Jeff Rodin

In a 2014 commencement address, Jim Carrey shared three lines that will change the way you think about life: 1. "Fear is going to be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much." 2. "So many of us choose our paths out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect." That 2nd line hit me hard––specifically the point about "fear disguised as practicality." Far too many times we choose the "safe" path because we convince ourselves that it's the smart or practical thing to do. I know, I've spent the better part of my adult life doing exactly that. I understand, not everyone's life situation is the same. Sometimes, the conservative path, the practical path, is the right one to take. But more often than not, we make that decision based on fear of the unknown. We spend hours upon hours coming up will all of the reasons we can't live our dreams––we convince ourselves that the life we hoped for just isn't in the cards. It's, as Carrey says, "impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect." Carrey goes on to relay a story from his childhood: "My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn't believe that was possible for him so he made a conservative choice. He got a safe job as an accountant and when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job." What Carrey says he learned brings us to the 3rd and final line I'd like to share: " I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that: You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love." Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this, Retweet ♻️ to share with others and follow me @blakeaburge for more.