The Dead End

Have You Learned Your Lesson?
One moment that sticks in my mind is climbing a tree at my grandparents. It was the tree over the "alligator pit," which is deserving of its own story. I tried it "without equipment" and only got up to the first major branch. After seeing images of a rock climber, who looked like he had a bunch of jump ropes hanging from his belt, I jimmied a climbing rig out of my hot pink rope. I got higher up into the tree. A lot higher. I actually got stuck in the tree - about 10 feet off the ground.

I sat it out until help arrived...with a ladder. "Have you learned your lesson?" I heard from my mother that night. I knew "the lesson" I was supposed to learn was that I shouldn't climb trees. I nodded yes, knowing that what I had really learned was that I must figure out how to climb trees better. 

If Given the Opportunity, Will You or Won't You? 
To me, this whole "have you learned your lesson" bit really comes down to, if given the opportunity, will you or won't you. More than likely, I will - but I won't do it again the same way. I learn from mistakes and failure doesn't scare me because the pleasure of success is so rewarding - even if success is measured branch by branch. Sport and life is about missteps. Scrapes, bruises and broken bones (or the workspace equivalent) may be an unfortunate part of the journey, however, you'll never any regrets if you give it everything you've got.

What If There Is Really Something Awesome Down That Road?
By the end of that summer, me and my trusty jump rope had figured out tree climbing - up and down. I had climbed so high in that tree that I could actually see the cul-du-sac from a different view.  I also (mostly) safely made it right back down on my own. Why that was important to me? I don't know. Maybe just to say been there, done that. Maybe because I was learning that hard work and taking chances makes me really happy.

Point being, if you let something as simple as a Dead End sign make you stop and turn your car around, you might be missing something amazing. Then again, you might not. More importantly, unless you give it a shot, you will never know.