by Teddy Fikre

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

There are two types of people in this world, those who play it safe and those who gamble.  There are two types of gamblers in this world, those who gamble recklessly and those who gamble discerningly.  To those who play it safe, those who gamble are reckless regardless and no amount of convincing can change their minds.  However, to those who gamble discerningly, those who gamble recklessly are fools that are doomed to failure.

For too long in my life I have taken my turn playing it safe and being a reckless gambler.  I was afraid of taking chances on those things which I thought I might fail at while gambling recklessly while calling it spontaneous living to make myself feel better.  I wanted to go to law school, but I played it safe and worked at a telecommunications company instead.  I wanted to get an MBA, but told myself that I was not ready yet.  I wanted to start countless companies yet I got caught up in the details of its perfection to such an extent that I never launched one of my business ideas.

On the opposite side of playing it safe, I have lived life fully.  In my 20s, I partied so much that dance floors in most clubs in DC should be named after me.  I went out outrageous road trips and had outrageous times with some outrageous friends.  I am glad that facebook did not exist in the 1990s, I could only imagine the amount of trouble I would have gotten myself into back then.  I refused to let my economic constraints get in the way of me having a good time, thus even with a dollar in my pocket, I found ways to have a great time and met some of the most amazing friends that I will never forget.

It was not until 2008 that I realized that I was a dichotomy; I was a person who played it safe while gambling recklessly.  Conceptually, I had the talent to do a lot of things in life, however, my fear of failure kept me from taking a chance on those things which are my passions.  Passions such as being a community organizer, being an entrepreneur, being a marketer of ideas and people, and exposing the Ethiopian culture to a wider audience.  I’ve always had the hope of doing these things, but I never had the audacity to try.

Until 2008, that year marked a corner in my life.  I saw a black man from Chicago disregarding the advice of “friends” who tried to tell him that he was not ready.  I witnessed millions of people deciding to gamble on a man with a funny name knowing that the possibility of a heartbreaking loss was more likely than not.  What Obama and his legions of hopemongers embarked upon was a historic journey where they decided to gamble discerningly.  I joined that legion and learned a lesson of a lifetime, a lesson that taught me to believe audaciously in myself and to go after all of my dreams and let the chips fall where they may.

I have become the community organizer that I always wanted to be, I have become the entrepreneur I dreamed of being, I have become a marketer of ideas and of great people, and most importantly, I have been able to expose the beautiful Ethiopian culture to a wider audience.  I have learned to gamble—to take a chance—on myself and my dreams knowing that I might fail.  I have learned to disregard the advice of friends who tell me to slow down, that I am a gambler, that I need to think things through perfectly before I chase my dreams.  I have learned to apply audacity to my hopes, and for that, I am living my life fully and loving every minute of it.

As you read this, you are probably wondering on the countless ideas that you have.  Ideas of starting a business, going to school, making a difference in people’s lives yet have held back from embarking on those ideas because you feared failure or because of friendly advice from friends.  I beseech you today to gamble, to take a chance, and do what it is that you always wanted to do.  Life is too short to wait for the perfect moment to live out your dreams, the perfect moment is now.

You can spend the rest of your life on the edge of a mountain deciding if you should take a leap.  Take a gamble and leap, you will most likely soar, even if you crash, you will get back up and learned the most important lesson.  You will have learned that life will pass you by if you play it safe at all times.  Take a gamble discerningly on the one person that matters the most—take a chance on yourself, and let the chips fall where they may.  Trust me, things will turn up aces when you do.

This blog submission was written by Teddy Fikre.  The views of guest bloggers are not the views of Ethiopian-Americans for Change.  Guest bloggers represent the broad dissection of views and outlooks within our community.

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