The sky was ablaze with the glow of the setting sun as I sat down by the edge of a cliff, legs swinging freely over the ledge, though far from feeling scared, I felt an odd sense of liberation. The wind rustled the trees below, the colossal expanse of water stretching out in front of me. It was breathtakingly beautiful but something more profound caught my attention. A bird, freely gliding through the sky chasing the horizon, fearlessly embracing the unknown.

Isn't life a little like that? We stand on the edge, looking out into the broad expanse of the unknown, oscillating between anticipation and fear, our dreams held ransom by inhibitions, our growth stunted by a reality that relentlessly tugs at our potential. Don’t you long for the freedom to chase your desires, to break free and just go for it?

One such bird I came across is called Jack – a friend, a mentee, a dreamer. Jack was an aspiring entrepreneur, and like the bird, he too was standing on the edge of an unknown frontier, his dreams trembling on his fingertips. The thought of launching his own startup was exhilarating yet daunting. In a world filled with stalwarts and accomplished entrepreneurs, he was just another face in the crowd.

One day, Jack confided in me, “Tim, I have this brilliant idea and I think it would really work. But I’m afraid, what if it all goes wrong? What if I fail?” I looked at him, and something that Jack Ma once quoted popped into my mind, “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” I shared this with Jack and his face brightened up.

But my dear friend, don't we all grapple with the fear of failure? It creeps upon us uninvited, and before we know it, we guarantee our failure by convincing ourselves of a defeat that hasn't occurred yet. Often, we hold ourselves back because we value our comfort zones more than our dreams. I was no different. Before found Success Insider, I was holding myself back by conforming to sacrosanct societal norms until I realized that growth begins at the end of one's comfort zone.

I shared with Jack a nugget of wisdom that's always held me steady, “The moment you want to quit is indeed the moment to keep pushing.” Oh, the transformation when Jack took the plunge was incredible. By choosing to step out and embrace the unknown, he traded his inhibitions for the exhilaration of pursuit. Today, Jack is the spirit of his flourishing startup, a living embodiment of not holding himself back.

So, are you standing on the edge, cradling your dreams, held back by the chains of your fear? Does that voice inside your head repeatedly whisper, “what if?” Ask yourself, are you going to let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game?

These poignant questions used to haunt me during my early days when I launched the LMA course. The inhibitions were crippling until I had a eureka moment. I saw that fear has two meanings – Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice was all mine. Have you made your choice yet?

Drawn from personal experience and the myriad life stories I’ve witnessed, here is what I want to tell you – Stop making decisions based on fear. Let’s break the chain that binds us to sheer inaction or mediocre existence. Dance in the rain rather than just wait for the storm to pass. It’s time to stop holding yourself back and just go for it! So, plunge into that opportunity, shoot for the stars, take that risk, and ultimately build the life you've dreamt of.

Just remember, my friend, that life is a grand journey, a rhapsody of self-discovery and growth. The stories we weave are the ones we choose to write. Would you rather watch the bird soaring freely in the sky or become the bird that embraces the skies? You have the power to author your own story. Write a story that future you would be proud of. Let's step out of our comfort zone, charge headlong into the arena of life, for it's better to try and fall, than to never fly at all.