Why Wouldn't You?

In the 1995 Movie, Braveheart, the character William Wallace gives an incredibly inspiring speech about freedom to the people of Scotland as they are about to go into battle. The people are cheering and motivated but immediately after the speech is done, one of his men says to Wallace, fine speech, now what do we do? You may have felt that same type of anxiety and conflict as you read parts of this book. That’s because these true stories that we have lived and experienced are inviting and challenging you to think differently. To expand the possibilities and to stretch yourself to reach for more. So now what do we do? This book is not only an invitation to grow and a curious learner but also our challenge to you to embrace curiosity and use it as the foundation for your life as you live, learn and grow. We shared from the start that we never set out to write a book. Furthermore, we actually never even found ourselves initially anchored on curiosity- rather, curiosity found us. As we’ve attempted to establish in these pages, we discovered that it is curiosity that is the fabric, the backbone, the core tenant to the experiences expressed in this book that we found to be meaningful in our life, learning, and work together. Curiosity is the foundation that allows us to reach for more, grow, and achieve more than we ever thought possible and it begins with asking yourself this innocent question, “Why Wouldn’t I” and then being genuinely open to actively seeking the answer. Our hope is that this book can serve as both a challenge and an invitation to be more curious. To explore what it might look like applied across all areas of your life. To pause. To consider. To simply ask yourself, “Why Wouldn’t I?”, and in so doing, that curiosity might further enhance how you live, learn, and grow. As we shared through our personal stories in this book, the possibilities for personal growth are endless when you live your life with curiosity. ● When you work alongside others in a team or lead them with curiosity instead of control, you and others you work with can accomplish things that you never thought were possible. ● When you choose collaboration over your ego, real progress happens. ● When you compete against your own best self instead of comparing yourself to others, you compete with the freedom to do your best without the fear of failure. ● When you trust your gut and “just do,” sometimes an impossible task becomes possible. ● When you boldly go headfirst with the confidence if following your vision and values, even when the outcome is uncertain, you grow as a person. ● When you are willing to climb higher, you may discover a broader perspective of your potential. ● When times get tough, it might be worth it to pull a lever, flip a switch, push a button, or turn a knob. ● When you reflect on the thousand small gestures that define your brand and press into them, you unleash the power of living out your brand every day. ● When you know you simply have to keep going and embrace that intentional forward movement is the best option, you realize you are in fact capable of taking yet another step. ● When you face the often-fictious barrier we call fear, you realize a simple change in approach can squelch fear and quickly be replaced with an opportunistic burning desire to let go and go for it. And who knows? When you let someone else into your world and spend time sharing your ideas and asking questions, you might even write a book together someday. Because with a “Why Wouldn’t You” mindset built on curiosity, you are rewarded with the opportunity to experience things that you never thought were possible. And that is your personal invitation and challenge to live, learn and grow in ways you may never have thought were possible.