Taking a Leap For Our Dreams

               The way the idea for this blog post came about was rather peculiar. What I had written for this week’s article just wasn’t coming together the way I wanted.  Before starting a new one, I got in my car to run an errand and for some reason decided to put on the soundtrack for the movie, “The Greatest Showman”. This movie is worth watching if you haven’t seen it yet. In my humble opinion, it’s fantastic. It’s quite uplifting and lately I find myself listening to the soundtrack anytime I start to lose my nerve with starting this blog. It’s like a warm hug, pushing me onward towards my dreams.

            At this same moment as I listened to the soundtrack in my car, I also found myself thinking about the life of a frog. I know, I know – my mind can be quite the treasure trove of oddities but stay with me here.  Why would those two things pop into my mind at the same time? They have nothing to do with each other, right?  

            In the movie, P.T. Barnum sets out to create a show the world has never seen. The movie is based on the life of P.T. Barnum. Although with that said, I must say I’m not sure if anything within the movie was changed from Barnum’s real life. The movie demonstrates the story of Barnum’s life in how poor Barnum was growing up and how hard he worked to get his show (what would eventually be called the Barnum and Bailey Circus) off the ground and successful. The movie is a beautiful demonstration of embracing your individual uniqueness, even in the face of adversity. Barnum goes after his dreams full throttle. He works his tail off and persists even when ridiculed by others. Despite being told how wild of an idea it is, he continues to follow his heart with the encouragement of his family.  Without giving anything away, in the movie you see Barnum have setbacks as well as successes and he learns immensely about himself and his business through both.

It’s quite a nerve-wracking risk to take that leap isn’t it? Speaking from experience, it’s hard to put yourself and something you’ve created, out there for all the world to see. When you have something you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into, it can be both scary and exciting to finally put it out there. Sometimes, even when we are so close to the dream we want, fear keeps us from taking that final leap. It can hold us back and convince us that striving for our dreams just isn’t worth it.

 When you look at the symbolism of the frog in history, many have looked at it as a symbol of change and of taking a leap of faith into that change. A frog’s life is full of the need for change from the minute they are created by transforming from a tadpole into a frog. Throughout history, people have associated the frog with the need to take a leap to turn our hopes and dreams into reality.  The frog in this painting is leaping off the rock he’s been sitting on into the water and the great unknown. Despite it being nighttime and hard to see, our froggy friend here has no qualms whatsoever in trusting where he is going. He has complete confidence in his abilities to transport himself where he needs to go.

And I know you may be thinking, ‘What if it all fails? What if I can’t do it? Then what?’.   It is easy to play the ‘what if’ game and to an extent, it can be helpful for planning and anticipating issues that may come up but too much of a good thing can have the opposite effect. Taking that leap is without a doubt, a risk but I think Ellen Degeneres said it best:

“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.”

Ellen Degeneres

Take this blog for example. I have put things in place to promote this blog and get it farther into the depths of the internet. Some of my efforts have been worthwhile and others haven’t done well. Each time my efforts fail, I learn a little more about this whole blogging process and how to best go about making it a success. It goes along with trying anything new. We learn from our experiences and sometimes those experiences don’t go so well.  That doesn’t mean we quit or give up. We take what we learned and we apply it to our future endeavors. Its much more useful to you to ask yourself ‘What can I take away from this for the future?’ than to wallow in self-pity when things didn’t go your way or something didn’t happen the way you hoped.

So what’ll it be? Are you ready to take that leap? Maybe you’re ready for a giant leap or maybe you are ready to take a small step. Whichever one you are able to do right at this moment is perfect. Right this minute, you are exactly where you are supposed to be in life so don’t go trying to compare yourself to someone who is doing something similar to what you want to do. The important thing is that you take the step, no matter how big or small. You owe it to yourself to try or you’ll always wonder.  How will you know for sure if you’ll ever be successful?

We all have a standing opportunity to take that leap at any time. Whenever we are ready, its always there, waiting to become our reality. Yes, it will be hard work and will require your time and dedication but as Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”