Wilson Cont’d on page 30. 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 WorldWide Drilling Resource® The Un-Comfort Zone II by Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. Courage is the Pivot Point where Everything Changes Greek poet Virgil said, “Fortune favors the bold.” I first discovered this truism as an older teenager and it has served me well through the years. In high school, I wanted to be involved in student government. Each year, I ran for class office - taking the more timid route and running for one of the lesser offices, never class president. I ran for vice president, treasurer, or secretary, and I was never elected. My last chance came at the end of eleventh grade as a rising senior. This time, I threw caution to the wind and ran for the biggest prize: Student Council President. And I won. It was a game changer for me. Overnight, I became one of the most popular kids in school. The office came with tons of responsibilities, all of which served to build my confidence. I even asked some of the prettiest girls on dates. Many declined, but I was proud of myself for asking - something I would’ve never done just a year earlier. The important factor was recognizing that being bold was what opened the doors of opportunity for me. I was determined to keep being bold, and as a result, more good things came my way. Years later, when I became a motivational speaker, I encouraged people to be bold. I would ask, “How would your life be different if you were ten times bolder?” As a speaker on creativity and innovation, I changed from encouraging people to be bold, to taking risks. A willingness to take risks is a big part of innovation, and becoming comfortable with risk is a key characteristic of creative people. As the author of a children’s book on how to deal with bullies, I’m invited to speak to elementary school students. I encourage the kids to push their fear aside and stand up for themselves. To help them, I teach two techniques which enable them to peacefully de-escalate bully attacks. Remarkably, I never equated “being bold,” “taking risks,” and “standing up for yourself” as being aspects of courage. I didn’t learn how important courage is until just a few years ago when I started studying States of Consciousness - how you feel about yourself and your outlook on the world. My interest in states of consciousness came when I realized from personal experience that it can affect our health. I’d heard many times that if I raised my state of consciousness, I would be more successful, but I didn't really understand the concept. It wasn’t until I went through the grief of a heartbreak that I recognized it. My state of consciousness was so low I got sick, then sicker, and finally sickest - landing me in the hospital. I’m normally a healthy person, but after I went through three successive yet separate and different illnesses that were each worse than the last, I fully understood it was my low state of consciousness making me sick. I was finally beginning to understand it, but still had no clue on how to raise my state of consciousness. It would be another three years when I would begin to learn that. A friend recommended a book to me titled: Power Vs. Force by Psychiatrist David Hawkins. The book provided me with a scale of the various levels of states of consciousness. Those are from lowest to highest as follows: shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace, and enlightenment. Join us for: Educational Courses Raffles Door Prizes Exhibits Buck Lively Scholarship Auction For more information, call 480-609-3993 info@mountainstatesgroundwater.com mountainstatesgroundwater.com Golf Tournament February 10th!
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