I’m a fan of animated movies. And thanks to my kids, I’ve been watching more of these than I ever have!
Yesterday I decided to take sometime out with my son. Thought of watching Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse with him. Good decision — we both LOVED it! In fact, I even posted a jibe on my Facebook page, which I usually don’t do.
What stood out for the coach in me was this line at a pivotal moment in the movie. It goes like this:
Miles Morales: When will I know I’m ready to be Spiderman?
— Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse
Peter Parker/Spiderman: It’s a leap of faith, Miles. It’s a leap of faith.*
Let me tell you, that exchange floored me! It’s so poignant and deep. Something you don’t really expect from an animated superhero movie, right? (And from Peter Parker who’s now officially sick of the “with more power comes more responsibility” quote… watch the darn movie, please!)
But it made me thinking really hard about the choices that we make and the reasons why we stop dead in the tracks. Because we think we’re not ready or perhaps ask the ones whom we look up to — “when will I be ready?”
I know I have. Several times. But I’m yet to hear that life altering answer. In fact, I clearly remember how I felt the first time I heard something different. It an audiobook by John Maxwell saying, “Jump and grow your wings on the way down.” And I think John’s referring to the leap of faith that we all ought to take when we’re in doubt and think we can’t or aren’t ready to do what we really want to.
I’ve wasted countless opportunities by getting myself ready. I guess so have you. Perhaps it’s other people’s judgement or our inherent fear that we aren’t good enough. At least not yet. But holding on to those thoughts hasn’t helped any innovator, entrepreneur, leader get through the challenges.
Is there really an aha moment that’ll signal you’re ready? I’m not sure. But here’s what I am sure about — you can choose stay stuck with mediocrity or take the leap of faith and find out how great you can be.