Opinions are Temporary

And that's a very, very wonderful thing. Living in this truth offers freedom, a chance to repair, a chance to strengthen, and a chance to take risks. It creates a beautiful opportunity to embarrass yourself, have fun, grow and evolve into the next best version of yourself. It allows you to live authentically.

I love this photo. It reminds me of this beautiful principle.

Here's a shy young girl having fun during the first week of summer break bringing back a favorite pastime, selling lemonade. Instead of selling only lemonade at a lemonade stand, she offered a variety of products and added a little entertainment to garner the attention of busy neighbors going about their day. She dressed up in a magician's costume and courageously stood at the street corner, guiding traffic to her lemonade stand.

I was so inspired by her. She's my daughter and she's not the type to put herself out there. But on this day, she did so in a very fun and no-nonsense way. Her strategy worked. Her attire encouraged neighbors to stop their cars, roll down their windows, and ask what she was doing.

Once face-to-face, and combined with the ingenuity of her streetside business, most neighbors bought a glass of lemonade, a rose, or water "all for the low price of $2 each." This 11-year-old made $130 in two days!

We choose who we are every day, in every moment, with every word we say and every thing we do. ~M.J. Clark , Vice President, Integrated Leadership Systems

We are free, and I am so very grateful.

And then there's Vivian "Viv". Flash forward two weeks. I'm having lunch at a locally-owned restaurant, sitting at a booth, looking forward to some quality time with my favorite server, Viv. She is a smart, spunky, hard-working, outspoken 73-year-old beautiful woman who is full of life. She lives life on her terms, which means that she is far from being 73 years old. She's living life with an existentially youthful heart, and in my opinion, is about 35-years-old. She'll always be 35-years-old. And thanks to her, so will I. Isn't she flawless?!

Life is so very good.

You and I—we get to embark on a new adventure every day. We can get really creative and try something new. We can change our behaviors, attitudes, and outlook on life. We can own our mistakes, acknowledge them, apologize, and move on with the understanding that we can reshape someone's opinion of us.

Wouldn't it be magical to have the creativity, passion, and courage to put on a magician's costume when you feel it's necessary to accomplish your goal? Wouldn't it be extraordinary to live the life of a 35-year-old for the rest of your life and have that spirit reflected in everything that you are?

Oh, the joy that's given to the world when we live this way.

We may be apprehensive because of our fear of what others will think of us or the reputation we're working to sustain, or we succumb to the pressure of society and social norms. Let's stop doing that right now. Let's live knowing opinions are temporary. Let's take fun, bold risks that make life really enjoyable. Let's strip ourselves of our fears and live, looking back with admiration for our fearlessness.