“You cannot be old and wise one day, if you were never young and crazy.”
-Chris Brown
Last Christmas, I was with my family in Boston for the Christmas holidays. During that trip, my father and I enjoyed a couple of walks in the city, discovering its most hidden secrets as well as its well known sites, such as MIT and the site of the Boston Massacre. The enjoyable part of those walks were the different topics that we would tackle in order to kill time and distance.
One time, without previous warning, I just said to him:
“I wonder what were the reactions the parents of Jobs, Gates and Zuckerberg had when their respective sons dropped out of college”.
We ended up not going too deep into this topic, but that idea stayed in my mind. Many would label people sailing in such uncharted waters as crazy, insane. More often than not, no one would take these people seriously because of their out-of-the-blue drastic changes in life.
Personally, I would add Jobs, Gates and Zuckerberg to the list of people I consider as daredevils. Without having to refer to celebrities, I would add my entire family to this list.
For starters, a daredevil is a person who is reckless and daring, undertaking dangerous projects to the point it feels as if they are tempting the devil, or that they have a deathwish. It is someone who defies the odds, even if they are completely against them.
Now I am not saying that anyone in my family has a deathwish, but that they embark sometimes into risky projects, because they kept their eyes on the prize, on what they were fighting for. Even if they were not aware of all the possible risks from the start, daredevils are the ones who decide to keep pushing forward, to never back down.
Another important characteristic of daredevils can be summarized with a quote that 7Up used to put on their cans: “Getting there is half the fun”.
Of course, one should never lose sight of their goal, of their final destination, because this is what is going to get them through the hard times; however, since they are pretty much going some place, why not also enjoy the ride with everything it brings? When you are on a roadtrip with your friends, do you only enjoy the time you spend at the beach you were driving to? Or do you also enjoy the songs, jokes and stories that are brought up along the way with your friends? Do you not also enjoy the scenery along the side of the road?
Back in 2012, when I was in Washington, DC, I remember a Catholic priest once told me: “All the way to Heaven can be Heaven if we live our lives the way they are supposed to be lived”. Looking back in retrospect, he sure was right in many ways.
My parents and sisters have been defying the odds for as long as I can remember, and they never back down. I guess it runs in our bloods as human beings in general, not just in my family.
So what is stopping you from doing the same?
What is stopping you from living your life to the fullest?
“Life is for the living, so live it, or you are better off dead.” -Passenger
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