Dare You To Move – Leaving the Cave

Hello friends!

It’s high time for another blog post and I’m really excited about this one. It won’t be one of my traditional BUDGET RAH-RAH! or LIVE WITH LESS blog posts but let’s agree to let it stay since it’s very relevant to the underlying message of both those: LIVING INTENTIONALLY.

A running theme has been on my mind a lot lately after listening to one particular podcast by Dave Ramsey. A caller was expressing reluctance to go out on his own in business and give up the security of employment. Dave responded with something I liked so much I include it here verbatim:

“Stability is an illusion – if someone else is providing it. You’re only as stable as your ability to get up, leave the cave, kill something and drag it home.”

I LOVE THAT. It is a reminder that we – our developed and inherent talents, skills, abilities and our confidence in them and in God’s ability to help us – are the best assets and the most secure things we have. I know it’s kind of hard to have oneself but I think you understand what I’m trying to say.

Leaning too hard on something offering supposed security can cause us to forget our strength and confidence and lull us into just getting by.

Speaking of just getting by, I’ve also been listening to Switchfoot (Christian rock band made famous by Mandy Moore’s Only Hope – denim jumpers and mid-calf dresses at their finest) which will forever remind me of one of my all-time favorite roadtrips.

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Tangent:

It was Thanksgiving Weekend of 2006. My sister and I drove my sweet new Subaru* from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon for a one-day adventure. It was one of the happiest days of my life, no exaggeration.

We found Santa’s Workshop – sadly abandoned by the side of an Arizona highway and poked around taking pictures on his supposed sleigh. We got a huge kick out of quoting inside jokes from The Office on the Rim of the Grand Canyon, then hiked into what we were both surprised to find much cooler than the modest hole in the ground we for some reason expected.

We giggled about the signs advising us to “follow mule guide’s instructions.”

And we discovered the town of Williams, AZ, where we ate dinner at Jessie’s Steakhouse (significant if you know my sister’s name) and found an outdoor skating rink serving hot chocolate. So charming and such a happy day with my best friend of a sister!

Anyway…whew…you are getting more than you bargained for…we listened to a CD on repeat with some amazing tunes including Switchfoot’s Dare You To Move and This is Your Life. End of tangent.]

Resuming

Assuming I didn’t lose you in that charming walk-down-memory-lane, I believe we left off at I’ve also been listening to Switchfoot…ah yes… One of their songs is More Than Fine and a part of the lyrics say “I want more than just OK”. I for sure want way more than just okay, don’t you?!

Related to this and perhaps part of the same podcast episode was a female caller whose voice almost quivered with fear as she explained that, at 39 years old, she was about to lose her long-held but entry-level job. She didn’t say as much but it was as if she was looking for her best option of a rock to curl up under and hunker down under.

Dave’s response (this one is not verbatim)? “I am so excited for you! God has just given you a gift. You would’ve stayed there for the rest of your life but God has something bigger for you to do with yourself…you’re only 39! You get a second chance to pursue what you wanted to be when you grew up!”

Faux security like she thought she was enjoying has a way of lulling you into thinking “okay” is enough and that doing anything else different is SCARY.

Living with “okay” financially or as a consumer is when we let marketing or other people’s opinions govern what we wear, buy, do, spend, what incomes we trap ourselves into, etc. And I am such a fan of daring to move out of that territory to a place where we live simpler and happier.

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I’m not advocating everyone quit their jobs.

In fact, jobs can be great. They can allow enough day-to-day stability that you can develop yourself and your cave-leaving-skills on the side and that’s great.

You might be in an exciting job, working for a meaningful company, and feel like you are thriving and contributing and that’s cool! If, however, you feel stuck in career or any area of your life, I’d recommend getting those fears down on paper so you can start DOING something about them.

Fears are scariest in our heads. That is true of just about anything and why one of my biggest tips to getting out of debt or getting more intentional with your spending is to get everything on paper.

EVERYTHING.

It’s like summoning the courage as a kid to shine a flashlight under your bed or in your closet where you feared monsters might be. No monsters, at least none you can’t deal with!

Anyway, I’ll wrap up this perhaps ecclectic post with a quote by Rian Rockford** I read on Forbes.com:

“Betting on yourself is the best investment you can make.”

A favorite book, Essentialism, talks about “protecting the asset” – with you being your best asset. Greg McKeowan advocates getting enough sleep, exercise, mental recharging, etc. in order to contribute to the world and your life’s mission in the most effective way. Remember those talents and abilities and the strength you have, and let your stability be based on principles of self-reliance.

Invest in you, bet on you! And as you do, here’s to daring to live more this year and venturing out of the cave. You and I won’t know what adventures and uncapped growth and simple satisfactions are out there unless we do.

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*I sure loved that car even though she was 250% more than I was planning on spending on a car and like $20,000 more than I should’ve been paying. Never again folks!

**No clue who Rian is. Googling him turns up no one prominent so maybe he is just a really great self-promoter, hustling for his dream, and we can all learn from him.

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