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Fear is not your enemy. Fear is your friend. Embrace it, welcome it and push past it to find your true destiny that lies waiting for you on the other side.

All growth springs forth from venturing out into the unknown. Out there beyond those fateful frontiers of your perceived limits lives your greatness. The infinite possibilities available to you in life lie waiting for you in unchartered territory. You simply have to choose to embark upon that voyage.

To get everything you want in life, you must be willing to do something you have never done and be someone you have never been. Where you are in your life right now is a result of the choices you have made in the past. And you will continue getting what you have gotten unless you do something bold. Something new.

Whether it be skydiving, starting your own business, running a marathon or public speaking, go out there and do something that makes those butterflies in your stomach go wild.

This action does not need to directly relate to your life goals. The action just serves as a metaphor for your limitless potential. Every inch out into the unknown builds a rock solid, unbreakable spirit that cannot and will not be shattered.

Self confidence results from successfully having survived a risk. Thus the form of the risk matters less than the level of courage it requires to face it. The greater the required amount of courage, the greater the rewards on the other side.

As C.S. Lewis said, “courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

Any worthy risk will induce fear. It is only natural. Expect it, so you don’t let it stop you. Then embrace your only freedom: the space that lies between a stimulus and your response to it by choosing to focus on the pleasure on the other side of fear, not the possibility of pain on this one. That choice is the spark of courage.

It takes courage in the face of fear, not the absence of it, to take a leap into something magnificent. Each step through fear pushes your comfort zone out one inch further. This constant process of mental, physical, spiritual and physical growth transforms success from uncertainty to inevitability.

As a result of the compound effect of those incremental steps over time, you will achieve a level of self confidence that will make you unstoppable in the face of any challenge that comes your way.

The only enemy you have is your choice to be paralyzed by fear. Should you remain stagnant though, you will continue floating down a lazy river that leads to nowhere.

If, on the other hand, you choose to live your greatness, in the raging rapids of life, you will hit rocks. Rest assured, as long as you aim for the stars, life will beat you down. You will encounter failure. But the unbreakable spirit that is forged in the fires of facing fear will guide you through every obstacle and into success.

Today, at this moment, you get to choose your destiny by taking that first step.

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I am a Marine Corps Veteran, a speaker, an explorer, an entrepreneur and a success coach. After recovering from a life of drugs in high school, I enlisted in the US Marines despite being told by two separate doctors that I would not be able to survive boot camp because of a debilitating medical condition called Thallasemia.

During my six years in the Marines, I earned a bachelors degree in history and philosophy, a masters degree in journalism from the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and I spent 7 months fighting the war in Iraq as a non-commissioned officer.

In my spare time, I pushed the limits of my fears in the outdoors. I have climbed mountains in the Himalayas, Africa, Bolivia, Alaska and the Cascades. I have been skydiving, scuba diving, caving, rock climbing, ice climbing, ice diving and mountain biking. In May of this year, I spent one month skiing across the second largest icecap in the world in Greenland. In temperatures as low as -40 degrees, I dragged a sled weighing 190 pounds across 350 miles.

Since then I have started two businesses: an adventure company and Human Potential Development LLC, where I help others live every day with passion and purpose through coaching, public speaking and transformational workshops. I am also a trained success coach by the ICF accredited coach training program.

While running my two businesses, I continue to explore the most hostile environments on the planet and share the wisdom I have gained from a life on the edge with others so that they too can cross their icecaps and reach their summits.

For more information, please visit existing2living.com

Comments (12)

  1. Beautiful, Akshay!! Ah what an arrow – right to the center of it all! I feel this message. It rings true and relevant. Maybe for all of humanity. Thank you for sending it our way. Thank you for your perspective from the summit – high and vast…..and for your conquerings. They give me COURAGE.
    LeeAnn

  2. Thank you. This was one of the most inspiring inspirations I’ve read. I was just saying I’ve never seen one written by a vet and then I read that you were. You have much to share and happy you are doing so

  3. From the valleys to the peaks, your soul words sing like Tibetan bells. Thank you for rising up and shining on!

  4. Akshay you have crafted your message from the heart, forged by your amazing experiences. My own climbing taught me more about myself, leadership (the foundation of which are Assertiveness and Empathy) and life, than all my formal education, reading and corporate consulting. Your words are brilliant in both content and context!!!!!

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