Jumping Off Cliffs to Save Your Life

I’ve never met a wingsuit jumper I didn’t like.

That’s not really saying much, though, because I’ve only met one. And his name is Jeb. Jeb makes his living by putting on a “wingsuit”, jumping off cliffs, and gliding to the ground with the greatest of ease (or not).

The man clearly loves his job. He fully expects to give his life while doing it (you can’t cheat 120 miles per hour and gravity for very long). The question that I have is, how many of us feel the same? How many of us feel that passionately about our jobs? Our life’s calling?

My guess is not many. And that’s got to change.

I was watching Jeb’s interview on HBO’s “Real Sports” where he talked about his life, his family upbringing, and what led him to such an insane career.

The interview was fascinating, but something in particular caught my attention. Jeb said (and I’m paraphrasing here):

What I do isn’t insane. Do you know what’s insane? Waking up, getting in your car, commuting an hour each way, sitting in a box for eight hours a day, going home, eating dinner, watching some TV, and then doing the same thing the next day. Every day. Until you die. That’s insane. That’s the definition of insanity.

You know what? He’s right. Not necessarily about the career path he’s describing (we all know people who happen to work in a cube and love their jobs), but the mentality contained in his thought.

Wake-up. Go to work (that you hate). Come home. Zone out. Go to bed. Repeat.
Wake-up. Go to work (that you hate). Come home. Zone out. Go to bed. Repeat.
Wake-up. Go to work (that you hate). Come home. Zone out. Go to bed. Repeat.

You get the idea.

While many of us will never strap on a wingsuit, we all have the same ability to pick a career–a calling–that we enjoy doing. So my question to you today is, why aren’t you doing something that you love?

My guess is it boils down to one thing: Fear.

• Fear of running out of money.
• Fear of failure.
• Fear of actually enjoying what you do.
• Fear of taking a chance and not having it feel like you thought it would.

Whatever your fear is, it’s a lousy motivator. And it hasn’t gotten you very far, has it?

Don’t be part of the 80%. Choose to be part of the 20%. If you’re stuck and don’t know what next step to take, contact me. I’m serious. I’ll help you take the first step. Life’s too short to hate (or mildly tolerate) what you do.

I can guarantee you one thing: Your calling probably won’t be more dangerous than jumping off cliffs. And that’s going to make the first step easier.