Beyond the ordinary

Facing IT!

Drop the Anchor

by Bert Russell

Date and Time: 7/4/2026 @ 12:01 AM

There comes a moment in every person's life when they have to stop running—not from other people, but from themselves.

For years, I believed my greatest fear was failure. I was afraid of making mistakes, looking foolish, or choosing the wrong path. Looking back, I realize that wasn't the fear at all.

I was afraid of success.

Not because I didn't want it, but because success would require me to become someone I had never allowed myself to be.

It's easier to blend in than it is to stand out. It's easier to agree than to question. It's easier to become the version of yourself that everyone else expects than to discover the person you were created to become.

I've done that more times than I care to admit.

I've changed parts of myself to fit into different groups. I've hidden opinions. I've remained quiet when I should have spoken. I've tried to earn acceptance instead of earning self-respect.

The problem with pretending is that it slowly disconnects you from yourself. One day you wake up and realize you've become good at playing a role, but you no longer recognize the person playing it.

Facing that truth is uncomfortable.

But that's exactly what this journey is about.

I love estate sales because they remind me that every life leaves something behind. A worn-out toolbox. A stack of handwritten letters. A fishing rod with years of memories built into the handle. Those possessions once belonged to someone who had dreams, fears, victories, regrets, and unfinished plans.

One day, my belongings will become someone else's estate sale.

That thought doesn't make me sad.

It makes me ask better questions.

Did I spend my life trying to impress people who were never paying attention?

Did I chase approval instead of purpose?

Did I leave behind anything that helped someone else?

Or did I simply drift wherever the current carried me?

A boat doesn't drift because of one large wave. It drifts because of thousands of tiny movements that go unnoticed until the shoreline is gone.

Life works the same way.

One compromise.
One excuse.
One day of waiting.
One decision to remain silent.

Eventually, you wake up somewhere you never intended to be.

That's why boats have anchors.

An anchor doesn't stop the storm.

It doesn't calm the waves.

It doesn't change the wind.

An anchor simply gives the captain a choice not to drift.

I've spent much of my life learning how to overcome my own struggles. Dyslexia taught me patience. Failure taught me humility. Business taught me responsibility. Estate sales taught me that every life leaves a story. Peace taught me that authenticity is worth more than acceptance.

Those lessons have become my anchor.

I still don't know exactly who I'm becoming.

I don't think anyone ever completely does.

But I know who I no longer want to be.

Someone pretending.

Life is too short to spend it acting like someone else.

When my final voyage is over, I hope the people who remember me won't say I had all the answers.

I hope they say I had the courage to face the questions.

Because that's what Facing IT! has always meant to me.

It's not about being fearless.

It's about dropping the anchor before life convinces you to drift away from the person you were meant to become.

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