Bet On Yourself

Around a month ago, I got a message about being a guest on my new podcast.

It was from Marques Ogden, a current businessman, motivational speaker, best-selling author... and former NFL player.

And as you can imagine, I was pretty pumped. But also a bit in shock? Maybe even confused?

I couldn’t believe I was going to record a podcast interview with a former NFL player! Yeah, I know all these athletes are everyday people just like you and me (and I tried to think about it that way). But it was still hard to wrap my head around how this even happened to begin with.

Anyway, we hopped on the call and Marques started sharing his story and background as I was sweating profusely. What, I was a bit nervous okay?

Long story short, I finally published the podcast episode and you can take a listen to Marques’ story here.

But that’s beyond the point. I’m not just writing this to brag or show how “cool” I am for having a guy like Marques on my show.

The experience really got me thinking. Sure, it was something really cool that happened. But it got me thinking about what can happen when you put yourself out there. When you take chances and open yourself up to opportunities.

The interview would have never been possible if I let my fear of starting a podcast stop me from trying. If I didn’t post my podcast on the online community Marques and I connected on. If I didn’t hone in on my vision I wanted to share with others. If I didn’t even start to begin with...

Look, when creating something, we often feel resistance. Whether we’re afraid of judgement, failure, or anything else in between. It can be scary to put yourself out there at first.

It can be scary to start. The unknown is scary for a reason... it’s unknown! We don’t know what will happen or where we’ll go. We often don’t even have everything figured out.

And guess what? That’s okay! That’s how life’s supposed to be lived. We’re not supposed to have all the answers or have everything figured out. We’re not supposed to know what comes next or where life will take us. Imagine how boring that would be?

But far too often, we let fear get in the way of starting. We ask ourselves things like:

What if I fail? What are people going to say? What if nobody likes it?

These questions keep us from putting ourselves out there and creating new opportunities.

Imagine if I’d let those same questions stop me from starting a podcast. Sure, talking to a former NFL player was really cool. But if I let those questions keep me from starting, I would have never met some truly incredible people. Amazing opportunities would have never been created. Memories would have never been made.

So instead of asking the above questions, shift your perspective to:

What if things turn out better than I could even imagine?

Because you really don’t know what will happen until you start. Until you bet on yourself, face your fears, and take the leap into the unknown.

There’s a cliché quote (you know how much I love cliché sayings):

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

Listen, you can’t just expect opportunity to show up and start knocking. Why? Because we create our own luck and opportunities ourselves. By stepping into the unknown, doing the things that scare us, putting ourself out there, meeting new people, traveling to new places, learning new skills...

The point is, you’ll never know what can happen until you start.

The longer you wait and stand on the sidelines, the more opportunities pass you by.

So go for it. Face your fears, take the leap, put in the work...

As Nike so elegantly puts it: Just Do It.

Bet on yourself. Because nobody else is going to do it for you.

Never stop dreaming,

Connor