Be Bold

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe / William Hutchinson Murray

How often have you heard the phrase, “Nothing to lose?” Have you ever taken a moment to ponder over it and the relevance of it in your own life? How would you live if you had nothing to lose? There are those who would approach this phrase from a negative angle and engage in self-destructive behavior because after all they have nothing to lose. Looked at in this way nothing to lose takes on a negative connotation. However, I choose to look at the phrase “nothing to lose,” in a different way, flip it around and you have “everything to gain.” So if you had everything to gain and nothing to lose how would you live your life? What would you do differently? At the start of this year I went about making my usual New Year Resolutions which included my regular list: lose weight, live healthy, make more money etc. However, this year I used a different approach first of all I didn’t sit down and write a list secondly, a theme and phrase kept playing through my head during the first week of January and that phrase was, “Be Bold.” So this year I decided my New Year Resolution was to “Be Bold.” So instead of the usual list I built my New Year resolutions around the theme of been bold. If it works out for me I just might build my whole life around it and step out of my tidy little comfort zone. For me the concept of been bold is centered around taking risks and living as though “I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” I wrote an inspirational poem centered around my New Year’s theme titled “Be Bold.” May it inspire all those who read it to step out of their comfort zones and live life boldly.

Quote from Steve Jobs Poster (see Inspirational Posters below): I love the following quote by Steve Jobs it is audacious enough for those who are willing to step out of the box and draw outside the lines. "Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes...the ones who see things differently - they're not fond of rules...You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things...they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do." - Steve Jobs Quote

(Inspirational Poetry by Injete Chesoni)

Be BOLD

My child

Step out of your comfort zone

Go where you have never gone before

Be BOLD

My child

Be who you thought you never could be

Reach much further than your eyes can see

Be BOLD

My child

Do what you thought you never could do

You have nothing to lose

Except the you that you thought was you

Be BOLD

My child

You have so much to gain

Your struggles will not be in vain

Starting now

Starting here

Be BOLD

My child

And conquer fear

Be BOLD

My child

Be BOLD

So that when you

come to the end

of life’s road

You can proudly say

With no regrets

I lived my life well

I was BOLD

The opening quote in this article is drawn from William H. Murray’s book titled The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951) in which he attributes the quote on boldness to Goethe. These words by Murray have served as an inspiration to me on many occasions:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”

– Inspirational Quote by W.H. Murray