Would You Ride Naked Through the Streets?

What would you be willing to do to achieve your goal?

In the 13th century, the people of Coventry were struggling under the oppressive taxation of Leofric of Mercia.

Word of their suffering reached the ear of his wife.

Lady Godiva made appeal for them again and again but nothing moved him.

When she thought her intercessions were all in vain, he at last relented, on the condition that she would ride naked through the streets.

Taking him at his word, she agreed and after issuing a proclamation that all the citizens stay indoors and close all their windows, she sauntered out with no covering other than her long hair.

Again, what would you be willing to do to achieve your goal?

The average person is willing to just go through the motions of, go to college, get a degree, get a job, and work there until retirement. Then live out the rest of your life collecting seashells or playing golf until you die and along the way, teach your children and grandchildren how to do the same.

Sadly many people live like that.

Sure they have goals.

They have dreams.

But they never have stepped off the treadmill of corporate life to live on their own terms.

Maybe they thought about it only to run into a wall of doubts.

I don’t have the money.

I don’t have the time.

I don’t have the experience.

What if I fail?

There is always a price to be paid for everything that we do.

Learning to ride a bike?

You will fall many times.

School work?

You might get less than good grades.

Start a SubStack?

No interest in your work.

Paying the price means that you risk momentary comfort in the hope that your dream will be realized in the future.

• Benjamin Franklin tried over 1,000 times before he made the light bulb.

• It took Henty Ford 2 years to create his first car.

• Colonel Sanders recipe was rejected 1,009 times before anyone accepted it.

And I could name countless other examples.

But what is the point?

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In order to raise the heavy tax, Lady Godiva was willing to do something outside of her comfort zone because she believed in her cause.

All of the above examples challenged the status quo. And we are grateful for them aren’t we?

Lightbulbs.

Cars.

Kentucky Fried Chicken.

What would our world be like today without them?

Whether we like it or not, we have grown up in a cookie-cutter society that if we aren’t careful will stamp out the last bit of ingenuity and creativity that makes the world a better place.

Maya Angelou once wrote:

‘My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.’

And I echo that. It isn’t enough to survive. You need to thrive.

On SubStack I have met people that have embraced a life outside of normal as their new normal.

They found something to stand up for.

To ride naked through the streets for.

Instead of asking who would stand in the gap, they asked, why not me?

And every day, that is the question we each have to ask ourselves.

Why not me?

Why not take hold of this opportunity? Why not offer a solution to this problem?

Why not?

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from trying.

So take hold of that idea you’ve been sitting on and turn it into something that will help people and not just take up room in your head.

Don’t wait to be perfect.

Perfection kills more ideas than the world could hold.

But start where you are with what you have.

It may flop.

You will have setbacks.

Failure will strike.

But failure isn’t the end.

It is merely a lesson.

Learn it and pivot in a new direction.

That is the game called Life.

You may not have started well, but you can finish well.

Start today and never look back.