Say Yes

I was flying down the mountain, wind and snow piercing my face...not exactly ideal considering my skis had flown off about 3 seconds ago.
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I was flailing around while simultaneously yelping in pain. Meanwhile everyone around me was laughing hysterically at my sensitivity to brow waxing.
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All of a sudden my income skyrocketed, and my pupils were replaced by dollar signs. Maybe I should build a money-bin?

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I looked down which was a big mistake. One slip, and I'd be falling down about 2000 incredibly steep steps. Look up, and keep climbing Arun.
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I read recently that statistics and testimonies indicate that general happiness has more to do with experiences than it does with possessions. After some thought, I realized how true this is!

I always try to be a "Yes" man. What I mean is, when people ask me to do something, even if inherent laziness or fear creeps in, I always try to suck it up and do it. 99 times out of a hundred, I'm glad I did. The experiences above are just some examples of things I hesitated to say 'yes' to, but pulled the trigger anyways because I knew, if nothing else, the experience would be entertaining and memorable.

Last weekend, I went skiing in Mammoth. I had previously skied two years ago at Mammoth and before that, not since I was like 11 years old. Suffice to say, I'm not exactly Twinkle Toes on skis...especially for an Alaskan.

Naturally when my friends asked me if I wanted to go to the TOP of the mountain, I said yes :)

So there we are at the top, wind howling, cold biting, snow blowing, and Arun Aruning.

We decided to take "Dave's Run" down. Sounds simple enough right?

WRONG.

Dave and his damn run decided to take me on a little jaunt down his hill, ass first, for about 200 feet. The experience was cold, uncomfortable, and painful.

I'm glad I said yes.

By day 2, I was carving my way down black diamonds! I definitely made a huge jump in my skiing skills that would not have been possible had I not decided to accept the challenge of skiing (or my personal technique, which I call "ass-ing") my way down some crazy runs at the top of the mountain.

The second example was from my little waxing adventure. Sure it was painful, but I wound up even MORE devilishly handsome (hard to believe, I know) and it made for a good story.

The third example is from a recent "career opportunity" that I accepted doing some work for a friend. In fact, I think I'll write a post all about his unique career and my roll in it soon.

Anyways, when he asked me if I would do some work for him, I was initially resistant. It was going to take a lot of time with everything else I have going on, and I would have to do some extra studying and learning to do everything he needs properly. But, I am a Yes Man, so I accepted.

What a great decision. I'm getting to be a pro at the work, and I'm finding ways to minimize my time commitment while maximizing my income. The one drawback however, is my ebook is taking forever to publish since, between working, exercising, marathon training, and gmat studying, there's not a heck of a lot of time.

The last little image was from climbing the pyramids in Teotihuacan Mexico. Sure they were scary and dangerous, but the view at the top was unforgettable.

These are just three examples off the top of my head. Overall, I'm always the one my friends can usually count on to join them in something fun, interesting, or new. If I'm tired or resistant, I usually just convince myself to sack up and go out. Then I imagine the greatest scenario of what could possibly happen, happening. Obviously this doesn't always happen, but in the end, I'm happier having said 'yes' and enjoying the experience.