Taking Risks, Overcoming Fear

When trying times like serious illness happens, both parties of a relationship begin remembering those long ago days of youth. Nostalgia permeates every conversation.

I want us to plan for the future, but at this stage in our lives, we often look back and wish we had done things differently. We see the past through the eyes of wisdom gained by making mistakes.

We were both afraid to follow our dreams. We dug ourselves a rut in the road of life. We dug ourselves so deep we couldn't see over the sides to what we could have accomplished. Fear is the biggest enemy of most people. I have always admired people who did not let their lives be dictated by fear.

We could have left our comfort zone. We could have reached our potential when we were young, but we were afraid to leave our “security” blanket --the familiar -- the family.

My father must have been scared to death when he finally made the big step and signed his name on a note to buy a hardscrabble farm in 1942. He left behind job security, the only work he knew, and his entire family sacrificed so he could follow his dream. My mother's faith in him enhanced his courage to go for it.

My brother Hal was not afraid to reach for the gold ring. He won some and sometimes he lost, but he never quit.
It took faith in his ability to strike out on his own when he had a family to support. It required guts to stand up and say to his father and his brothers, his business partners, "I'm going it alone. I can do better than this."

He left the farm and became an entrepreneur. I think of him as a visionary. His ambition and ideas for success led him and his brothers from agriculture into manufacturing. In time the small family business became a national enterprise, and the largest of its kind. Those who had feared taking risks became gamblers in their own right, and all became financially successful far beyond their wildest dreams. And it all began when Hal said he wanted more for his family and for his life, and he was ready to take a risk. He led the way, the family farm became the collateral, and all members climbed on board this train heading for the mountain top.

Sometimes when we look back, we see the past in a different light. Sometimes these backward glances give us a new perspective on what happened at the time. Those dreamers, those who take on the challenges, should be rewarded for overcoming fear and doubt and persevering for the good of themselves and for the good of others. But all we can give Hal is a big thank you.