Posts tagged ‘daring to be great’

How do you want to live?

By David Horne, 15 October, 2009, No Comment

My friend Chris at Lessons from the Cockpit had the opportunity to write a guest post on Rick Smith’s blog. Rick is the founder of the World50. You can learn more about Rick and check out Chris’s “Follow the Glow” here.

I am not being lazy or trying to piggyback here. I think this post is worthy of your time. I see many of my contemporaries shrink their dreams to fit inside their existing life instead of expanding their life to align with their dreams. The rules have changed.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is the wrong question to answer these days.

The right question is “How do you want to live?”

For a soundtrack to this check out The Everglow

(this is not a sponsored link, just a really good record)

photo credit: John Mueller

Don’t sit in the middle seat

By David Horne, 5 August, 2009, No Comment

A few months ago I flied Southwest Airlines to Tampa. When I printed out my ticket, I realized I was near the end of the line. For all of you that haven’t flown Southwest, there are no assigned seats. First Come. First Serve. I was sure I’d find myself wedged between Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

I stepped onto the plane and looked down both sides in hopes to find an isle seat. Sure enough, every isle seat and window seat was taken. Every middle seat, was open. They were the only open ones left. Accepting my fate, I proceeded to take a seat, overcoming the always uncomfortable “excuse me”, between two people already settled.

It became so clear to me right then. NO ONE WANTS THE MIDDLE SEAT. ever! It provides neither the scenery and glamor of the window seat nor the convenience and comfort of the isle seat.

The choice of our seat is ours to make unless we don’t choose at all. That is also a choice. By not making a choice, you choose the middle seat.

This observation caused me to ask myself these questions which I will ask to you.

Am I sitting in the middle seat in any area of my life? Career? Relationships? Impact on my community? Etc?

If so, get UP and grab an isle seat or a window seat and enjoy the journey of your life.

Daring to be great

By David Horne, 13 May, 2009, No Comment

One of the all-time great movie characters is Lloyd Dobler. Anyone who has seen Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything would agree. Dobler, like all of us, is an achiever looking for an arena to win in. We seek out a challenge worthy of our time and energy while fighting boredom with the status-quo, laissez-faire diet we are being fed. Well Llyod doesn’t buy it, and deep down we don’t either. He is looking for a “dare to be great situation” and inside we are too. He is the guy that gets the girl. He is an eternal optimist. He observes the masses and does the opposite.

I believe each of us can identify with Lloyd. I believe we are all created with the desire to be great at something. We are created with an innate seeking of our personal arena to win in. Have you found your “dare to be great situation?” Have you taken that stride that leaves you in a position where you could risk failure or victory? If not, what are you waiting for?