I Thought I Was Tough…
My Son Is My New Hero
I’ve always had the reputation in the family of being fearless.
If anyone will “have a go” it’ll be Dad.
Bungee Jumping… Phft… easy.
Sky diving… Piece of cake, baby.
Karaoke… Just try stopping me.
Rock climbing… what about it?
Big surf… I’ll race ya there.
Snakes, spiders… not even a flinch.
But night diving… as in snorkel, flippers, torch, in the open waters… at night??
Are you serious? That’s friken insane. Crazy, I tell ya. No way man… I mean, Hello? Even a 4 year old knows what lurks around the waters at night, right?
Starts with “S” and ends in “harks”… That’s right Einstein … Why nominate yourself as potential shark bait? No thanks.
So when my teenage son told me he was going on a school excursion to Tangalooma beach this week… and one of the activities was “Night Diving”… I knew he wouldn’t do it. No chance.
We’re talking about a kid who fused himself to a side railing at SeaWorld when I suggested he come on the Pirate Ship with me. Took 4 grown adults and a 3-foot jimmy bar to pry him off the railing… until I promised he didn’t have to go on it.
In fact… Just the night before he left for Tangalooma, he was even nervous about being away from home camping for a few days… let alone the thought of diving at night? Forget that.
But to help him feel comfortable about leaving for his trip… I thought I’d give him some good ol’ “DAD ADVISE”. Funny though… he didn’t even asked for it? They never do…
I said, “You’ll be right buddy… You’ll have a ball my man… Remember… On the other side of your fear lies your greatest victory”
“Yeah, yeah, Dad, I know, I know”
I figured that bit of advise slide past the goal keeper like most of my “Dad Talks”. Apparently not. Get this.
He calls me up on his first night camping and says, “DAD! DAD! I went night diving!”
“WHAT?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS? You went night diving?… At night?”
“Yeah, It was AMAZING! It was so cool Dad. It was uuuunreeeal.”
“OH MY GOD! I’m so proud of you. Were you scared?”
“Hell yes. It was so scary. There was about 15 of us and we had to swim 200 meters back to shore with our torches. It was pitch black. The water was about 10 metres deep. About half way along I dived under and saw this GIGANTIC turtle. It was HUGE! It’s shell was bigger than me. So I grabbed onto it’s shell and it took me for a ride underwater for a few meters.”
“NO WAAAAAY?! That’s AMAZING?! My man…That’s the cooolest thing I have ever heard. EVER. You’re a LEGEND! You are my new hero. I am soooo proud of you buddy.”
“Thanks Dad”
(We stayed talking for another 20 minutes or more…)
Now you tell me… is that cool or what? Goes to show that on the other side of fear waits a tremendous victory. The same goes when I work with clients to come up with their BIG IDEA.
It’s often the scariest idea that will pull in the biggest financial rewards.
I push concepts way beyond the ‘comfortable zone’… where most marketers shudder with fear. But the financial windfall is stunning.
It worked for me when i pushed past the fear barrier and made my 7 hour sales letter video. (Nearly didn’t happen).
It worked for my clients when I suggested a creative way to offer a $10,000 Grant to their first property buyers. Turned out to be a multi-million dollar a month idea, that one.
It worked for another client when I convinced them to run a newspaper ad asking people to qualify to do business with them… Result? A cool 1/4 of a million bucks in 3 months, thank you very much.
It worked when I twisted my clients arm to turn his guarantee into a public $100,000 challenge… creating a flood of responses… no surprise to me.
And it’ll work for you too when I think about your business… when i rattle the cage of fear and uncover the scary BIG IDEA that’ll be a game-changer for YOU… and YOUR business.
Sure… you might “GULP” at my ideas… you may even skip a heart beat or two… you’ll probably think I’m crazy at first… (You’d be right)… but it’ll pay you well.
I believe YOU are just one BIG IDEA away from YOUR million dollar pay day. And it’s probably floating in my brain right now… just waiting to be awakened. Your call.
I guess you’re thinking, “Well how do i get it out of your head and make it real?
Check out this shiny orange link to see how we can make this happen.
http://www.BretThomson.com/project-success
Here’s some free “Dad Advice” for you…“On the other side of this link waits your greatest financial victory.”
Think big. Be different.
Bret Thomson
P.S. Spread the love by sharing this post… or lets chat below. Catchya…
Great post hon 🙂 He was already awesome and now that he’s hitched a ride, deep sea via a turtle! Ahh legendary status! We’re blessed with our amazing kids!
As for fear of the leap, your post really reminds me of the David Lloyd George saying; “You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps”
That’s another thing I love about your big ideas, they truly are so solid… they form a nice money paved bridge taking the client from ordinary, sometimes even crumbling edge to sturdy, over-the-top succesful, golden ground on the other side.
Like Father, like son. LEGEND!
(Although this may seem bias coming from me, I actually base this on the results I’ve seen you bring clients time and time again. And the Gi-normous smiles they wear after having your brain-marinade bring a big idea and their dreams to life)
Geeez, i love how you write,
“they form a nice money paved bridge taking the client from ordinary, sometimes even crumbling edge, to sturdy, over-the-top succesful, golden ground on the other side”
Nice word candy babe. And yes, it’s a buzz seeing the results come in for the clients!! x B
Hey Brett
Time you bit the bullet and dived at night as well.
It is wonderful. A whole new range of creatures are awake and active that you don’t see in the day time.
Lots of the fish are asleep, often tucked in against jetty pylons.
Sharks only go for strange things they don’t understand on the surface like waggly legs over the edge of a surfboard or idiots who are spearfishing and towing dead and bleeding fish, or bags of terrified scallops all clapping like crazy in a crowded catch bag.
Get rid of that fear mate and go for it.
Cheers
Jean
Wow Jean – that’s awesome! Scary, but awesome. I love this part,
“Sharks only go for strange things they don’t understand on the surface like waggly legs over the edge of a surfboard or idiots who are spearfishing and towing dead and bleeding fish, or bags of terrified scallops all clapping like crazy in a crowded catch bag.”
Classic Jean. Thanks for the laugh 🙂
Loved this post! Great story and a great message. Nice one Bret. Can’t wait for the next one!
Thanks Selise. P’reciate your comment 🙂
Great read Bret, you certainly have a way with words. Just thought i’d read your latest post, now i’m reading my third one… Bugger I thought i’d be calm for bed but now i’m all excited!!!