The First Penguin

I just finished rereading “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch.  It is such a though provoking and well written book and it is full of wonderful advice for people of all ages.  One that caught my attention was an excerpt called the first penguin.  Often times we cling to the security and comfort of following the crowd.  It makes us feel safe and leads a lot of us to lead very calculated and cautious lives.  I have found myself falling into this category more often than I would like.  The concept of the first penguin is that when looking for food one penguin has to dive into the water first.  This is a big risk because if there are predators this penguin could be in danger but if the waters are clear the first penguin will reap the benefits by getting the best fish and will not go hungry. 

Human nature calls us to be simultaneously cautious as a self preservation mechanism but also to be bold in order to get ahead in life.  I am still trying to find out where this ideal balance is in my own life.  I am very cautious in my job choice.  I work for a large company in a cubicle because I like the comfort of bi-weekly paychecks that do not fluctuate and the security that large companies can provide.  As a result I like my job but I am not doing something that I truly love that would likely (at least initially) provide significantly less compensation and would fluctuate greatly.  I have decided that this is in part due to my nature but also due to some of our life choices.  We chose to buy a house which represents a 30 year commitment (less since I pay extra principal but let’s say 30 years for arguments sake).  This commitment is the same amount every month and is due without fail, so how do you pair a non-traditional job with traditional commitments?  I unfortunately don’t have an answer for this but it’s something I find my thoughts returning to over and over again.  My guess is that Randy would say it requires the bold move of diving in head first (or in this pictures case - feet first).