GrumpyFan, a reader of this blog, told me a story about taking risks.

Walt Disney had failed badly when he was young, having his first animation studio go bankrupt out from under him. He let his employees down, not to mention his investors, and was by all accounts a failure. Rather than dropping his head, accepting a dream tried but missed, and getting on with a regular life, he packed his belongings and headed for Hollywood where he formed a new studio that would go on to change entertainment forever. Even in the face of utter defeat, he was not defeated. A dream was worth the risk.

When talking about the episode, Walt said, “Remember the story about the boy who wanted to march in the circus parade. The band master needed a trombonist so the boy signed up. He hadn’t marched a block before the band master demanded, ‘Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t play the trombone?’ The boy said, ‘How would I know? I never tried it before.’”

Chasing something new is risky, and it takes courage to get there. I know I can do what I’ve never done before, but it’s hard to convince other people of that. No, I don’t know how to play the trombone, but I do know the tune and, fortunately, I know how to play A LOT of instruments.