Go After the Deep End | In-Between the Pages – Welcome to In-Between the Pages

The Deep End Waits for You (Image: Shawn Ward)

Jump! Just take the dive right off that diving board into the deep end. I know you cannot swim right now, but you will learn. Just take that chance. Takes a little longer for the sun to heat up that section of the pool so it always seems colder in that end of the pool. Sometimes you cannot even see the bottom so how do you know what’s in there? That’s some of what fear wants you to believe so you don’t take the chance.

There’s a couple of different definitions of ”going off the deep end.” There is the negative one which looks something like this:

”To get very angry about something or lose control of yourself.”

Then there is this one which is where I want to stay focused:

”To become deeply involved, especially falling in.”

Going after the deep rewards is where you will find true accomplishment. Extrinsic motivators in the shallows are distracting and may be life-affirming in the moment, but rarely give you that feeling of fulfillment over the long term. They won’t leave you changed. The shallows don’t test you. You will only find the deep rewarding types of rewards by going into deep uncharted waters.

That deep end won’t look so deep if you go after what you are great at and tap into it. Jay-Z as a creator we now know had two roads he could have taken. One, the easy and immediately most lucrative was to continue to sell drugs on the streets of Brooklyn. The other and more risky was to become one of the greatest rap entertainers of all time. Something he loved, knew, and was incredibly talented at. But it was a risk and was a long term venture with no immediate pay backs. We all know which one he took. His net worth in 2016 was estimated to be at over $610 million. By going into the deep end Jay-Z made himself one the world’s wealthiest rap artists and successful entrepreneurs in the world.

When we decide to go into the deep, there is a small part of you that will feel like it’s a crazy thing to do. Look to answer the questions that haven’t been asked yet. Touch the bottom of the pool. The worst that can happen to you is your ears will pop. Once you come up for air though, you will know what’s possible and what kind of limitations you have in front of you. When it’s time to reflect and go after it again, you’ll want a clear perspective and you will have it.

Let yourself be seen. Be loud and splash about. It’s not about bragging. It’s more about drawing some attention and even some accountability towards what your doing in the deep end. Let people see and come to understand your “why.” Worst case scenario if you cannot swim, making yourself seen will allow people to save you and throw you a lifeline should you need one. You also could inspire people with what you are trying, help them on their way to taking some risk, and maybe even join you. Success loves company and you could be the catalyst someone else needs to take that dip. Great things can be accomplished on your own, but even greater things can be accomplished when you have some company.

If you go out into that deep end you will likely take on some water, sputter for air, and even swallow some. But if you do, you will find the greatest rewards that will out live you, you’ll learn the power of tapping into what you are great at, you will answer questions you didn’t know you would need to get answered along the way, and you’ll create company and inspiration in others to take their chance in the deep. The world needs more people willing to take a shot at the deep end.

I am super inspired and thankful for the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and his jump into the deep end of civil liberties as well as equality for others. What we do says who we are. He brought some 250,000+ people into the deep end with him on August 28th, 1963 and changed the world forever by influencing the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.