Once, there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed and one day, the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon but no one could make the bird fly. He presented the task to the members of his court but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch. Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, “Maybe I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem.” So he ordered his guards to get a farmer into the palace.

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace garden. He said to his guards, “Bring me the doer of this miracle.”

The guards quickly got hold of the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, “How did you make the falcon fly?”

With his head bowed, the farmer replied, “It was easy, your highness. I simply sawed off the branch.”

We are all born to fly – to realise our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of doing this, we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre, uninteresting and frustrating instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling.

Some of us fear the unknown and didn’t to venture out of our comfort zone to take risk. But it is this fear that is preventing us from taking control of our lives and shaping them to suit us. It is this fear that is making us average, making us doing all the same things everybody else is doing. It is this fear that is stopping us from leaving our perch to fly high into the sky. Staying within our comfort zone prevents us from pursuing our dreams, having a better relationship or living the life we want. Although we would feel comfortable and confident in our warm and cosy nest, where is the excitement? Do we really want to limit ourselves like that? Do we really want to live such unchallenging life?

Those who have no fear of the unknown and who have decided logically what they want to do and do it, reaped rewards that they would not have if they had clung onto their security blanket. They achieved what they thought were impossible and with each success, they went on to achieve even greater success.

Spread your wings and soar into the sky in pursuit of the rewarding life that is awaiting you. Take a chance.