Dan Brodsky Chenfeld

Written By Laine Carlsness

Benefitting ambition

As a child, Dan always dreamed of flying, so when he found skydiving he knew from the first jump that he had found his calling. He was living his dream, when a horrific plane crash killed sixteen of the twenty-two people on board and left Dan critically injured. After spending six weeks in a coma, Dan woke up with a broken neck, cracked skull, severe head trauma, a collapsed lung and other serious internal injuries. Against all odds, Dan recovered and went on to lead the USA 4 and 8 person Skydiving Teams to multiple World Championships. In this conversation, Dan talks about setting worthwhile ambitious goals, and how to approach the fear, adversity and obstacles you will naturally face in order to achieve them.

Wise Words

  • “If there’s no adversity, you’re going after some really lame goal.”

  • “So there’s many times that we feel fear when there’s actually nothing in reality to be scared of. And I think when we start to be clear on what the real things are, it’s much easier to accept that fear.”

  • “No matter what else is on your mind, no matter what else is going on in your life or distracting you, from the moment you exit an airplane to your parachute opens, there is nothing else on your mind. You’re able to let go of everything and just live in the moment and enjoy that for the pure joy and love that there is for that activity itself. It’s 50 seconds, but it’s 50 absolutely glorious seconds.”

  • “I’m not suggesting everybody jumps out of airplanes. It’s not for everybody. I don’t even suggest it to my kids at all, but to find something in their lives that turns them on, and that drives them, and that makes them push themselves, and it provides the opportunity for growth in so many ways. When you find something like that in your life to take it and grab hold of it, do those things. Don’t hide from that. Don’t worry about...what holds people back the most is they’re worried about failing. The failing is not doing it.’

Links

Laine Carlsness

I'm Laine Carlsness – the broad behind Broadsheet Design and an East Bay-based graphic designer specializing in identity, web and print. I truly love what I do – creating from-the-ground-up creative solutions that are as unique as the clients who inspire them. I draw very few boxes around what a graphic designer should and shouldn't do – I've been known to photograph, illustrate, write copy, paint and hand-letter to get the job done.

http://www.broadsheetdesign.com/
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