sarah saidan: Animating a TED Ed lesson

sarah saidan: Animating a TED Ed lesson: Recently I finished directing a commissioned short film (4:20 mins) for TED Ed   . The lesson was "What Are Human Rights?" wri...

AdWords Agency Blog: Dynamic creative comes to Google Web Designer

AdWords Agency Blog: Dynamic creative comes to Google Web Designer: As the holiday season gets underway, you're likely focused on reaching holiday shoppers as they browse for gifts for their family and f...

Holding back is close to stealing

Holding back is close to stealing

This is an open letter to a friend. They know who they are. I am sharing it with the world as I believe the contents may inspire others to move.

I’ve been aware of the shining light within you for some time now. You are capable of being bold, of changing more than you are willing to admit. You are capable of living this glorious life and impacting positively on the lives of so many.

One of most common human failings is settling for too little. It’s easier to fly low, because it feels safe. By flying too low we shortchange ourselves and others. We settle for low expectations and small dreams. Often society reminds us about the dangers of standing up, standing out and making a noise. Well, it’s time. It’s time to turn up as an adult. It’s time to say I am HERE!

Why are you afraid of the risk to shine brightly? The path that is available to us all is to reach higher than we’ve thought possible. Yes, by taking risks one becomes vulnerable. However life is about an attitude and it’s available to anyone who chooses to adopt it.

You are your own unique human being, with inherent gifts and unrealized talents. You have a capacity to touch others, yet you remain fearful to try. Scared of being a failure, so you don’t even give it a go. There isn’t a pain-free way to achieve your goals. It takes commitment, determination, ups and downs. You haven’t succeeded with your learning yet, not because you can’t figure it out, but because you haven’t been willing to try and simply do it. Always claiming it’s all too hard. But through action comes liberation of your heart and mind.

This message to you is about imploring you to commit to learning that is personal, that requires guts and that has the potential to change everything for you. If you believe that you have no talent, in anything, then you are hiding. Life might scare you, sharing your thinking with others might scare you. But doing nothing by standing still, instead of standing up, should scare you the most.

Your pain is real. It’s the pain of possibility, vulnerability and risk. The easiest way to avoid this pain is to live a life that numbs you, simply existing. I took a massive risk with you, allowed myself to be vulnerable because I see the possibility in your heart of something significant. This pain is part of being alive. In order for there to be courage, there must be risk. When are you going to truly start living this life instead of just breathing?

You live in a privileged world and now have a huge opportunity. You’ve already challenged the status quo with your choices to date. You have taken risks with so many aspects of your life, but none involve honoring yourself through the investment of meaningful learning.

It’s time to consider the notion of remarkability. To be remarkable is to be new, fresh and risky, the natural antagonists of predictable, boring and safe. Education and knowledge is not limited to just gaining power, education and knowledge is transformational. 

Transforming self is everything but predictable, boring or safe. You have stories to share and have a capacity to connect to a generation through your compassion. Give yourself permission to embrace this humanity and start saying YES to yourself and the people that matter.

“Holding back is close to stealing” - Neil Young.

Don’t rob yourself of greatness. Greatness comes to those that honor their inner truth through authentic action.

I feel that all this needed to be said. I am a fellow traveler through the journey of life and I care enough to stand up and say ‘here’. I am here, present Sir, and active in helping you realize your purpose.

We determine our value. Each day that we delay investing in ourselves, we continue to de-value our being.

You are valuable. You are chaos. You are new, you are real and you are important.

What happened yesterday is over. Tomorrow the door is wide open, and this is your chance to connect and enable what you believe to be the impossible, possible.