During the month of December, Buddy will highlight, the Twelve Days of Fearlessness. Whether it is getting up the nerve to lace up your old ice skates with your five-year-old or conquering a halfpipe like your teenage days, fearlessness is not just situational for all- for some, it is a way of life.
It’s dangerous to go alone. — Old man in Zelda
When Link walks into the cave at the beginning of the original Zelda for NES, he’s greeted by an old man who tells him, “It’s dangerous to go alone. Take this,” and then hands him a sword.
Often, we face situations that scare us. As we learned in Day 1, a little bit of fear is healthy, and the reward of coming out on the other side of a scary situation is that we are a little bit stronger and a little more fearless.
I’ve had the privilege to be part of many teams in my life, and the ones that stand out in my mind have a common thread. It’s not winning. The teams that have left the greatest mark are the ones on which everyone knew we all had one another’s backs.
Those are the teams that make it ok to take a risk, to dive for a catch, and to try a move one more time before coming off the wall. They yell encouragement when you need it, pick you up when you fall, celebrate victories, and bounce back from defeats.
At our winter outing to the climbing gym today, I watched as a group that wouldn’t be together without our mission laughed, shared knowledge, and supported one another. Not everyone was a climber, but everyone gave it their all. Those who knew something shared it, and those who were on a wall for the first time left with big smiles and sore arms.
Our adventure is just beginning, and as I think about the future of Buddy, I know that we will change how people protect themselves in a world of always increasing personal risk. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have fears or that everything is always ok, but when I can turn to my right and to my left and see the group I get to face the challenges of startup life with, I know that we will succeed.
That is how my team makes me a little more fearless.
Happy holidays from our team to you!
