I have to step outside my comfort zone to grow Posted: Friday, November 18, 2011 8:01 pm
By: By Donna Ryder Sometimes in life, you have to step outside your comfort zone and take a risk.
It’s certainly something I did last week when I stepped foot on an Amtrak train for the first time in my life, alone and headed for Chicago.
Two of my fellow BeautiControl consultants and I were supposed to go to Chicago together to “reset” our “mind blueprint.” As circumstances would have it, neither of them could go. So, I had to make a choice — I could either not go and keep the blueprint I had or challenge myself, face my fears and go on my own.
I had already made hotel reservations, so not wanting to drive the whole way alone, I could either fly out of Paducah, Ky., or ride the Amtrak. The train was half the price, so the train it was.
I boarded early Thursday morning, just before 2. The train was running late, as I found is usual for Amtrak. I tried to get some sleep, which is difficult with the constant side to side movement of the train. The seats were more comfortable that I thought they would be, but my short legs did not quite reach the foot rest in front of me.
As we were about 20 minutes outside of Chicago, we had to stop because of a problem with a switch on the line. I could see what I thought were small flakes of snow falling from the sky. Then it stopped as we finally approached Union Station.
My nerves almost got the best of me as I called home to report I had made it to Chicago. Still, I was a good hour away from my destination across the way in Rosemont, near O’Hare airport. The cheapest way there was by subway. I had done my research and knew I had to take the Blueline to get to the airport, where the hotel shuttle would pick me up. At least I wouldn’t have to switch subways.
The last and only time I had ever been on a subway was not a pleasant experience. It was in the 1980s when the Obion County 4-H Honor Club traveled to Washington, D.C. Someone thought it might be fun to catch the subway with 20-something kids from the Smithsonian to a stop where our chartered bus would be waiting for us. Some of us almost got left in the subway station and my mother was a nervous wreck. I vowed at that time, I never wanted to ride on a subway again. Yet, here I found myself in Chicago, all alone and having to face riding a subway. It was either that or fork over $40-$50 to ride in a taxi. The $2.25 fee won over and now another fear has been conquered.
When I arrived at the hotel, it was earlier than the normal check-in time. I was able to get a room, where I proceeded to settle into the soft queen-sized bed for some rest and relaxation. As I lay there watching the planes land at O’Hare, I could see that it was getting hazy outside. A closer look revealed a sudden snow shower that seemed to stop as soon as it had started. Four times, the snow fell so abundantly that it was difficult to see the planes at O’Hare.
The next day I found myself among a room of 400 strangers, who all seemed to become friends rather quickly and easily. Two sets of BeautiControl consultants from different states took me into their fold, with me splitting my time at the three-day Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar between the two.
What I experienced cannot be compared to anything else I’ve ever done in my life. It’s something that’s hard to explain. We laughed, we cried, we faced our fears and shared our joys. We learned about how to be financially free and how it all starts within us.
We control our own destiny. We just have to be willing to tell ourselves we can do whatever it takes to get there, believe it and act on it.
Associate Editor Donna Ryder can be contacted by email at dryder@ucmessenger.com. Published in The Messenger 11.18.11 , | 
