Press the Button

There was this toy my brother and I would play with as kids called Crocodile Dentist. The object of the game was to push down on the plastic crocodile's teeth while attempting to avoid a "sensitive tooth". It was... kinda like hot potato but the loser had a toy clamp down on their hand in violent fashion. The only glory of the game was to watch your opponent suffer when they lost, which happened about 50% of the time (unless you knew the secret).

Speaking of risks... everyone that's been to a summer camp has that one summer camp story.

It was my first year in high school camp (had finally finished middle school and was time to join the big kids). Our church group was well-known for our... traditions... and as a first year things were gonna get crazy.

"Hey Billy! You doing it? Tonight?"

"I don't know man... I just want to play it safe ya know?"

"Ah come on bro, you got this!"

The first few days my friends tried to coax me into the age-old Night Escapist ritual. This particular event was the pinnacle of feats for any camper, and first years (those with the least experience) were the targets. The objective of Night Escapist was to exit the cabin sometime at night and weave your way to the opposite side of the campground without being caught by patrol or security personnel. Some elder students would wear crazy costumes and make a joke of it... others however took it very seriously, like I did.

After days of making excuses the final night of camp had arrived, it was Thursday. My buddies and I drew-up an elaborate map of the campground on the back of someone's journal as we paced our dinky cabin. It was now or never.

To make the mission as covert as possible we split up, wearing large trash bags to increase hide-ability (not sure that's a word). With cutouts for our legs and eyes we were able to drop at a moment's notice and act as uh... a full trash bag.

It wasn't more than five minutes when a golf cart pulled off the path and headed in my direction.

"Hey! Something's over there, check it out!" A man called, flashlight dancing a yellow glow in my direction.

Yeah... I got majorly busted, but so were my friends as I found out later. (Two of them made it to the lakefront, our goal, so props to them.)

Taking risks is a part of life, it's one of the many factors that makes us human. We have self-made boundaries that inhibit us from doing great things (or stupid things). My challenge for you is to try to acknowledge those inhibitors and break free.

What's holding you back from being the person you want to be? What little thing can you give up today in order to obtain that goal? Who can you bring with on your journey?

Accountability is a huge component in accomplishing your dream... the more people you let in on your situation the more feedback you'll receive.