A Big Dangerous Idea

A Tangibly Uncommon essay by Jennifer Brook

Dear ___________ (write your name here),

You have a big dangerous idea living inside of you.

It's a big idea because to conjure it feels overwhelming and breathtaking; it gives you goose bumps. It's big because the full consequences of pursuing this idea are unknown even to you.

It's a dangerous idea because it means doing something that terrifies you. Pursuing it means leaving the comfort and safety of your accomplishments behind.

I can't say for certain if you are capable of accomplishing this big dangerous idea, but I do know that there must be one small thing you can do to set this idea into motion.

I'm inviting you to write that one small thing down here**:

________________________________________________

**Take your time- I'll wait. If you need inspiration or support, tell your idea to a trusted friend and invite them to write down what their one small thing would be if the idea was theirs.

++++

One year after locating a big dangerous idea within myself, I wrote down that one small thing. It took me another three years to feel capable, confident, and worthy enough to do that one small thing. Some of our big dangerous ideas incubate inside of us for much longer than this.

My friend Paul reminded me this incubation period has value. Our thoughts can run along and refine the surfaces of a big dangerous idea until a change in its shape allows it to emerge from the sediment of our consciousness.

My big dangerous idea has led my partner and I across Vietnam and Laos on motorbikes, covering a distance longer than that of New York to LA. It has led to my leaving the realm of traditional employment. It has led my partner and I to change the principles regarding how we live our life. I have no idea where this big dangerous idea will take me next.

My first small thing was: Take a motorcycle class.

Dangerously yours,

Jennifer Brook