Have you heard about your Default Future? It’s the plan you are moving toward without knowing it. Default futures aren’t the life of your dreams. It’s what you’ll settle for – not bad, but certainly not what you deserve. The irony is that despite all this, they are deeply held and can actually be painful to loose. Fear of this loss is what keeps many people stuck. My friend Paul Perroni decided to let go of his default plan and take a leap of faith – a big leap of faith.
He packed his car with two months rent and left for Chicago to be an actor. Instead of listening to everyone who said – “that probably isn’t going to happen or make sure you have a back up plan” – he took a risk. Interestingly enough, Paul believes jumping without a parachute is probably what helped him make it. There was no other plan. He was going to act. Now – to be fair - he is cute, smart and charming. So he had assets, but he also had the instincts to keep putting himself in the right place – and keep working for a goal.
Now he lives in New York and works as an actor. You have seen him in the Wendy’s 3conomics commercials – and plenty more. What I learned from interviewing him – was that life is full of reasons you won’t make it – and if you believe them – you’re right - you won’t. A fear that almost stopped him, was that he wasn’t a theater major in college. Like me he had walked away from theater when all the “common sense advice” about his future took over for awhile. But what makes him unique – is that he didn’t stay there.
One of my favorite quotes is “Do you know how old you’ll be when you really start living your dreams? The same age you’ll be if you never start”(TAW). One of Paul’s favorite quotes is “If you want to act, just act. If you have a back up plan – that’s what you’ll do.” (DM) There will always be a reason not to do the things you want and everyone has them – even people who do live their dreams – the difference is not in the fear but in the doing. What ultimately defines you are the physical steps you take to go out and risk on a dream.
Go ahead – take a leap of faith – believe in yourself. It may not involve taking a drive to Chicago this weekend, but no matter what you do -the only limits that matter - are the ones you put on yourself.
