Leaping is fun with a parachute!

A leap faith is often noted as a blind jump into the unknown. I take issue with this. When the topic comes up, I respond that, "Leaping is fun with a parachute!" I currently and frequently have taken huge leaps of faith. I have, as often as not, plunged to the ground. As time passes however, I find myself soaring more often. I have learned two important lessons that help me create a parachute.

First, your single biggest responsibility is absolute commitment, with no doubts. It is critical to hold the vision. Never look back from the leap. The minute you let the vision go, your commitment falters, and with it your performance, creativity, and motivation. You become part of the problem. You then MUST accept full responsibility for any failures that follow, even those not directly related to you. Because doubt is contagious.

Second, because leaps require such commitment, it is essential to remove risks as early and quickly as possible. You should never leap into thin air. Learn critical assumption planning. Identify where assumptions are being made by yourself and other principals. Remove those assumptions by testing. Do so very early, before taking the leap, if at all possible.

It took some hard falls to learn these lessons, and they are reinforced daily. But those lessons create growing success and I have learned to relish the results.