What's the worst that can happen?
There used to be a series of ads on television and it was one of my favourites. It was for the Dr Pepper’s soft drink and it revolved around the catchline, ‘What’s the worst that can happen…’ – a marketer’s gift of a phrase that opened the door to all manner of ridiculous, hilarious situations.
In one, a young man’s prom date disappeared up the stairs for a last-minute adjustment, leaving him alone with her father. The mayhem ensued after the father enquired from the nervous youngster, ‘You like wrestling..?’
The whole thrust of the ad campaign was based on the perception on this side of the Atlantic that Dr Pepper’s was a just a bit of an outlier – a slightly odd-tasting brew from the US that might be better avoided – not unlike the prospect of tussling on the living room floor with your girlfriend’s eccentric father.
What the advertising gurus seemed to be saying was, you may think this is a bit unusual, but give it a go, you never know, you might like it.
That led me to think of another piece of oft-quoted wisdom from carmaker, Henry Ford, who said, ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got…’ That dovetails well with Suzy Kassem’s simple insight around the high price of self-doubt.
Kassem is a multi-talented poet, philosopher, screenwriter and film director whose bestseller, Rise Up and Salute the Sun is a rallying cry for those who are content to live with potential untapped and their dreams unrealised. In a wonderful postscript to the poem itself, she exhorts her readers:
‘The time is now. Now is the time. Time out. I'm out of time. Time is running out, but no worries. We'll soon all be running out after Time…’
And that’s the point. We all have limited time in this existence, a finite number of opportunities to fathom the depths of our hearts’ true desire and live our best, most fulfilling lives.
Are you there yet? If not, what’s stopping you reaching for your purpose? Is it self-doubt? Are you nurturing some ill-defined conviction that things couldn’t possibly work out for the best in your life?
If that is you, if you’ve determined that your personal sense of fulfilment isn’t worth the risks it might entail, then it could be that you’ll have to watch your life’s dreams wither slowly on the vine.
This week marks the halfway point between the dark, dismal months of winter and the bright hope that bubbles up as spring begins to show. These are the days when farmers prepare their first fields for sowing; those who fish for a living contemplate a return to the seas and many of us spring clean our houses ready for a fresh go at things as the warmer months inch closer.
It’s a good time for new beginnings, for taking new risks, contemplating change, learning a new skill or setting a goal and just going for it. After all, ‘what’s the worst that can happen..?’
And just for laughs, here’s a reminder of that old Dr Pepper TV advert.