Imagine you’re standing on the ridge of a gigantic mountain, with a parachute on your back. You look down and can barely see the valley below. Fear and doubt start to rise: your stomach cramps, your mouth becomes dry, and you notice a huge lump in your throat. Your entire body begins to shake. “What if the parachute doesn’t open?” says your inner voice. “What if I hurt myself on the jump and hit the rock face?” These are the voices of all those who have sought to keep you small, forcing you to do things that don’t fit your plan. These voices supply the negative ideas that make your inner child and inner flame ever smaller and weaker:
•You can’t do that!
•Better a bird in the hand than two in the bush! What makes you so special that you think you can break the mold?
•You’re too tall, too small, too fat, too thin, too old, too young, too un-athletic…
Even as these sentences buzz through your head, aggressive, like a swarm of hornets, something magical happens. You hear another voice, quiet and incomprehensible at first: “You have to jump.” For many years, that voice has been suppressed. Not anymore. You take the grief and pain of your life and turn it into power and anger. Every muscle of your body, every fiber, every cell, is ready to take the leap of your life.
You take a step forward and another deep breath. Far away, you still hear the warnings of others on the path, groaning about the ascent under the weight of heavy backpacks. But your inner power is greater. Your inner child has broken free of the shackles that bound it for so many years. It is no longer prepared to make itself small; rather, it has torn down the concrete walls and its flame is burning bright. It grows bigger and bigger. In your eyes burns the desire to make a masterpiece of your life. Like a fireball, these forces combine. You put aside your last doubt and jump.
Before you know it, you’re heading for the abyss. You couldn’t have foreseen this, not by any stretch of the mind. Instead of the euphoria you expected, the wind catches you and throws you against the sharp rocks. You hit your leg, bleed, cry out in pain, and wish you hadn’t jumped. But the freefall goes further. As the world rushes past, you become frightened of your own courage. At this altitude, there is no one to catch you. Again, your body is smashed against the rock face.
You scream, you question everything—and suddenly, you hear a loud noise. You’re dragged upward, as if by a magical hand. Your parachute has opened! You’re flying—and it’s the flight of your life. Nature is at your service. The wind that once caused you pain is now providing buoyancy.
As you float, you see the beautiful landscape from a different perspective. Next to you, an eagle glides in circles and gives you a glance—a glance that says that you are like-minded. Suddenly, you have the feeling you’ve been searching for. You’re free, happy, and full of strength. The experts call this “flow.” Enjoy this new power, because you’re now able to retrieve it at the push of a button. This is the leap of your life. No one can help you, and no one will. What’s more, no one can give you permission—not your parents, the state, or your friends or relatives, especially not those who have not jumped themselves.
In summary, I implore you: no matter how old you are or how great your fear is, jump at least once in your life. Ask all the people who dared, and they’ll tell you with smiles about what happened afterward.
