This week's Pep Talk: "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained"

Those of you who are regular readers/viewers of the weekly Pep Talk know recently I have begun co-hosting, along with my partner Jimmy Doogan, three hours of sports talk each weekday afternoon from 3-6 on Mile High Sports Radio, AM1510 and FM93.7, in Denver.

Well, recently we had a lot of fun with a Valentine’s Day promotion with one of our sponsors, Sonny’s Rocks, www.sonnysrocks.com. We encouraged listeners, and social media friends, to submit, in 200 words or less, their story about their favorite sports date ever. The winner each week received a nice pair of diamond stud earrings from Sonny’s, and a pair of tickets to a Colorado Avalanche hockey, from us.

We had many great entries. One really stood out, at least for me, for it’s example of the truth that sometimes in life, we gotta put fear aside and allow wonderment to win.

The contestant offered: “After having been divorced four years, I decided to ask my next door neighbor, a divorced mother of two, out on a date. We had lived next to each other for two years without really talking, except an occasional “hello” or wave.

One day in May, I was on my roof working on the swamp cooler while she was next door mowing her yard. I yelled to her, “Hey, would you like to go to a Rockies game with me?” She said, “sure.”

Heading to the game the following week, we were walking to the stadium and I kissed her for the first time on the corner of Park Avenue West. We had great seats, but after a few innings and an order of nachos, we decided to go for a walk. The Rockpile looked nearly empty, we spent the rest of the game talking and kissing and to this day, I still can’t remember who won the game!

I made the best catch of my life when we married six months later. That was seven years ago. I still love the Rockies, but I love my wife more. She doesn’t have an off-season.

This gentleman, he won a pair of earrings and tickets, while up on that roof, decided to put fear aside and allow wonderment to win. Turned out pretty well for him, didn’t it?

Where might it be time for you to take that leap of faith into the great unknown? Too often we allow past disappointments to hold us back. It makes me think of Shakespeare’s wise words: “Our doubts are traitors that make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”

This week, let’s vow to make our rallying cry: “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”