Being a science fiction lover, the Latin phrase “Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat” reminds me a lot of something the Klingons would say in Star Trek. The Klingons had a few good proverbs: “Today is a good day to die” and “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Those sayings are little too dark for my mood right now. I prefer the Latin proverb that means “fortune favors the bold.”
What’s it mean for me? The phrase is self explanatory in itself, but we typically pay it little attention. If I don’t do anything, nothing will change. Duh, right? You’d think so, but too often, we get stuck in our ruts. We bitch and complain about how shitty things are, but we don’t do a goddamn thing to change it. I have friends and family who are experts in this area. Change is fucking hard. It sucks. The outcomes might be great, the it doesn’t come without pain. Favorable outcomes come to those who are bold enough to take the risk, to step outside of their comfort zones.
People like to complain about successful business people. Elon Musk, for example. He’s rich. He’s this or that. The richest person in the world is an African-American (from the continent of Africa and American). Yes, he’s on the spectrum, so when he puts his mind to something, he fucking does it. He’s worked harder than almost anyone in America, and he’s been rewarded for it. When someone said something cannot be done, he fucking did it. When electric cars sucked, he was bold enough to do it better.
As for me? I’ve started three businesses. One failed because I didn’t put much effort into it back when I was 18. Another has been going strong for 16 years. The last one is still there, but I just don’t have time to put into it. It hasn’t failed, but it hasn’t taken off like it could have. We cannot be so fearful of failure that we are paralyzed by it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a job, starting a business, or even love. Yes, we’ve all been burned in the past. Yes, we should be vigilant. Yes, we should take steps to protect ourselves. Sometimes, just sometimes, we have to take a risk so insanely counterintuitive that everyone around us would tell us we’re fucking stupid. Musk has done it countless times. He doesn’t give a fuck what people say, especially if he knows he’s right. I’m about to do the same thing. Some people will call me a stupid motherfucker. If I end up in a ditch with a pineapple shoved in my ass, they were right; however, that’s not going to be the case. I’ve written before about trusting my gut, thinking critically, and now, being bold enough to take a step very few people would dare do. Today might be a good day to die, but fortune favors the bold.