When I was a kid, I was told that oxygenated blood was red and deoxygenated blood was blue. I was told Pluto was a planet, that I'd get cramps if I swam after eating, and that making friends on the internet was dangerous.

None of that turned out to be true. Or at least… not fully true.

As I got older, new “truths” showed up:

• "Getting a book published is basically impossible for people like you.”
• “No 18-year-old kid gets their T-shirts into Urban Outfitters.”
• “The corporate speaking world will never go for the phrase ‘crazy ideas.’”

Once again, none of those turned out to be true.

The more life I live, the more I realize: nobody really knows anything.

Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.
Nobody knows what will or won’t work.
Nobody knows how people will react to new ideas.
Nobody knows which tiny choice will change the course of your life.

We’re all just making our best guesses.

Sure, we know some things. For the most part, we know how to build bridges that don’t collapse and houses that won’t crumble.
But we don’t know how to stop ships from hitting those bridges. We don’t know whether the houses we build will be more valuable tomorrow than they are today.

Because the minute humans enter the equation, predictability goes out the window.

And since uncertainty is scary, we play it safe.

It’s safer to tell someone to wait an hour before swimming.
It’s safer to tell them not to trust strangers.
It’s safer to tell them their dreams are unrealistic.

But a safe life and a fulfilled life are not the same thing.

Fulfillment requires risk.

It requires giving something a shot before you’re sure it will work.
It requires trying and failing and trying again.
It requires stepping into the unknown.

But here’s the twist: you’re already there.

You’ve already lived through unprecedented events and once-in-a-lifetime coincidences.
You’ve already watched sure things fall apart and long shots win.
You've lived every day of your life without knowing what would happen next.

The unknown is, ironically, all you’ve ever known.

The world is already uncertain. But if you want to make it a little less uncertain, there’s only one way to do that, and that’s to test the boundaries yourself. To try things. To put your ideas out into the world and see what happens.

Nobody knows what tomorrow will look like. Not me, not you, not anybody.

But the people who shape that tomorrow—the people who push us toward something better—are the ones brave enough to walk straight into the unknown and give it a try anyway.

Every good thing in my life came from taking a risk before I felt ready:
Speaking. Writing. Creating. Even sending these newsletters!
I am living proof that you don’t need certainty to begin. You just need curiosity and the courage to take one honest step into the unknown.

What’s one small step you can take into the unknown this week?

-Kyle

P.S. As I write this, I'm winding down the best speaking year I've ever had. Next year is already booking up, so if you're planning an event and looking for a speaker to help your audience bring their ideas to life, let's talk! If you want to see what my talks are like, watch this video. ​