Dare To Stand Out

I have a confession to make.

Normally I don’t care too much about fashion. Don’t misunderstand me – I like to look nice, and I think looking good is important.

It’s just at this point in my life, being on the cutting edge of fashion or wearing certain brands is

not paramount to me. That is, with one exception. I am particular about my running shoes.

I often go through several stores without finding a single pair that interests me. Sometimes this

produces a couple extra months of wear on my already smooth soles. Thank goodness Nike

usually saves the day, including the case of my latest pair.

Nike coming through was not atypical. 

What was surprising, however, was that I purchased what I would consider - a daring pair.

It would not be inaccurate to call them eye-catching. That has definitely been their effect on me. I get a handful of comments about them every week or

so, whereas you could probably count the number of comments I have received about my

previous shoes on both hands.

At first all the attention made me uneasy.

Then I started wondering what all the fuss was about. It reminded me of Helen Keller’s quote on risk:

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

To me, my blue shoes are a metaphor for dreaming and doing something with those dreams.

Going through life conservatively might keep you safe, but you won’t make much of an

impression.

Isn’t significance what we all long for? As author and entrepreneur Seth Godin said

on his blog, “Lots of random pokes in many different spots are unlikely to leave much of an

impact. And hiding out is surely not going to work at all.”

What “shoes” do you need to buy? Where have you blended instead of standing out like you

were designed to do?