مکالمه ی فعالانه قسمت د

Active Speaking Part D

As Jeb sees it, success is inevitable. He explains, “I don’t believe you can fail. You can only fail if you give up.

How does Jeb see success? He sees success as inevitable. And how does he think you can fail? He thinks you can only fail if you give up.

The second you decide ‘Oh, I’ll just give up.’ That’s you! You’re the one making that choice. You’re the one choosing to fail. You have to make the decision to fail.

According to Jeb, is failure something that happens to you? No, he thinks that failure is a choice. And who has to make the decision to fail? You have to make the decision to fail. You’re the one choosing to fail.

Whereas if you don’t ever make that decision; you say, ‘No, I’m going to keep going until it fricking happens, well then you don’t fail. You’re just in the process of making it happen.” What happens if you don’t make the decision to fail? If you don’t ever make the decision to fail, then you don’t fail. And if you don’t fail, what are you in the process of doing? If you don’t fail, then you are just in the process of making it happen.

And there’s no doubt that Jeb lives by these words.

Is there any doubt that Jeb lives by these words? No, there’s no doubt that Jeb lives by these words.

In early 2012, while flying off Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, Jeb’s lower body struck a rock ledge in mid-flight.

What happened to Jeb in early 2012? While flying off Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, Jeb’s lower body struck a rock ledge in mid-flight.

He broke both ankles, a leg, and three toes while sustaining a major bloody gash in his skin that required skin grafts to close.

Did Jeb just break one ankle? No, Jeb broke both ankles. And did he break an arm? No, he broke a leg and three toes. And what else happened to Jeb? He sustained a major bloody gash in his skin that required skin grafts to close.

It is amazing that he was even able to pull his chute. While some would have taken that incident as a warning sign to give up, Jeb saw it as simply another stepping stone in the path to making his dreams come true.

Would some people have taken Jeb’s accident as a warning sign? Yes, some would have definitely taken Jeb’s accident as a warning sign to give up. How did Jeb see his accident? He saw it as simply another stepping stone in the path to making his dreams come true.

A year-and-a-half later, he was back in the air, making it happen again.

Was he back in the air a few months later? Well, not exactly. It was a bit longer than that. It was a year-and-a-half later.

His ultimate dream is to jump out of a helicopter and land without a parachute, realizing one of the last great challenges remaining on earth: human flight.

Is Jeb’s ultimate dream to jump out of a parachute and land without a helicopter? No, of course not. That makes no sense. His ultimate dream is to jump out of a helicopter and land without a parachute. And according to Jeb, what is one of the last great challenges remaining on earth? Human flight is one of the last great challenges remaining on earth, according to Jeb.

Some people call Jeb Corliss crazy.

Do some people call Jeb Corliss sane? No, they call him crazy.

He responds by saying, “You want to know what I think is crazy? I think waking up at 6 AM, eating breakfast, then getting in a car and sitting in traffic for an hour-and-a-half on your way to a job, where you then sit in a box for eight hours, get a 30-minute break to eat some lunch, get back in that car to sit in traffic for another hour-and-a-half on your way home, where you eat dinner, watch some TV, and go to sleep. Repeat that until you’re about 60, you retire and then you die. I think that is absolutely insane.” What does Jeb think is absolutely insane? He thinks commuting to the same office every day of your entire life is absolutely insane.

For Juliane, falling was terrifying, and for good reason. She was out of control, and her life was on the line.

How did Juliane feel about falling? For Juliane, falling was terrifying. Was Juliane in control during her fall? No, she was completely out of control. And was her life on the line? Yes, her life was on the line.

For Jeb, falling is a conscious choice, and he does have some degree of control.

For Jeb, is falling something that happens to him? No, not exactly. Falling is a conscious choice. And does he have any control? Yes, he has some degree of control.

Of course, it is still terrifying, and he could die at any moment, but isn’t this true for all of us?

Is falling still terrifying for Jeb? Yes, it is still terrifying. And could he die? Yes, he could die at any moment.

One thing that none of us has control over is death. And since death is inevitable, we are all in a symbolic type of free fall.

Do we have control over death? No, we have no control over death. It is inevitable. Are we all in free fall? Well, not really. Instead, we’re all in a symbolic type of free fall.

The end is the bottom of our fall, and we all reach it; no exceptions.

What is at the bottom of our fall? The end, or death, is at the bottom of our fall. Are there any exceptions? No, there are no exceptions.

But as Jeb explains after surviving another close encounter with instant death: “I’m just so happy. I’m just so happy to still be here. You know, my time in this world is limited. But the things that I can do with that time are not. We are all going to die. The question is are you going to live while you’re here.” Is Jeb frightened to still be here on earth? No, he is happy to still be here. Does Jeb believe that he will live forever? No, he knows that his time is limited. And for Jeb, what is not limited? The things that he can do with that limited time on earth are not. So knowing that we are all going to die, what then is the real question for Jeb? The real question is are you going to live while you’re here.

Are you taking full advantage of the time while you are here?