September 12, 2020

Leap Of Faith

The phrase “leap of faith” is a cliche.

But what is a cliche?

A cliche is a brilliant insight that has been drained of meaning through overuse. A cliche is a victim of its own success. A metaphor that’s so powerful that it ceases to work.

It’s weird. You know when to say one, but you don’t really understand what you’re saying. It’s just a thing people say when they’re in a given situation.

It’s like a sound you make with your mouth that has no real meaning to either party, but you both know it’s the right sound to make.

The upside?

This means that most cliches contain a brilliant insight that you’ve never recognized but has been staring you in the face all along.

But I digress...

What does leap of faith really mean?

It means you need to jump from one side of the chasm to the other without proof that you’re going to make it.

It means you have to take an action based on belief, not data.

There’s no way around this. If you want to do anything interesting, you’re going to need to make a leap of faith. Probably lots of them.

What does this tell us?

It tells us that we will never feel like we are completely ready. We will never have proof that this is the right time. We will never know for sure that we will make it to the other side.

You just have to believe.

Please note: I’m NOT saying that you’ll succeed just because you believe. I’m saying that you’ll never take action if you don’t.

Yours,

—J

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