Finding Comfort In Risk

We spent a long time figuring out how we wanted to introduce the story of what Live in the Grey is. Part of that process was crafting a video that encapsulates our message on the inner struggle we all face to take risks and blend our lives. Take a look:

Our statements are not revolutionary, but as Umair Haque says in his latest essay, “The lessons of a life well lived rarely are: they’re simple, timeless truths.” There may never come a day when you feel completely at ease with the things that scare you. But by sharing the lessons of others, we hope to get you very acquainted, and maybe even a little friendly, with confronting the things that hold you back.

In an excerpt from his latest book, “The Icarus Deception,” Seth Godin explains how conquering his childhood fear of high diving helped him push through the signals in his brain that told him to stop taking risks:

We’ve built a culture that’s filled with virtual roller coasters. The biggest cultural roller coaster of all is the one that pushes us to keep our heads down and comply, the one that is short-circuiting your art. This is the unspoken threat (the one we’re reminded of from first grade) that you’re just one misstep away from being fired, ostracized, thrown out, and exiled from the community. It’s not true, but your lizard brain doesn’t know that, any more than it knows that a roller coaster at Six Flags isn’t going to kill you.

You should definitely read the full excerpt here. We hope his story can help you overcome whatever doubts may be holding you back in your own life or career.