Page 90 - The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage

Five Seconds of Courage Changes Everything

Tom starts counting to himself, “5- 4- 3-…” and by the time he gets to 2, he
starts walking across the room. He has no idea what he’ll say to her. His heart is
racing, but for the first time in a long time he doesn’t feel numb, he feels alive. The
closer he gets to her, the more his heart races. She turns around just as he reaches
her. What happens next is…irrelevant.

It doesn’t matter what happens because she either becomes his soulmate or she
doesn’t. The ending of the story is irrelevant—the only thing that matters is the
beginning of the story, that Tom made a choice to begin living again. That’s how
you listen to your heart. Whether you are starting to date again, starting a company,
or starting a YouTube channel, you must find the courage to start.

Notice how we desperately want an assurance that Tom “got the girl.” It makes
for a great movie plot, but “getting the girl” isn’t the point. Life isn’t a Nicholas
Sparks novel. Life is gritty and hard and then suddenly it is brilliant and amazing.
Besides, the girl could be engaged. She could be gay. She could be a real bitch. Even
if she’s amazing and they end up having crazy hot sex or go on to get married, “the
girl” is not the source of power in the story. Tom is.

The treasure in your life is buried within you. It’s not inside of someone else.
Tom is the source of power in his life and you are the source of power in yours.
You unlock that power when you listen to your instincts and 5- 4- 3- 2- 1 push
yourself to honor them. When you discover your “inner true self ” it will be the
“most important gift of all.”