Fearless Blog

Cycle for Survival is here! This weekend, events will be held in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Long Island! And next week, it's New York, DC and Chicago! Dave already packed his bags and is on the ground ready to go for the first ever Los Angeles ride. Today, we have a special YouFearless blog post from Dave…
While I’m fired up and ready to have a fantastic 2012 season, there have certainly been moments over the past months where I’ve been challenged by fear. From stepping into the Cycle spotlight, to doing TV interviews (not as easy as Jen made it look!), or to returning to the business school campus where Jen and I met to speak about Cycle to a group of YPO members, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being somewhat fearful at times.
But each time I start to go down that road of letting fear hold me back, I think of Jen and all she went through – 6 major surgeries and more than 20 …

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As you all know, Cycle for Survival is around the corner.  The remarkable fundraising effort that Jen imagined and developed together with Dave will raise millions of dollars this year – ALL of which will go straight to cancer research.  Every single penny.  I don’t think anyone reading this blog needs inspiration around the importance of Cycle, but it never hurts to remind us all why Jen’s mission, OUR mission, to eradicate fear and ultimately cancer from the equation is so important.  At the kick-off for Cycle this year, Dave Linn introduced me to a lovely couple – the Zimmermans – and told me about their 11-year old daughter, Perry.
Perry is a shining example of the reason we must all redouble our efforts to raise money for Cycle and support research at MSKCC.  A student at The Cathedral School, she often reads the You Fearless blog, spending time with the latest posts and also deriving strength from Jen’s original words and videos which fortify Perry during her more challenging moments. …

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During this holiday week, no matter what your traditions, I hope you have A moment to cherish THE moment. The beauty of the holidays for me is a chance to slow down, think more, and appreciate.
I am frequently struck by the sheer power of optimism, fearlessness, and love. And, I have been truly touched by people who have told me that they ARE reading this blog, deriving strength from Jen’s original posts as well as the new ideas and stories we are sharing here to honor the original purpose of one of Jen’s many creations, You Fearless.
At this very special time of the year, I am particularly honored to share the following post from Andrew Stern, who was friends with Dave in business school and met Jen through him. Coincidentally, Andrew’s wife knew Jen in college. As Andrew puts it, Dave and Jen “have both been an inspiration to us at various points in our lives. In particular they really leapt into action when I was first diagnosed.” He went …

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Dave Linn appeared on CBS News in New York this morning to talk about Cycle for Survival.  As we all work to expand our teams, reach out to new participants and fundraise for Cycle for Survival, there is probably no better explanation of why we all do it than Dave's comments today.  As you watch the segment, it is so apparent how much Jen touched the reporter and the CBS News team over the years they have covered her story.  You can find the link here and the text version follows below….
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/12/11/cycle-for-awareness-fundraiser-takes-aim-at-rare-cancers/

I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch the video – it's a wonderful reminder of why we are all so committed to Cycle for Survival.  Huge congrats to Dave on a great appearance this morning to shine a light on the incredible organization that he and Jen created and the continued, perhaps even amplified, importance of its mission.

-Janet, on behalf of YouFearless.com

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A very, very special post from Jen's parents, Sandy and Len Goodman:
Hey! It’s me.  Hope you’re doing well!
Nature? Nurture?  Was Jen born with exceptional  innate traits or was it her exposure to a tremendous number of incredibly special people?  Nevertheless, she was a determined woman from the minute of birth!
It was almost as if she had an urgent, preordained mission for her life. Jennifer was delivered within 5 minutes of arriving at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, NJ!  Five minutes! With a zest for life and generous, thoughtful heart, she grew up appropriately challenging authority, relishing how she met exciting challenges, fiercely defending  her friends, and always representing worthy causes. People seemed to be constantly charmed by her. She related to all ages and was as comfortable in a sandbox as she was in a corporate boardroom.

We beamed when 5 year old Jen raced her older brother’s friends and won! We giggled when she technically won the town’s track meet, but came in “second” because she did not want to …

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Fearless stories. The mission of living life fearlessly is one we share, as a community of people inspired by Jen. As I mentioned in previous posts, YouFearless.com will become a place where we inspire each other and find new people who can benefit from eliminating fear from the equation. Some posts will focus on one fearless person, while others (like today’s) will include a few more opportunities to check in with fearless people and stories, including Dave Linn!
You have to be fearless to share, and I challenge you to do so. I hope you will email me (Janet Balis Allen) at jsbalis@aol.com with any stories you might want to share.  Everyone reading this post has a story to share, and I hope you will.
The article below is from Judith Hammerman, a member of my Cycle for Survival team who recently wrote a story for The Huffington Post, inspired by Arianna Huffington’s new book On Becoming Fearless. Speaking about Judith’s own experiences facing fear, she highlights inspiration – from Steve Jobs …

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You Fearless embraces one of Jen’s core beliefs: that we all can get more out of life and from ourselves, if we eradicate fear from the equation. In Jen’s case, it was a mindset that emboldened her on many fronts. Jen very much wanted You Fearless to continue to embody that mission long after she left us. And so, we honor that wish here by starting to collect and share Fearless stories that can continue to inspire people to push past their fears to build confidence, achieve more and ultimately find more happiness.
One has to be fearless in offering the first “fearless story” and so we are very grateful to Jen’s close friend Marc Lavine for offering this contribution. Marc became friends with Jen through Cycle For Survival.  With the support of over 100 sponsors, he has his fearless moment every year by riding for the entire 8-hour extreme shift at Cycle For Survival http://www.cycleforsurvival.org. Marc’s fearless story, which follows below, shows a light but very meaningful lesson: the value …

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A message from Dave Linn…
Hello, Fearless Friends.  As Jen often said, we sometimes can’t control what happens to us, but we almost always have the ability to choose how we react to it. 
When faced with the incredible challenge of a recurrent and debilitating illness, Jen chose not to feel sorry for herself.  Instead, she dedicated her life to helping the millions of other patients affected by these so-called rare cancers. 
And now, when faced with the challenge of having lost my wife, I am choosing not to be overcome with despair (although as you can imagine, I of course have my moments of sadness).  Instead, I am trying to follow Jen’s example and dedicate my life to making sure others don’t suffer like she did. 
Today, I ask you to join me in that journey with 1 simple step – REGISTER NOW FOR CYCLE FOR SURVIVAL 2012. 
If you’d like to honor Jen’s memory, registering today is without a doubt the absolute best thing you can do.  Registration is open, and there is …

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Hi Everyone!   Many of you have checked in to see how I’m doing – thank you, I’ve been so very touched by all the support.   Apologies that I haven’t been able to get back to many of you, but that’s because I’ve been staying busy, which I think is probably a good thing.   However, since many of you asked similar questions, I thought it would be helpful for me to post an update here (along with some pictures!). 
Most of you asked me (1) how I’m doing, (2) what I’ve been up to, and (3) how we can all best carry Jen’s inspiration forward.  Those seem like pretty good topics so here it goes.  As you might know, I tend to be a bit more reserved than Jen in terms of sharing info, but in the spirit of being Fearless, I will try to put myself out there with this update.  
How I’m Doing
All things considered, I’m doing OK.  Similar to what many of you are experiencing, I …

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You Fearless embodies Jen’s philosophy: if we eradicate fear in our lives, we can live every day to its fullest potential. The more fear we remove from our lives, the more we are able to increase our confidence, productivity and happiness. Jen's video on the You Fearless home page captures this idea at its essence.
It is our hope that You Fearless continues to inspire others.  We hope to use this site to relay personal stories that embody Jen's philosophy, as You Fearless continues to have the power to motivate.  With Jen’s passing, it’s probably more important than ever for us to take her words to heart and “take fear out of the equation."  This website will become a place to celebrate people who embrace You Fearless, in the hopes that the approach can continue to change lives.
This week, Kevin Garcia, motivated by Jen's determination and spirit, has kicked off a Fearless bike ride across California.  Kevin works for a marketing agency called LeadDog that worked closely with Jen on Cycle …

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