David Patterson has been a personal friend of mine for the past few years. Recently we got together over a cup of coffee where he asked me, “What is this 30 Days of YES thing all about?” By the end of our time together he decided he wanted to do the program, but wanted something to help keep him accountable. Together, we came up with the idea of having him go through the 30 Days of YES e-book program while keeping track of his progress on his blog. The following is an excerpt from David’s blog about his 30 Days of YES journey.
Each week I will be posting highlights from Dave’s journey.
I meant to write this blog shortly after watching Nik Wallenda’s Watch Wallenda’s Walk on ABC amazing trek into Canada on a thin wire high above Niagara Falls. I’ve got the kids with me 24/7 for the first half of summer so as I mentioned in my last blog I’m really focusing on living in the now (that would be with my children right now) while balancing the quest for full-time employment.
Wallenda’s grueling high-wire walk was very inspirational and very timely for me. As I watched it live on ABC I watched it as a viewer taking in a sporting event. I was curious. I wanted to see how he would do and I wanted to be able to say, “I watched history in the making on live TV.” It was captivating. Then I was drawn into his sense of calm, concentration and confidence. What was even more impressive? Wallenda’s post-accomplishment interview. What an amazing person.
Wallenda is the ultimate of 30 Days of Yes. There was not an ounce of “no” in his daredevil activity. I had a pretty tough week of some unfortunate circumstances prior to watching the walk. I won’t get into details because many are dealing with far worse situations and the obstacles weren’t anything that couldn’t be overcome – just a distraction. And if Wallenda can cross high above the turbulent Niagara Falls on a very thin cable then I could do just about anything.
As I watched his interview it really hit me. He was demonstrating two very important parts of life which gets me back to what I am learning in my 30 Days of Yes (which has now become “365 Days of Yes”). My previous blog was about balancing and this blog is about visualizing and realizing accomplishments. There’s no doubt that Wallenda could not have crossed that wire without being balanced. And there’s no doubt that he could not have crossed that wire if he had fear of failure on his mind. What came out loud and clear to me in his interview was: 1. He said he has played out the scenario of crossing Niagara Falls on a tight rope in his mind since he was a young kid. 2. He said he did not allow his mind to be filled with negative possibilities.
