My Ten Meter Tower

The year is 2018. The hour is late...somewhere between 1 am and 3 am. I am sitting on one of those Murphy beds. You know, the kind that can technically fold into the wall).

I am in Loughborough, England, thousands of miles away from family and friends, feeling every bit of loneliness.

As I sat and thought about the decisions that inspired me to travel across the world to an unfamiliar country to live and learn for a year, I decided to look at my list of saved YouTube videos.

I see a title, THE TEN METER TOWER by Maximilien Van Aertytrck and Axel Danielson. It seems familiar, but I can’t quite remember what it was about. Out of boredom, or the need to divert my feelings of being homesick, I decided to rewatch the video.

As the short documentary begins to play, I try to remember why I saved it. This short documentary filmed individuals and their decision to jump from a ten-meter diving platform into a pool of water. Something interested me about it, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

At first, I thought, "What's the big deal if they jump or not? What could jumping off a ten-meter tower possibly prove?" Then it hit me.

The platform was more than just a platform. For each person, the option to jump or not was a representation of something larger. Each individual struggled to commit to their decision. Jumping meant going after uncertainty; not jumping meant accepting failure. The worst part was that this wasn't a private decision. People were watching, waiting, judging.

As humans, we are often faced with our own ten-meter high towers. We have dreams, and our decision to chase them or not is a decision to go after uncertainty or accept failure.

Jumping meant going after uncertainty; not jumping meant accepting failure.

The reality is that we face ten-meter towers every day. The difference? We face them in the privacy of our thoughts. The only judge of our courage or cowardice being ourselves. No one knows when we win or lose this tug of war unless we openly admit to it.

Did Maximilien Van Aertytrck and Axel Danielson know that they were peeling the curtain of ego and bravado back to expose the participants’ most vulnerable parts?

In this short documentary, the very essence of what it feels like to navigate life was captured. For some of us, it is a negotiation between who is going to jump with us and who will let us jump alone. For others, it's jumping and then heading back to help a friend. It may even be admitting to ourselves, "I don't have the guts," taking one step towards quitting, and finally deciding to jump anyways.

In the process of building my first business, Vox Pop Branding, I have often found myself on that ten-meter tower. As often as I have been ready to jump, I have been prepared to head back down the ladder towards safety. Millions of people find themselves juggling feelings of retreat and perseverance every day. Although this decision occurs frequently, the results remain as unpredictable as ever.

For some of us, it is a negotiation between who is going to jump with us and who will let us jump alone. For others, it's jumping and then heading back to help a friend.

I have decided to dedicate my career to returning humanity to the world of business, making marketing more beneficial and less manipulative, and encouraging people to demand socially responsible businesses.

Millions of people find themselves juggling feelings of retreat and perseverance every day. I am not alone. You’re not alone. We all have a ten-meter tower, a dream we want to pursue, or a goal we want to accomplish.

This is my ten-meter tower, what's yours? Will you jump?

Watch the Short Documentary here: https://youtu.be/5QMlIjSnt_E