Eleanor Roosevelt said: “Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You.”
OK, now that it’s over I can tell you this — I was unbelievably nervous about joining with a group of truly talented people to perform a Bollywood Dance at the Middletown Peach Festival Parade.
I woke up Saturday morning kind of hoping that the parade would be rained out. When we arrived at the staging area for the parade the butterflies really started acting up. I thought about faking a twisted ankle or something — I mean, the rest of this group was SO GOOD — coordinated, graceful, skillful, young, attractive, and talented. I just knew I was going to bring the whole group down, embarrass everyone, and ruin the parade.
Before I knew it, the parade was moving forward — our group started walking, then doing a little impromptu dancing, and even got to give Ronald McDonald some lessons. This was getting to be a lot of fun — the butterflies seemed to settle down.
All of a sudden we’re in front of the judges and it is Show Time!
Click Here to see the incredible video Sanskriti made of the experience!
Here’s another great video my Lovely Bride shot of the performance:
Click here to see the phenomenal collection of photos from the day
This was, quite simply, one of the best experiences of my life — and I would not want to change a moment — the rest of Saturday was spent basking in the knowledge that I had done something I never thought I’d be able to do — this was a dream come true.
I am forever grateful to Sanskriti Inamdar and all of the dancers for their patience, encouragement, and willingness to train this big, uncoordinated dreamer. And huge thanks to an incredibly supportive and fun wife who has to put up with everyone saying, “Your husband is doing what?”
Oh, and this just made the whole experience even better — our dance was judged the Best Performing Group in the parade!
By the way, a few people asked me, “Where can I learn Bollywood Dance like that?” Let me tell you — get in touch with Sanskriti at the Ishanya Dance Company (click here for the website with contact information) — there are classes held in different parts of the state for all ages – and trust me, you will LOVE IT!
So, I tell you all of that to say this:
Ask yourself, “What do I really want to do that kind of scares me?” Is it going back to school? Learning to skydive? Starting a business?
Whatever that thing is — Do It! I know it’s frightening, I know there’s a million worst-case scenarios — but if you want to truly live then surround yourself with good, supportive people and jump in and do the scary thing — I can’t guarantee you’ll get a trophy, but I can promise a worthwhile adventure!
