I must make a confession…I am afraid of the dark. Yeah, I know it sounds kind of childish and a bit ridiculous, but come one…am I alone? Really…ask yourself, am I afraid of the dark?

It all started for me in a musty basement at my grandparents’ house. It was a typical 70’s basement…shag carpet, bar with Avon bottles in all shapes, sizes and colors, wood paneling on the walls, tons of owls and the prevailing colors were pea green and orange. Shiver! I can still smell the dampness and hear the sump pump. However, there was a back room that was solid concrete and cement block. Come to think of it, it was probably the perfect setting for a horror movie!

That room housed the deep freezer. One of my favorite all-time foods is ice cream and every time I went to my grandparent’s house they would ask if I wanted ice cream. Like any doting grandparent bent on spoiling the grandkids, they would make me a big bowl and cover with chocolate or sprinkles. I loved going to my grandparents’ house…until the day I had to retrieve the ice cream myself.

For some reason the builder only put a light switch at the top of the stairs. On my maiden trip to the deep freeze I flipped the lights on and headed for the back room, not a fear in the world. What did I have to fear? It was light. I was about to eat ice cream.

Everything was great until I reached the back room. That’s where it all went wrong. My grandpa thought he would play a funny little game with me (I have completed my therapy). When I reached the back of the basement he flipped the light switch and slammed the basement door shut. I wish I could tell you I reacted with a calmness and sense of control, but I didn’t. As soon as I realized I was in the dark, I froze…then panicked…then screamed. Unfortunately, that same funny game was repeated many times throughout my childhood. I guess I learned about as fast as Wylie Coyote.

Isn’t funny how the dark affects us? Whether it is a basement, a country road, an alley or even in your house there is something paralyzing about the dark. I think it is the fear of the unknown. Not knowing where you are or what could be out there. That’s just the way our brains are wired. We fear the unknown. What we can’t see. And many times, like my trip to the deep freeze, we are unable to proceed because of our fear.

The same thing is true for our leadership lives. Many of us are afraid to move forward because we can’t see where we are or what obstacles are in front of us. So we simply stop and go no further until we can see. Why? Because it’s safe. Nothing too bad can happen to us if we can see where we are going. Wouldn’t it be nice if every path we walked or every direction we went was illuminated? Unfortunately, leaders don’t have that luxury.

At some time in a leaders life, they travel through a time and place that is a completely new frontier. It for a large part is an unknown. But, does that mean we stop moving, growing or learning while we wait for others to catch up and show us the way? No! We must overcome our fear of the dark and like the early pioneers forge ahead into areas that are yet unexplored.

Isn’t fun to be the first one to do something? The first to jump off the high dive. The first to sled down the big hill. The first to catch the big wave. There is always a rush of excitement when you are the first. And do you remember what happened after you did something first? Everyone followed with confidence.

To be effective leaders we cannot be afraid of the dark. We must be willing to go places that are unfamiliar and unknown…to take a chance. Besides we never know what the reward can be. Sometimes we may stumble, sometimes we may move slowly, sometimes we may fall, but at least we tried. I have heard and read in many books, that the greatest regret great leaders had were opportunities missed because they were afraid to move ahead into something that was new or unknown.

If your message is important and your passion real, then grab a flash light, a torch or just feel your way ahead. Most leaders live in the light of what they know, we need to be willing to walk in the dark and go as Captain Kirk said, “Where no man has gone before.”

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