Like this:

A piece of advice from a petty 21-year-old: Avoid wasting opportunities by being afraid.

Easier said than done, right? Very true, but it´s also easier when practiced than when not.

This past week has given me a (venture) capital-lettered chance at realizing just how self-intimidating we all are. And after some serious mental churning, I´ve begun ditching lame excuses and replacing them with no excuses (or really good ones at least). Let me fill you in at what I´m talking about…

When I was a littler kid, making phone calls scared the living shit out of me. My parents know this well. They´d asked me if I wanted pizza for dinner – the obvious answer being yes, of course - but usually told me that if I wanted it, I would have to call in the order.

Damn. I guess it´s spaghetti night again.

What happens when you´re too afraid to do something? Well, if you´re a cynic, you´d answer that you never eat pizza. Well cynics, technically you´re right. Except here pizza symbolizes something else: getting what we really want without flattering our fears.

It´s pretty redundant to say that we all want to get what we want. Unfortunately, if most people had digested this concept by now and made it part of their diet, we´d probably see more people going about doing it. Now I´m not talking about problems of motivation or reaping superficial or material things. Like that BB gun Ralphie thirsted for in A Christmas Story or some hair highlights your friends are preventing you from getting. Instead think of something simple but meaningful - maybe that trip you´ve been dying to go on or a person you haven´t gathered up the cajone strength to ask out.         

Uruguay´s been good turf for practicing at getting what I want despite the inklings of terror involved. Just the other day, I needed to schedule interviews for Guillermo´s clients, working more or less as his spy to tease out prices, quality control expectations, and market tendencies. Now I still haven´t grown out of my phone-phobia. After all, calling people you don´t know in another language to get confidential information sure made my palms sweaty at the thought. Technically I could have opted for emailing or asking one of my Endeavor colleagues to do it for me. But instead of wasting time and opportunity by being a major wuss, I was on the phone all day. Since then, I´ve conducted 4 interviews with some great results. (Sidenote: understanding another language on the phone or radio has got to be the biggest crucible for foreigners. This was some gritty but great practice.) 

So? I´ve started warming up to cold calling.

Wiping away the fear helps us squeeze the orange a lot better, too. I´ve been playing with Cuatro Vientos – the band near my house – and scheduling practices for a funky trio as well. The takeaway: shy people, straighten your backbone, raise your hand more, ask for directions, whatever. Nervous people, relax, quit biting your nails, or smoke some legal uruguayan pot for my sake and yours.

If you´re going to waste time, at least waste it some way or some place else other than ´zone fear´. Remember: opportunity begets opportunity. 

So for all those who really wanted to be a ski bum or rockstar, I urge you go do it. Or at least try picking up the phone. It´s good practice. For as they say, practice makes perfect.