“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat” – Theodore Roosevelt

I used this quote a year ago during MT Week and it’s always interesting to me to go back and re-read some of those older posts. It seems life in our profession is almost always in some kind of transition. This time last year I was working on learning about blogging and an entirely new and different skill set and terminology. Many of you were there, and many of you have stuck around through that learning curve. It’s an ongoing process.

This year is no different. This year I’m getting ready to embark on a new education process. Next month I will start a course on implementation management of electronic health records. It’s a new world. This technology is having a huge impact on our industry already, and I believe we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far. And like any other iceberg, it’s the part under the water that’s unknown and can be scary.

I’ve always been a risk taker in life. Maybe I just get bored if there’s too much routine, or maybe I’ve learned that it is only by taking risks that we learn and grow. Taking a risk can be a scary thing. It can also be exciting and rewarding. The danger, of course, is that we fail. But then don’t we also learn in our failures? I think so. One of the books I read not too long ago made the assertion that if you’re not failing, you’re not working hard enough. So, in the end, I take those risks and see where they lead. I challenge you to do the same. Step out of your comfort box and take a risk, try something new, learn something new, and see where it takes you!

What is it that you’re holding back on? What risk do you need to take in your life that has every potential to bring the joy of victory? Consider that today. Don’t choose to live your life “in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

An MT Puzzler

toolboxHere’s your question for the day today. Our prize for the day is a copy of the OB/GYN and Genitourinary Words and Phrases book by HPI. To be entered into the drawing, you should reply to the questions above about taking risk AND find the answer to this puzzler. Happy hunting!

Although a starter awl, straight reamer, and box chisel sound like items in a carpenter’s toolbox, they are used for what surgical procedure?