shot at a software company.  There are personal examples, such as my buddy who packed up and left the comforts of Florida for Manhattan and faked it till he made it.  Famous or not, how many more examples are there of bold movers making great strides forward over people who just stuck to the daily routine?

It may seem trivial, but last night I made a bold move for me.  I am terrified of being in the spotlight.  Giving speeches, talking to crouds, things of that nature.  I went to a rock show at a local bar, and the band (The Bitters) who are friends of mine, was going to do a cover of the Beastie Boys' No Sleep 'til Brooklyn.  Instead, they insisted that I get up there and rap it, all three parts mind you (I'm more of an MCA than an Ad Rock), in front of a full bar.  Drunk as I was I was terrified.  My pulse was racing, my chest pounding, my adrenaline kicking (I have a strong fight or flight response i guess), and that was just at the mere suggestion that I might be doing it.  But, mostly out of pride and defiance and the desire to make a showing for certain members of the audience, I got up there and did it and rocked the house (it was being recorded live, I'll post it when I get it).  Afterwards, it was just a rush.  And it triggered some sort of epiphany in me that led to this blog post, which is nothing new to anyone, but the idea of facing your fears and doing something bold really took hold in my brain as I sobered up, and led me to think more about some of the assertions I made here.  I'm starting to re-evaluate some things as a result.

Maintaining the status quo isn't always bad, don't get me wrong, but they say that fortune favors the bold.  Living a stale life, as I have been, out of sheer fear of uncertainty, is no way to live.  Go out there, make some bold moves, and see what you can do with yourself.