How to ditch the Gatekeeper: a lesson from the Pandemic…
“Once upon a time, in the biggest city ever known to mankind, a baby girl was born. From a young age she displayed a vast amount of talent for ( ), a fact that did not go unnoticed by her parents; they did their best to foster them, at least most of the time.
As the girl grew, so did her talent — thanks to that she got a scholarship on ( ) that took her all the way from school to land a nice job at a very prestigious firm. The job was good as well as the colleagues, but the more she climbed the ladder of success, the least she was able to do ( ).
The thought that she would be able to pick up ( ) at a later time helped her soothe the restlessness in her heart, but unfortunately there was never a right time for it.
And as it often happens in life, she got married and had three beautiful children, got the picket fence house and a membership at the Country Club, traveled the world… a «perfect» life.
One day she woke up, old and full of gray hairs; her husband had passed away some years ago and the children had carried on with their lives, but she never was able to continue with ( ) again… ever. Later she died as well, and all that talent for ( ) was lost forever…
She lived a «perfect» life, not because she asked for it, but because it was handed to her”.
The End.
I don’t know you, but the bare thought of it makes me cringe… it’s called regret.
You can swap the “she” for a “he” or whatever gender pronoun you like, it doesn’t matter, the story remains the same.
The point is:
There’s never a “right time” to go after the things you long.
…Not for becoming a parent — first you need a stack of money, a big house and plenty of nannies to help — right?
…Not for that side business — with this uncertainty, are you stupid or what? Most of the good stuff has been taken, it’s not worth it…
…Not for changing your career path — again?! Haven’t you read what above? It’s too risky! Not a good moment, better wait until things settle down (and all sits are taken…).
…Not for exercising — it’s always too cold or rainy or dry or hot or too crowded or, or… and on and on.
OK but, if it’s such a terrible thing:
Why do we keep living life from the passenger seat?
Meet the Gatekeeper
Before you go after your dreams — I know, it sounds cheesy, but bear with me — first you must meet the “Gatekeeper”: who he is, where he lives, what are his tactics and what’s his weapon of choice.
Stop reading for a moment, go to a mirror and take a good look at the person staring at you and don’t be fooled: she might look and sound like you, but the truth is that she’s NOT you. Somehow, she found a way into your head, that’s where she operates… and his weapon of choice?
Fear.
Studies show that a human being will move away two times faster from something he fears than towards some reward, to give you an example: the physical and emotional response from losing a hundred dollars is twice that of founding a hundred dollars… ¿comprende?
So… do you remember that one time you were considering to start writing?
In an instant, all those great ideas were shootdown, relentlessly, one by one. As fear flares you can feel your pulse rising, the hands are sweaty, and your breathing becomes shallow.
Because, I mean, after all…
Who is going to read your stuff? Seriously?!
Who do you think you are? You are not prepared for that and it’s not even you mother language!
Someone with the proper knowledge is already doing it BETTER than you!
You’re just going to make a FOOL of yourself!…
By the time he’s done with you, the only thing you see are the ashes of what seemed to be a great idea, if only…
— Everyone is Fighting a battle you know nothing about. The heroes in this book are no different. Everyone struggles. Take solace in that — Tim Ferris, Tools of Titans.
And the Cure is…
I think we can agree on something:
It doesn’t matter how many books you read or how many times you’ve dipped your toes in the water, if you really want to learn how to swim there is only one way to do it — you plunge in the water — right?
So, what are you waiting for? Take ACTION and do it now! Because we only get one shot at this life… are you sure you want to play it safe?
Instead of waiting for the muses to drop by, pick yourself up and go chase them, give it a try: write that first paragraph, apply for that job, enroll in that course, go ask that person out…
And yes, there is a risk: you might crash and burn — first times of something usually suck — so don’t whip yourself, whether we like it or not, it’s part of the process… That’s how you learnt to walk, right? You fell so many times in all directions but in the end, you succeeded.
You can bring something to the table, but only if we are willing to take the risk and share that uniqueness with the rest of the world, I can already tell you this: it will be well received…
