A Lesson On Fearlessness

On a Saturday afternoon last October, my six-year-old decided she’d like to have a lemonade stand…that afternoon. She had a grand vision of the production, which included construction and a whole list of things she wanted to sell along with lemonade.

As one of two individuals that would handle the practical details, I explained that to make it happen we would need to get realistic. She wasn’t deterred by a few practical tweaks such as not having time for construction or making lemonade, orange juice, pineapple juice, apple juice and making bracelets to sell. We compromised to just simply sell lemonade and were off to the store for some sugar and lemons.

Throughout the culinary and “storefront” preparations, I had some reservations I kept to myself. If sales didn’t meet her expectations, I didn’t want her to face disappointment after such an entrepreneurial effort - after all, it wasn’t summer anymore. Would people buy lemonade mid-October from a kid in her front yard? I wasn't sure how it would turn out.

Not wanting to discourage her initiative, I went against my inner emotional protection systems and encouraged it. The worst that could happen would be an opportunity for a lesson that life can be a little disappointing. Or even that failure is all a part of learning to take risks and eventually soar.

We made the lemonade and set it all up in the front yard.

We waited…

And waited…

She asked if anyone was going to show up, and I assured her we just had to wait and see…all while wondering if anyone would come.

Finally, a customer. PHEW! I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d be content with ONE sale. The happy customer walked away, and I looked down at my daughter’s face. I’d never quite seen that smile of absolutely uncontrollable satisfaction. She could not relax her face muscles!

In that instant, it all became worth every second of preparation.

Then more customers began to trickle in. One by one…she completely sold out of the lemonade in two hours. She made a 41% return on her investment (about $12), and she made some sweet neighborhood friends in the process.

Reflecting on the day, I realized there wasn’t a moment where she was afraid of failure. Her eye was set on the best case scenario, and with a team of practically-minded employees (haha), she was able to communicate her vision, be flexible and use the resources available to her, see the idea through to completion and succeed. She not only reached her goal, but she got more than she expected.

And a layer of skepticism was removed from my consciousness. I came away with more belief that possibilities abound. It’s about tapping into the possibilities, leaving our reservations at the doorstep, and inviting a healthy dose of reality—and you can materialize the potential of bringing something new to life.