Just slightly under two years ago (March 29th, 2005 at 11:30am. EST. to be exact) I wrote, "A leap in the dark is an act of blind faith, trusting your judgment and instincts that whatever it is you're about to do is right and that you're not going to end up, up to your ankles in dung."

I referred to it as the explanation for the title of my blog, "Leap In The Dark", but it could also be said to be my own personal mission statement. At the time the blog was just what I said it was - a step into the unknown as I was going public with my writing for the first time.

Ever since my early days of working in theatre I've believed it important, as part of being creative, to continually take risks - to take leaps in the dark - or stagnation would set in. When I started blogging it was with the intention of writing as much as possible in a public setting and risk my opinions and abilities in front of an audience.

It was with that goal in mind that I approached the people at Blogcritics about three months after starting "Leap In The Dark." It was one thing to write in the virtual anonymity of my own site, but another thing altogether to write for a publication that was already a recognised presence on the Internet and had a built in audience.

Over seven hundred articles of various length, quality, and subject matter produced on a daily basis later, I'm about to take another leap into relatively unknown territory. Sometimes you have to take life by the throat and shake it to effect change, and other times opportunities are just dropped in your lap. On really special occasions not only are opportunities offered you, but life also makes damn sure you're paying attention by hitting you over the head with its equivalent of a cast iron frying pan.

I may not be too swift sometimes, but even I'll get the message when I'm offered two almost identical opportunities within a week of each other that taking advantage of one of them would be in my best interest. The problem is recognising what's in your own best interest.

There are a lot of things that can get in the way of that, but the biggest obstacle is fear. Fear of change and fear of the unknown have probably prevented many a person from discovering their full potential. It's far easier to stay doing the same thing, and doing it well, than risk doing something new where the results are uncertain.