Don't Delay.

I once wet my pants. I was just a little tike at the time, but I remember it vividly.

My friend’s mom had hired a magician to perform at his birthday party.

It goes without saying, I was mesmerized.

In retrospect, I’m sure he was just a lame party magician, but to me he was uncapping the secrets of the universe and revealing the truths of the magic arts.

I couldn’t believe my eyes:

“His arm just disappeared. Whaaat?”

“How did he know what card my friend took? Amazing!!”

“That wasn’t in his hat before. True magic, I knew it!”

In my excitement I ignored the increasingly less subtle urgings of my bladder-region. I don’t know if it was a conscious decision to continue delaying the inevitable, but somehow I prioritized magic over primal relief (who wouldn’t?).

After being stupefied yet again by this purveyor of sorcery, I ran out of time. My eyes bulged as I realized I had little time left. I bolted from the couch and started running for the bathroom. Apparently, this was the only signal my body needed to open the floodgates.

My running was soon accompanied by warm and wet pants, a sure sign I had not reached my destination before delivering my cargo.

Fortunately, the remainder of the story is a blur; aside from my friend’s mom cleaning me up and giving me a pair of pants to borrow.

What is my ambition in retelling this story of adolescent enthusiasm?

Simple. We do the same thing.

We stand on the sidelines of life, being inspired by the public figures who catch our attention. Perhaps it’s a motivational speaker, an author, a counselor, a talk-show host, a youtube sensation, whatever! These people are doing something that inspires us, and we not-so-secretly want to emulate them.

But what happens?

We sit in admiration of the people who are doing what we want, and we ignore the urgings of our gut. When we finally do respond, we don’t make our destination…and often we make a mess.

It doesn’t have to be like that. We can engage with our more authentic desires much earlier, and much more graciously.

This is a lesson I wish I had learned ten or fifteen years ago. I didn’t know we could engage in what we love gradually, and build steam incrementally.

Instead, I would jump with both feet into the deep end, and often live on the change I could find in my couch cushions. Hot dogs and ramen are extremely affordable, FYI.

It would have been far more effective had I used my regular job to fund my dreams (on the side). And as my side-hustle built enough steam, I could transition into what I really wanted to do with my career.

Here’s what I am trying to say. Most people do one of two things: 1.) They don’t ever take action until the moment has passed. They wait until wetting themselves is inevitable. 2.) They jump too early without any safeguards, caution, or judicious wisdom.

Neither of these are necessary, and both of them have a strong potential of failure. They are two sides of the same coin: Wanting something but sabotaging it.

What is the alternative?

Start engaging in what you want to do now. Today. Immediately. Yesterday even.

BUT, don’t jump in with no safety net. Start to engage with your passion within your bandwidth and resources.

Your engagement with “your passion” will naturally cause you to refine and define what you are offering. You might find you want to pivot when you engage with an industry. Or you might learn there is no appetite for your initial offering. No problem! By being engaged in the real world of opportunity and ideas you will be garnering authentic experience and expertise.

You’ll also be able to build something from a place of life and enjoyment, instead of pressure and desperation. We imbue our offerings with our emotional energies, so the more we enjoy what we do, the more people will enjoy what we’ve done.

The problem with today’s culture is not lack of opportunity, it is lack of vision.

We have a remarkable tendency to be short-sighted. We think “it has to be done now” or “I’ll wait until I’m ready.” Well, it can’t be done now and you’ll never be ready. So what else you got?

Instead, think of your life in terms of years (maybe even decades). When you engage with something you love over the long-term, intentionally, you’ll be fostering something truly valuable.

If we think in terms of years, instead of days and weeks, we will understand that small investments over time pay big (and lasting) dividends.

As a child at a birthday party, I would have benefited from listening to my gut. It was saying, go take care of business, you can come back and enjoy the rest of the show! Instead, I ignored my gut and was removed from “polite society” for the rest of the night.

What is your gut telling you? Maybe it would be time to listen instead of waiting until it FORCES you to listen.

Trust me, it will be relieving.