Daring to Soar... Are you acting like Icarus?
By William (Bill) Patterson
Regional Loss Prevention Manager
Spencer Gifts

Many of us have heard the phrase, “Dare to soar”. It is commonly utilized to encourage people to reach for their goal no matter the difficulties that may arise but to me though it is more than that. I relate this saying it to an Ancient Greek Myth about Icarus and his Father.

Icarus was the son of a master craftsman Daedalus. Daedalus fashioned two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers for himself and his son. Daedalus tried his wings first, but before taking off from their island he warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, nor to close to the sea, but to follow his father’s direction or path. Icarus overcome by his own sheer giddiness of being able to fly, he soared through the sky curiously, but in the process he came too close to the sun, which melted his wax wings. Icarus kept flapping his wings but quickly realized that he had no feathers and was flapping his bare arms thus falling into the sea.

Did Icarus Dare to Soar? Of course he did, but did he follow his path? Of course not, he got caught in the moment. Many people have been caught in the moment from time to time, but how does this happen and can it be prevented? Simply put, YES, if a person does not know what their true direction was they will not soar or if they mistake being courageous for leadership and drive they may be stuck flapping their bare arms.

So when I am preparing to soar I think back to the story of Icarus and think over:

What is my Sun?

What are my wings of wax?

What is it that could make me fall or what happens if I fall?

When we answer these questions beforehand we truly understand how to “Dare to soar”.