When are you going to have a baby?

Day 142 – It’s a creepy question. It makes you sound like a creeper. Quit asking. Please.

Today I finished ‘Start Something That Matters’ by TOM’s Chief Shoe Giver (or CEO) Blake Mycoskie. One section that really stuck out to me was titled “the timing is never right.” Ain’t that the truth?!?

Mycoskie writes “one of the key fears that we all have the fear that this is the wrong time to start whatever our project is and we should wait until the time is right.” Mycoskie then quotes Tim Ferris, author of best-selling ‘The 4-Hour Workweek:”

“For all the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up all the parts either. Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is the disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you… If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually’ just do it correct course along the way.”

They’re right. I’ve learned over and over that there really is never a good time to jump into the big projects of your life. I always wanted to start my own company, but there was never a right time. The money was never right. The stars weren’t aligned.

There was always, always, always a good reason not to make the big move.

And then one day I just said “screw it. Now is the time. There will never be a day when there isn’t an excuse.”

Since that day I made it a point to not wait. I’m not rich. I don’t have money to travel the world, but I can if I prioritize my finances. There is a way to make things happen even if its not “the right time.”

On this Christmas Day I can’t help but think that this would all be a lot more fun if there were baby Donehue bouncing around the living room and ripping apart gifts. That’s not to say that we’re going to have a baby. But I can say that I’ve realized there will never be the right time to have one. We keep saying “the time isn’t right,” but the truth is the time will never be right.

The question isn’t “is the time right?” The real question is “do we want one?” Because if we do want one, there will be no such thing as “the right time.”

Anyway, the whole question of whether or not there will be a baby Donehue is getting pretty old. Couples start getting the question about six months after the wedding, so you can imagine how intense the questioning becomes after nearly 7 years of marriage.

We don’t know when. And we’re probably not the let you know when on this blog. So quit asking. The baby isn’t the point. The point is that life doesn’t provide perfect times for any big decision. If you want something, just make the jump. Decide what you want and go get it right now.

- Wesley Donehue