Audacity “The quality or state of being audacious: such as a : intrepid boldness knights admired for their audacity.”

I’ve had about four or five careers (I’ve stopped counting), and I just embrace the art of side quest. Why not step out of your comfort zone? Why not learn something new? If you fail, it indeed was a learning experience, and you had fun trying something that you wanted to do.

Growing up, I was taught to look before you leap, and somewhere along the line, I said no to that. I saw so many people who were trying something for the first time, and what they lacked in experience they made up for in audacity. Going for a goal takes courage. Stepping out of your comfort zone takes guts, and living outside of that zone takes audacity.

“How dare you be comfortable with being uncomfortable?” Your willingness to keep going and not accept the status quo will make some folks uncomfortable, and that’s okay because they haven’t gotten to the stop that you’re at on your journey.

“When is the last time that you did something for the guest time?” I ask myself that often. Rather, it’s hopping on a skateboard and going down a ramp the same day (would not recommend that) or packing up my bags, knowing no one, and moving to a new city; I thrive off of change. That’s why a pandemic during my mayoral term wasn’t a challenge. It was an opportunity to build something. It was an opportunity to learn something new. It was an opportunity to put myself out there and meet new people.

Go find something you like. Make a list of things you’ve always wanted to do and thought it was out of reach, and go do that. Some people never get the opportunity to fail because they don’t try. But ask yourself, “why not me?” Why can’t you do that thing that you want to do? Is it funding? Go look up who funds the things that you’re looking to do, and find ways to network with them. Most of the time, it’s courage, go have the audacity to talk yourself into following your dreams.

People will call it delusional, but please let them. In a time where we wake up every day and it feels like the world is on fire, and tomorrow is not promised, have the delusion to follow your dream and see it through. No one else will hold you accountable. No one else is living your exact journey, so it’s okay if they don’t understand your stops or your ways of getting there.

Be the one who did it and took pictures along the way to show people that you had a vision that they couldn’t see.

A lot of the time, it be your own imagination that gets in the way of your dreams. – @justdae