24-pack

“Take the risks necessary to achieve your goals. Others are watching and will
follow your lead.”— Misti Burmeister

Route 1 runs through the center of Dewey Beach, Delaware. My first trip there was during winter, and the place was such a ghost town that the “Quiet Area” signs off the main route seemed like a joke. This summer, however, I realized just how well-placed those signs are!

Driving through Dewey, especially on a holiday weekend, reminded me of visiting New Orleans during Mardi Gras. There were people and booze everywhere. The only things missing were the infamous beads – and the experiences associated with them.

My friend Mali and I were in Dewey for a writing retreat. After a few days of focused writing time, we headed out to the fresh produce market.

Mali pushed the button for the crosswalk, and we stood there waiting for what felt like hours. But with the constant traffic, there was no other way to get across the street – unless, as we quickly learned, you had a 24-pack of beer.

With what might have been a touch of liquid confidence, a man took his giant box of beer, held it out in front of him, and plunged his way through the traffic.

My first thought: This guy is crazy! My second thought: He’s getting across the street; follow him! And so we did, despite Mali’s incessant reminders that we did not yet have the right-of-way.

It was quite a moment! Until then, I thought those beer commercials – the ones where people drink beer and suddenly everything goes right for them – were just a lot of marketing nonsense!

The next day, I struck up a conversation with a lady who had clearly been waiting for a while to cross over to the beachside of Route 1. “This light takes forever,” she said.

“A 24-pack of beer is all you need,” I said. “I watched it work yesterday.”

Looking back, I wonder what would happen if we all took a few more risks to achieve our goals. Plunging yourself into traffic might not be your idea of “worth it,” but perhaps tossing your name in for a challenging project or promotion is.

Take the risks necessary to achieve your goals. Others are watching and will follow your lead. Do you want them to see you waiting for your dreams to come true, or taking action in spite of fear?

Join the Conversation: What’s the busy street corner that’s been holding you back? And what’s your “24-pack” solution for overcoming it?

Keeping it simple,

Misti Burmeister, best-selling author of From Boomers to Bloggers: Success Strategies Across GenerationsHidden Heroes and Power Suck.

Misti on Google+