Some ideas are worth pursuing and some are not, but there is no way to know the difference without trying.
By definition, an idea cannot be great without its potential to create some kind of change. Change is a risky proposition because change requires movement and, in order for movement to occur, friction, resistance, and inertia must be overcome. This process of turning an idea into change, of overcoming the forces that impede us, requires effort, dedication, and persistence on our part.
Meanwhile, as we struggle to make progress toward the realization of our idea, we have no guarantee that we will get the results that we originally imagined or hoped for. Life is complicated. The only guarantee we can be sure of is that, if we take no action or if we hesitate, compromise, or quit along the way, whatever potential our idea had or has for greatness and change, will never be realized.
Once we begin pushing forward, once we muster up enough courage to take the first step, we must maintain our bearing and we must and stay the course. Of course, we will want help and support along the way, but creating change is dangerous and others may not want to risk their safety, their security, and their reputations on our ideas until there is some proof or promise of reward. If that is enough to stop us, we should not have ever started.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.
Street art photo taken by Robert Van Valkenburgh, artist unknown unless otherwise noted.
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