It’s known as The Code. If you owned the original Nintendo, you knew it. You may not own the game Contra, but you knew The Code. My cousin taught it to me. At first I didn’t believe him. How could a series of buttons during a title sequence affect so much?

But it did.

Once you knew it, you shared it with others. The result was always the same.

“You’re lying.”
“No. Seriously, it works.”
“Prove it.”
“No way. That’s AWESOME!”

I have played Contra only once without using the code. I’ve heard rumors of friends of friends who’ve beaten the game without using the code, but to this day still know of no one personally. The 3 lives just make it seem impossible, but with 30 (which is what the code provides), the game was beatable. You could take that riskier move, take the bolder shot, and really approach the game with a confidence. For the first time in a video game, Nintendo allowed the player to think “when” not simply “if.”

Keep in mind, this was huge at the time. Sure today’s games have multiple player profiles with unlocked levels and progress saved every few moments. Most of the games in the 80’s didn’t have those features. If you wanted to beat Contra, you sat down and played until you defeated Red Falcon and called it a day. A few games perpetuated this lack of a save feature continued longer than they should. I remember a friend of mine playing Jurassic Park the video game for three solid days in college, putting the game on pause for hours at a time while he went to class, until he ultimately finished at 2am one night (I’ll admit I was bummed as I definitely watched hours of playing time, but not the final victory screen). Contra didn’t require this type of time dedication, but the lives were limited and why would you play with only three, when with a few extra button clicks, you could have thirty.

It was the code and it brought us confidence.

The irony is that although I was raised in the code world, few of us actually experience the code in our daily lives. Most of us probably feel like we enter into new opportunities with a deficit rather than an advantage. Many graduating from college this weekend will enter into a volatile job market with huge debt, not a huge savings account. They’ll likely feel the pinch of the economy, the pinch of an entry-level position, and the pinch of doubt.

Many in high school still approach their days as if they are lacking. They are afraid to take on that new challenge, afraid to join that organization or run for that office, afraid of asking out that special person. Quite simply, they worry about how much rejection or failure they can take.

And yet, what if we lived our lives like we had The Code?

In Contra, you still died. You still lost lives, but you always knew that you had another shot–not an infinite amount so you’d be completely reckless, but enough to finish the task.

In these difficult times, let’s make The Code happen again. Let’s not live lives of deficiency, but rather lives of abundance and hope. No, this doesn’t mean we are irresponsible with money or dangerous with our decisions, but it means that live with a certain level of confidence that asks again “when” we will achieve, “when” we will serve, “when” we will lead, rather than “if” we ever can.

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

I also tend to root for Fiesta Bowl placement. It tends to mean friends from other schools come into town and I can play host becoming a pseudo fan for the weekend (as my true allegiance will always lie with my Arizona State Sun Devils).

This year was different though. The odd BCS system ended up with the strange combination of TCU and Boise State, two “bowl busters” now playing each other. Like quite a bit of America, I wasn’t as fascinated with this game as I might have been if TCU or Boise State had a chance to take on one of the major conference teams, but this was the game that took place.

Still, it was an interesting game, with TCU never quite gaining it’s stride. For me, the coolest moment took place in the fourth quarter.

Boise State faked a punt. It was 4th and 9 from their own 33, and Boise State makes a gutsy call. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it.

I like the risk involved with this. It reminded me of another play from an Idaho team I had seen days earlier when Idaho State defeated Bowling Green on a two-point conversion with 4 seconds remaining.

Again, the risk factor is appealing. There is something about doing something that goes against the norm a bit, being bold, and living with the consequences. I know that if either one of these plays didn’t work the coaches would have been ridiculed by fans and the media, but because they were bold and they did work, the coaches were praised. Highlight reels included these plays and people continue to talk about them.

Yes, there are times for security, for consistency, for staying on a charted course.

But there are also times for bold action.

I realize that far often than I would like to admit, I play the safe route, kicking on a 4th and inches because I fear what would happen if I don’t get that first down. In these times I end up living a life of ordinary instead of extraordinary. That fear of failure prevents me from achieving that incredible feeling of success. You can watch these videos and see the players complete joy for accomplishing that which others think is a little bit crazy.

Both of these Idaho teams won their games.

As you being 2010, it’s important that you’re still willing to take that occasional risk. Boise State’s play worked because it was unexpected. They don’t fake every punt, but they do when it matters.

And because they are willing to take that risk, we want to talk about them.

My addiction began a few years ago when I was visiting my cousins over Fourth of July, and we beat the heat for a bit, watching some episodes during a marathon on Bravo. The latest season on Lifetime has been okay. I’ll agree with most reviewers and say the judging has been inconsistent this season.

I watched the latest episode late last night. The challenge: Visit the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, getting inspiration to design the final outfit before Bryant Park.

The final designs were just okay. Nothing really surprised me. I could even see Tim Gunn’s disappointment during his walk-through.

Sadly, I think this lack of inspiration and creativity is hitting a lot of us these days. Sure we complete our tasks. We put something out there. We do create.

But that creation lacks inspiration.

Last night the judges commented how many of the outfits felt “safe.” The designers advanced to the final round because they weren’t the worst, not because they were the best.

I’ll admit I’ve played it safe. There were risks I’d like to take that I hesitated on. In retrospect, aspects of my professional and personal life are slightly behind because I didn’t live inspired. I didn’t let a WHY motivate me in a daily task.

There is so much in our world that can inspire us daily. I think it’s time we all live a little bit bolder.

I’m back in San Jose, California for a few weeks due to various speaking engagements, weddings, conferences, and camps. It’ll be nice to spend some time with local family and friends, and with Comedy Sportz San Jose, the family-friendly improvisational comedy troupe where I performed for four years. I arrived in time for our Tuesday night practice. People ask me, “How do you rehearse improvisation?”  The simple answer is you just get up and do it.

It’s really about stopping yourself from stopping yourself. Far too often we get in our heads and we worry about failure. Once you get over that fear, it’s a lot easier.

I’ll be performing in the 9pm show this Friday and the practice was good for me. I’m a bit rusty having not done a show in several months. Luckily, my first scene of the practice took place with the founders of Comedy Sportz San Jose. It’s a great feeling to be on stage and know that the person in the scene is not going to let you fail—that you can take that risk, and something good is going to come of it. I like that team environment.

I thought about saw a trailer for the new Pixar movie, UP. If you have a chance watch The Pixar Story. I’ve seen it twice, and the level of failure the creators of Pixar faced in their early days blows me away. Many were fired from their dream jobs for thinking outside of the box.  When they formed Pixar, they nourished that type of thinking, allowing people to decorate their cubicles however they’d like and hosting annual paper airplane contests in their cafeteria, all while putting out some of the best animated films ever.

During a Comedy Sportz rehearsal, we might take a moment to point out a habit someone is developing in character, in scene convention, in vocal patterns, etc. The Tuesday nights are used to try something different to push ourselves to another level. A few weeks ago, the cast focused just on accents. This week we spent time working on the Tarantino storytelling method. Pixar does the same thing. They purposefully break habits. When they saw that they were ending all their films with outtakes, they removed them. When they realized that everyone who directed a film was an original Pixar member, they brought in Brad Bird to challenge their way of thinking. Each film takes on a new challenge that the animators, computer programmers, and storytellers have to master. UP is no different as Pixar heads into the 3D era.

I’ve seen far too many groups hold themselves back by falling into habits and not supporting one another while they take appropriate risks. They insulate themselves from the viewpoints of outsiders, and it hurts them.

We need to not be afraid. We need to stop ourselves from stopping ourselves.