Just say yes.

Recently I stumbled across “Yes, man” on Netflix, a movie where Jim Carrey’s character attends a self-help seminar and learns the power of saying yes, leading him to all sorts of amazing, transformative experiences.

Similar advice was suggested to me many years ago as an exercise to see what would happen. So I began that experiment, which is how I started to travel – a lot. My first yes was an invitation to the Galapagos, which put me under the spell of our earth’s flora and fauna and even humbled me as a human being. After that, invitations and opportunities expanded to travel more, including countries like Myanmar, Turkey, Thailand and so on. I said yes all of it. To date I have been to over 37 countries.

Of course like anyone else, I had some resistance in my mind, worried about money and whether I could afford travel on an entrepreneurs salary or even leave my clients for a week or two. But there is one thing I learned along the way. The more I say yes and trust my inner voice, it gives me the courage to jump into the deep end and experience life a whole lot more.

I did not have a fancy camera at the time, but the experiences that came it are what inspired me to to pick up the camera and have the courage to live more creatively.

So why do people say no?

As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I am reading James Victore’s book, F*ck Perfection, Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life. It is a book that guides readers along the path of a creative career. I have already lead a successful creative career in design, as an entrepreneur. Many of his ideas are not unfamiliar to me, but his lessons are still relevant to anyone that is human and needs nudging.

In chapter two, he discusses “ Your greatest fear is expressing yourself.” No one is going to give us the freedom to do what is in our hearts, but we need to take the leap on our own. “Freedom is a leap. It’s taking the jump and believing that you’ll land safely or at least won’t die.”

I identify with this every damn day and know well the paralysis that comes with expressing myself creatively. Yes, it is more comfortable to be an introvert. It is more comfortable to not write a blog. It is more comfortable to hold onto my photos, where no one can see them. But Victore’s words speak loud and clear when he says , “Your job in life is to get over yourself.” He’s like a little annoying voice on my shoulder.

And I will add, you need to practice taking the big leaps.

This weekend I agreed to jump into Lake Michigan for the Chicago Polar Bear Club Plunge. Of course, there were moments when I questioned my inner voice to being less than half-clothed on a beach, in the snow, with over a hundred shivering souls. But when I evaluated the risks and reward, I could not say no.

Did you know if you fall in a frozen lake, you have 15 minutes to get yourself out before you die from hypothermia? According to Finns, cold water swimming needs to last only about 30 seconds to reap positive health benefits. And it takes about 10 seconds to do the Polar Bear Club Plunge on a frosty, cold day in January. So statistics say, the risk of dying is pretty slim.

So as I headed down to North Avenue Beach that morning, I was reminded by my first plunge several years ago. It is when I met my good friend Maria, who does the Plunge with me now. It is the day we are both reminded, by a jolt of freezing cold water, that we are brave and bold, ready to leap into the deep end of living. Though last year, I did not do the plunge, I did photograph the event. It was, as much or more, a reminder to see other people’s brave enthusiasm to jump into yes, knowing the reward is yet to come.