She was smiling and laughing and running.

A janitor, figuring she must have just performed and was relieved and happy at how she did said, “You must have just performed. Congratulations!”

And she said, “I didn’t perform. I’m about to!”

***

It doesn’t matter that very few people remember her name today. She died at age forty-two in 1986.

But that day, at age six, she was so excited to perform that she was running TO something.

She was running towards an exciting and uncertain and even scary future (“I have to perform and do well!”). She wasn’t running with relief and the fading of fear. She was running towards the fear.

She grew up to be one of the greatest cellists of all time.

I have to give a talk later today. I’m always nervous as hell.

I have to teach myself to run TOWARDS something, with cello overheard. @jaltucher (Click to Tweet!)

I want to do this every day.

Laughing, happy, excited. I am about to perform!

James Altucher has built and sold several companies, and failed at dozens more. He’s written fourteen books, and The Rich Employee is the book to RULE THEM ALL. (Although he is also fond of The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth, The Power of No & Choose Yourself.) He’s an investor in twenty different companies. He writes every day. He doesn’t have enough friends. Still interested in knowing him? Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Image courtesy of Couleur.