There was a comment here asking how would you know which yes’s were good and which were painful unless you said Yes in the first place to find out.

Another comment said living life in a default “no” keeps you from any commitment and responsibility and keeps you in a bubble, insulated from life.

As the famed Forest Gump once said — I Think it’s Both!

Most of today’s “spiritual” advice offers up that we stay unattached and at the same time constantly expand our comfort zone. In business, we hedge risk and progressively step further and further into responsibility, as the reward offsets the risk. However, the best rewards have come from Yes and fully committing, even in the face of visible risk. The reward either reveals itself and it’s amazing or it doesn’t and it’s pain.

Life is all of the experience. Anyone given a comfortable existence of safety ends up creating dramas to add interest to their life and is ultimately unhappy. Happiness is the feeling of growing and thriving and experiencing all that life has to offer.

In the spirit of Jim Carrey, I will remain a “Yes” man and continue to accumulate knowledge, experience and variety. “Yes” is freedom, exploration, discovery, joy, sorrow, and most of all participation. I encourage you and anyone to choose to play the lead role in your movie of life. “No” people end up being just background.