I was having coffee recently with my friend Roland, who saw me through the trauma of selling my house in the summer of 2008, at the start of the mortgage crisis. He and his then-partner Roark were my real estate brokers.
It was a nail-biting ride as they steered me through the crashing market that summer. Escrow closed on Friday, September 11 – a dreadful closing date, I remember thinking at the time. The following Monday, Lehman Brothers collapsed and economic hell broke loose. On Wednesday of that week, I was on a plane to Rome, feeling like I had escaped by the skin of my clenched teeth.
I wandered around Italy for a month, trying to decompress. And at every cathedral I visited, I lit a candle of gratitude for Roland and Roark. A new chapter of my life had begun. Adventure awaited me.
So when Roland and I were talking recently about where my writer’s journey will take me next, he was stunned when he sensed my angst and uncertainty.
“You’re kidding me,” he said. “Selling your house and moving to Italy took real courage. There’s nothing you can’t do. Block out your fears. Ignore the naysayers.”
And then he said something that gave me pause: “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?”
It’s a wonderful question to ask yourself. If you knew you couldn’t fail…what you would you DARE to do? What dream would you make happen?
{ 15 comments }
