Today, I will share Billboard to Me (BB2ME) number 46: Lean into Life and face your fear. Some of you may be thinking I will talk about getting up at 5:00 a.m., doing cold plunges, and expressing moments of gratitude. No. I’m going to talk about something that’s fun: amusement park rides.
I like amusement park rides.
Let me start with a confession: I like amusement park rides. If I go to an amusement park like Bush Gardens or King’s Dominion, I will ride as many roller coasters and such as I can. I don’t recall any amusement park ride I’ve looked at and said no way I’m getting on that one. Instead, I say let’s go! If you want to watch a funny video about amusement park rides, I highly recommend that Jimmy Fallon took Kevin’s heart on a roller coaster. As you can see in the picture below, Jimmy had a good time while Kevin screamed for his life. This video has over 100 million views. I laugh every time I watch it.
I do not fear many things.
Let me add another data point for context by saying many things do not scare me. Some things that scare other people, like heights, spiders, tight spaces, and the dark, don’t get me going. Snakes scare me a little bit. I will say there is one clear exception, and that is horror movies. I yell and scream just like everyone else during a horror movie. It is rare that I would pay much less to sit through a horror film.
My lack of fear comes from my Army training
I blame my army training for my lack of fear on amusement park rides. I learned to do scary things when I completed US Army Ranger school. They force you to face your fear and complete training that gets your blood pumping. For example, during the first week, we completed a test at Victory Pond, including a slide for life where you slide down on a cable and drop into the lake. Next, you climb a tower, run across a skinny log, and crawl out on a rope to tag the ranger tab, as shown in the picture below. I was scared out of my mind during this event and loved it.
Being a paratrooper made me face my fear
Add the fact I served in the 82nd Airborne for four years and jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft more than 50 times. This teaches you it’s fun to face your fear. If anybody tells you jumping out of planes is not scary, they’re lying. Of course, it is. You are flying through the air with a parachute attached, and as you see in the picture below, eventually, you have to hit the ground. Yes – it usually hurts.
BB2ME #46 – Lean into Life and have no fear.
Why I wrote this BB2ME
Kim and I took the kids to Bush Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, several summers ago. There is a ride there called Finnegan’s Flyer. It’s pretty scary. The ride takes you in circles and throws you around quite a bit. Out of our group of four, only two of us were brave enough to face our fear and get on it. Below is the picture of me in the proper position for this ride. If you truly want to scare the crap out of yourself, put your hands up, feet off the deck, and just soak it all in.
How I incorporated this billboard into my life
I wrote this billboard as a reminder that I know how to do hard and scary things. I am good at controlling my fear. Whether riding an amusement park ride, standing up in front of a group of people and giving a presentation, or being a guest on a podcast. I can handle it. You can handle it. Hands up!
What about you?
Are you doing hard things? Are you doing things that scare you and make you face your fear? To my sons I hope that you do. I believe many of life’s greatest lessons are on the other side of those type experiences. To anyone else listening, I challenge you go out there and do something hard. Something that scares you and makes you face your fear.
I am Doug Keating, and this is my letter to my sons.