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The Arc de Triomphe in Paris (or, Arch of Triumph, to us English-speaking folks) stands in the center of an amazing place called Place de l’Étoile (which means “Star Square” – somewhat ironic since it’s actually, you know, round).

But I remember the day my family and I visited it back in 1970; it was the day we stepped out on faith.

What does visiting perhaps the second-most famous landmark in all of France have to do with faith, you ask? Well Bubba, I’m glad you asked!

The World’s Busiest Traffic Circle

See, this particular spot in Paris may be the most incredibly busy intersection in the entire continent of Europe! It’s at the intersection of no less than 12 major roads, all extremely busy in their own right. Talk about your non-stop traffic – and it ain’t slow, either!

It always makes me chuckle (sound of evil chuckle) when I see photos of the Arch – and the surrounding road is completely empty. I envision hordes of police standing just out of sight, blocking traffic for that one, great shot the postcard makers love.

Anyway, there we were, standing on the outside of the traffic circle and craning our necks to see the very top of this monument (believe me, this thing is huge). We wanted to get to the Arch, but the problem, as I mentioned, was the traffic – it was overwhelming, and it literally never stopped!

So as we’re waiting… and waiting… and still waiting for an opening (an experience not unlike waiting for your numbers to be called in the lottery), a passing Frenchman stopped and told us the secret to getting across the street.

The Secret

“Ah, the secret to crossing this avenue is easy my friends,” he told us in his delightfully French accent. “You simply must have ze faith!”

Needless to say, this advice was met with, er, somewhat blank stares. Undaunted, though, he continued.

“Whatever you do – do not look at the cars as you cross. If they see you looking at them, they will assume you will move out of their way. But if they see you are not watching them, they will get out of your way! Voilá!”

Don’t look at the cars. Right. Pretend they’re not there. Uh-huh. All the while, I’m thinkin’ to myself, “Yeah, Buddy, and I’m a gullible American tourist who just fell off the turnip truck!”

But then, to demonstrate what he meant, our impromptu guide simply stepped off the curb and strolled right across the street as though he hadn’t a care in the world! Upon arriving at the base of the Arch, he turned around and walked unconcernedly back – never once looking at the never-ending stream of cars, trucks and mopeds speeding right around him. It was awe-inspiring (and not a little frightening)!

“You see,” he laughed as he proceeded on his way, “you must have ze faith! Au revoir!” (I believe au revoir means either have a nice day, or I’m outta here before you foolish American tourists get yourselves spread all over the concrete!)

Anyway, there we were standing right on the edge of the curb, faced with the prospect of either following the advice of our now nowhere-to-be-found friend – or accepting defeat. We looked at each other for a few minutes and then said to ourselves, “What the heck – let’s go for it!”

And so we did!

It was one of the most amazing – and probably one of the scariest – things I’ve ever done! Trucks, cars, mopeds – they all made their way right around us, sometimes passing so close we could poke ‘em in the eye! Hey, this definitely puts the je back in je ne se quoi.

The weirdest part about the whole experience is that not one car screeched its tires or honked their horn; not one person screamed unintelligible curses at us – all of which I was truly expecting to happen. Every vehicle smoothly made their way around us as if we were simply just another stationary object in the road. No muss, (practically) no fuss.

After we finished viewing the Arch, we did the same thing; walked right back across the street as if we belonged there. To this day I’m still amazed at that experience! Hey, you can have your bungee jumping, rock climbing and sky diving; I’m tellin’ ya; this is life on the Edge!

Is There a Leap of Faith in Your Future?

Now granted, not everybody faces the challenge of stepping out and crossing 10 lanes of madcap traffic during the worst rush hour ever (and I wouldn’t try it in New York – those cabbies wouldn’t think twice about smearing you across the road, I’m afraid).

But still, that leap of faith confronts us more often that we may be willing to admit.

What have you been thinking about doing lately? Have you been asked (or required, or proposed) to do something that necessitates a leap of faith? Perhaps it’s a job change; or maybe a new project that’s a little (or even a lot) outside your range of experience or your comfort zone?

Having just done something of a leap of faith myself, career-wise (and no, I won’t leave you hanging; you’ll read more about it next week on January 29^th), I know it can be quite a scary thing to just go ahead and, well, do it. But hear this, I beg of you: you may surprise yourself.

Personally, I think you’re likely capable of much more than what think. (And it’s OK; most people are.) Why not at least think about it?

So the $8,492,716 question for today is this: What’s your leap of faith?

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