{"id":9717,"date":"2012-04-10T21:30:36","date_gmt":"2012-04-11T05:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=9717"},"modified":"2013-09-18T08:39:58","modified_gmt":"2013-09-18T16:39:58","slug":"the-leap-of-faith-why-taking-risks-can-be-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/the-leap-of-faith-why-taking-risks-can-be-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Leap of Faith: Why Taking Risks Can Be Worth It"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/a><\/p>\n

a blog post\u00a0by American Idol finalist Scott MacIntyre<\/em><\/p>\n

If someone invited you to go sky-diving, would you go?\u00a0 If you were offered a top corporate position in a field that was unfamiliar to you, would you accept the job?\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s a fear of heights, a fear of the dark, or a fear of public speaking, we have all experienced fear.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest fear for many of us is a fear of failure.<\/p>\n

But if we never try, how will we know the outcome?\u00a0 So many people worry about what will happen if they fail, that they lose sight of what could happen if they succeed.<\/p>\n

When I was a little kid, my family would take a yearly road trip to a rustic getaway called Trinity Alps Resort in northern California.\u00a0 We stayed in old wooden cabins, grilled freshly-caught fish, and swam in a swimming hole along the river.\u00a0 There was a walking bridge that extended across the swimming hole, and older kids would jump off of it into the water below.\u00a0 But there was only one spot that was deep enough to jump into.\u00a0 Otherwise, you risked jumping into shallow water.<\/p>\n

One summer, I was determined to try the jump.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t completely comfortable with the idea at first, and I remembered hearing people scream as they jumped from high above.\u00a0 But I also knew that when the jump was over, those kids would come up out of the water laughing and having a great time.<\/p>\n

I asked my dad if he would do the jump with me, and he agreed.<\/p>\n

As we walked out onto the bridge, I faintly heard the people swimming below.\u00a0 The laughter that had sounded so close to me when I was swimming sounded muffled and distant from the bridge.\u00a0 There was no way for me to see how high up we were \u2013 I was born blind.\u00a0 All I could do was step off the bridge, trusting that I would land in the water and not on a rock.<\/p>\n

My dad counted to three, and we jumped together.<\/p>\n

The feeling of free-falling through the air was incredible. \u00a0I couldn\u2019t fully enjoy it because I knew that at any moment we would hit the cold water.\u00a0 But by the time we finally did, I was glad I had jumped.\u00a0 As soon as I surfaced and caught my breath, I asked my dad if we could do it again.<\/p>\n

In the same way that I was uncertain about jumping into a river I couldn\u2019t see, I was uncertain about how to be successful as a blind person in the very visual entertainment industry.\u00a0 Every step off of the metaphorical bridge stretching across my career was a chance to fail \u2013 but also a chance to succeed.\u00a0 And although at times I did fail, with every success came more confidence to face the next challenge, and the next after that.<\/p>\n

As the first-ever blind contestant on American Idol, one of the hardest things for me to do was to give a convincing performance in the group songs on elimination nights.\u00a0 I could have decided to make it easier on myself and sit those numbers out, but I wanted to participate just like every other contestant.\u00a0 But for me, it was more than learning dance steps and choreography.\u00a0 I had to memorize the positions of numerous cameras and keep track of them mentally as they moved around the stage over the course of the song.\u00a0 On top of all that, I had to rely on my memory and spatial awareness to make sure I was in the right place at the right time on stage.\u00a0 One misstep and I could have ended up in the lap of someone sitting in the front row of the studio audience.<\/p>\n

But because I took that risk, Idol<\/em> producers and millions of viewers around the world were inspired to re-think what a blind person is capable of doing.<\/p>\n

I have to wonder though \u2013 would I have chosen to audition for Idol<\/em> in the first place if I hadn\u2019t decided to jump off the bridge in Trinity Alps?\u00a0 Fear is fear, and the way in which I dealt with my ordinary fears was the same way I tackled extraordinary challenges.\u00a0 In the end, we all have a choice: to let fear of what might happen keep us from reaching our goals and dreams, or to take a leap of faith into the unknown and learn as we go.\u00a0 Fear of failure didn\u2019t stop me from releasing my first CD at 11 years old.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t stop me from starting college at 14, or from living in London, England on my own as a blind person, or from asking a girl out without being able to drive a car, or from connecting with millions of television viewers even though I couldn\u2019t see the cameras.\u00a0 In every situation, I chose to step out in faith and trust that I would eventually succeed.<\/p>\n

People who achieve their dreams are people who are not afraid to take risks.\u00a0 And we will never know what we could have accomplished if we never put ourselves to the test.<\/p>\n

———
\nOrder Scott\u2019s new book By Faith, Not By Sight <\/em>and receive free music downloads, a 1-hour phone call with Scott, and even your own private concert.\u00a0 Click here for all the details: http:\/\/macintyrebook.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo credit: ‘Jump’<\/a> by Big Stock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the biggest fear for many of us is a fear of failure.<\/p>\n

But if we never try, how will we know the outcome? So many people worry about what will happen if they fail, that they lose sight of what could happen if they succeed. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":9721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[9,21,6],"tags":[175,66,1960,1959,4629,752],"yoast_head":"\nThe Leap of Faith: Why Taking Risks Can Be Worth It - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have to wonder though \u2013 would I have chosen to audition for Idol in the first place if I hadn\u2019t decided to jump off the bridge in Trinity Alps? Fear is fear, and the way in which I dealt with my ordinary fears was the same way I tackled extraordinary challenges. In the end, we all have a choice: to let fear of what might happen keep us from reaching our goals and dreams, or to take a leap of faith into the unknown and learn as we go. 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