Penguins Aren’t Scary

I have always had a slightly unnatural fear of penguins. Yes… penguins. You see, when I was about 11ish I had a dream where I was running down the stairs because penguins were chasing me. I don’t know why, but these normally docile creatures had decided I no longer needed my flesh. I remember running and tripping and even though it slowed me down I had no choice but to look back to see if they were still chasing me. And then I look down and my arm has a hole in it! Somehow they had gotten to me without even getting near! Those wily creatures.

Now, in reality, I knew that penguins weren’t going to get me. But even now, at 42, when I see penguins I remember that dream and how scared I was. Perhaps in some situations, penguins are scary. But I certainly can’t think of one!

This week we studied about big dreams. Building a business born from passion and ingenuity can be quite a scary feat. There is so much to worry about. Who to hire. How to manage accounting. Where to spend your time. How to find customers. How to get away from the stinkin’ penguins!

We were encouraged to think of our dreams. Explore. Be creative. Become who we are meant to be. Face the penguins! They don’t actually want to peck you. Take problems and see how to use those problem for the better. What can you change in the world?

We learned about Kathy Huber, an engineer with a tenacity for entrepreneurship. She said that she never took no for an answer. She was always surprised that there weren’t other women in engineering. She thrived on solving problems and thinking outside the box. She said that you always have to keep fighting. What I loved about her was that she didn’t seem to understand that there was a limit. She just assumed there was always more! It was her gumption that seemed to drive her forward and help so many.

So, don’t run from the penguins people. Problems aren’t scary. Penguins aren’t scary. And dreams don’t have to be scary either. Perhaps you should be more scared if you don’t have one.