Living On The Edge

In the mid ‘90s I met a motivational music group called The Goads. I am not sure if they are even together anymore. At the events where we met they would have these great shirts with sayings that would really get you to think. The one that I remember most is “If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up way to much space.” The meaning is you need to be taking more risks if you want to succeed in life.

Now as I think about risk in our world, almost 20 years after first seeing that saying, I think of so many people who over-extended themselves. I think of our world and those who are struggling to find jobs, those who are struggling to make a house payment on a home that is worth half of what they owe the bank for it.

Another rock group, Aerosmith, put out a song by the same name. “Livin’ On The Edge” had some great lyrics to help us to think of some of those political things going on in the world. There are two lines in that song that I want to bring up today as we think of what it means to stand out from the crowd, how we should stand out but not push ourselves past the very resources that we have.

We’re seeing things in a different way and God knows it ain’t His.

In the song, I’m sure that it was referring the way religion has been taken in our world but when I hear this line what it really makes me think of is how we have lived past our means in so many ways. I know I’ve told a few times about how we need to delay gratification. We also need to understand that in our world people are not going to see things the way we do.

If you are taking risks in life to reach a goal, learn to take the risks but be wise about them. The hardest thing to see as a coach is someone who took a risk in life and the result is a loss. Too many times people blame others or God when this happens. When you take the risk, understand it’s a risk, and with risk comes a chance of loss. Even something that seems like a “sure thing” can be a risk. Take the person who spends four years obtaining an education and ends up in a field that jobs are leaving.

When I start the coaching process with anyone we have to deal with how to handle risk, take calculated risks. Don’t bet the farm on a long shot; those who seem to have more are the ones who took many smaller risks to get to that big risk.

There’s something right with the world today, everybody knows it’s wrong. But we can tell them “no” or we could let it go.

One of the things that make a successful person stand out is they take ownership for all, the good the bad and the ugly. In this world, if you do not like the price that must be paid for the success you want, you have the right to let it go. You can say “No” when it’s not the right deal. A few years ago when I was working at a coffee shop and riding a motorcycle I built in my home garage, many of those so-called successful people would tell me how they were jealous of my life. I did not have loads of debt; I did not carry loads of stress. I lived a simple life and that gave me lots of freedoms.

In your life if you want something you need to learn when to say “no” and when to say “yes.” You need to know when to take the deal and when to walk away. When you use this power to control things in your life you will become the person who is not living on the edge and living a peaceful life.

I started this post today with a statement that I initially believed was false if you want to stand out for the long term. You want to live on the edge; it may bring your life to an end faster but that is your choice. I was at first thinking that if you decide to not live on the edge you will not stand out. But maybe you will. After all you will have room to breathe; you will have less stress. Think now of one of your friends who always seems to live at peace in all they do. I think that is the way God wanted us to live. Yes we can take risks but not to the point that we are totally stressed out. That is one of those areas where I live in peace. Come join me in a peaceful world.

I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do, and those you share life with. Live in peace and enjoy life and you will stand out as the RockStar in your world.