Chasing the Shark: A Journey from Fear to Freedom

By Rosanne Masone

"Chasing the Shark: A Journey from Fear to Freedom" is a one-of-a-kind book that relates, in a unique way, the fear of risk and facing the unknown to limitations of life in general.

Follow the author as she takes you on her own personal journey of discovery to find her hidden true self. Told with warmth, wisdom and humor, this powerful and compelling story tells how she identifies her fear and works to conquer it and, by doing so, immeasurably adds to her enjoyment of life on all levels.

"Chasing the Shark" leads you along the path to self-empowerment and realization. Read it and learn how pushing your limits and conquering your fears can allow you to experience a more fulfilling and rewarding life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452022901

Rosanne Masone

An avid SCUBA diver, underwater photographer and snow skier, Rosanne Masone is the founder and CEO of Giant Strides LLC., a company devoted to promoting personal development and achievement through positive living and life coaching. Along with "Chasing the Shark: A Journey from Fear to Freedom," she is a co-author in the best-selling "Wake Up Women" book series. She is listed in Metropolitan Who's Who and a winner of the 2000 Tribute to Women and Industry Award; she is a former corporate director in the risk management department for a leading Fortune 500 company and a former office manager for a New York law firm. A certified PADI Rescue Diver, Rosanne is also a licensed New Jersey real estate agent and a Wellness Coach with Herbalife International. She is active in community service with STEED, a New Jersey based horseback riding program for handicapped persons; Only Hope Cat Rescue of New York City; and as a Special Olympics Equestrian Coach.

Book preview

Contents

FOREWORD

JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE

EARN THE RIGHT

SELF RESCUE THROUGH SELF DISCOVERY

BASIC INSTINCTS

GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER

GIANT STRIDE, A LEAP OF FAITH

SEEING THROUGH MURKY WATER

Dedicated to the loving memory of my Mom and Dad and their devotion to each other and their children.

With special thanks to: my husband, Michael and my children, Kris and Mike, who inspired me to explore my fear and conquer it; Blue Water Divers, Rochelle Park, NJ; Rita Borges; my sisters, Chris and Carolyn; Country Lee Farm and Tuffy, Pomona, NY; Abby Danter; Dr. Wayne Dyer; Johanna Fine; Dr. Larisa Gershman; George and Lynn Gresham; Herbalife International; Jerry & Esther Hicks; Bean Kreidler; Roz Kresky; Captain John Martinez; Jackie Philips; the dive staff at UNEXSO, Grand Bahama Island; and the Caribbean reef sharks that grace the waters there.

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FOREWORD

This book was written for those, especially women, who have been trying to summon up the courage to undertake something considered risky and exciting, despite their initial reaction of fear. It’s for the ones who are teetering at the water’s edge and peering down, wondering if it’s safe to put their toe in or just hold their nose and jump! It’s for those who recognize there is more to life than they have been living up till now. It’s for those who want to put on the miner’s hat and explore a new, illuminated life! It’s for those who want to show themselves that they can meet any challenge and win and, by doing so, develop a deeper understanding of themselves and what they can accomplish.

I chose the platform of scuba diving because that was my place of reckoning. I conquered a fear that had prevented me from experiencing life on a deeper level and had even limited my daily existence. Little did I realize that by stopping the exploration of my own limitations, I was also stopping my personal growth. I had my foot on the proverbial garden hose and didn’t even know it!

Life is full of challenges and adventures that we are sometimes too afraid to consider experiencing. Scuba diving is certainly one of them! Only a small percentage of people are certified scuba divers and most of them are men! I find that the female friends, wives and girlfriends of scuba divers are, in many cases, afraid to even try it. Their male counterparts happily don the dive gear and jump in, while the others sit on the shore, or even at home, until they return. They don’t even want to consider exploring the possibilities of this risky sport. Their fear of the unknown has halted them in their tracks!

By recounting my own experience and how I was finally able to conquer my fear and actually enjoy scuba diving, I’ll show you that as you hold yourself back in small ways, you short change your life in even bigger ways and drastically limit your personal growth. This is a journey of self-exploration and enlightenment. A road to self-empowerment for all who dare to take it.

My hope is to shed new light on this often misunderstood venture and to use it as an example to help others overcome their fear of the unknown in any area of life. I’m hoping that my courage will ignite others to dare to take a long look at their fears and what has been limiting life for them.

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Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.

~ German Proverb

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JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE

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To dream anything that you want to dream. That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.

~ Bernard Edmonds

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What I am about to share with you is my own journey. A journey sparked by a promise and determination. A journey that, frankly, I never thought I’d take.

All of my adult life, I believed that what most people want and could expect from life was simply to be reasonably content. Most of us don’t look for all the fanfare and excitement we see on TV or in the movies. That’s escapism. We basically just want to be as happy and as comfortable as possible. We don’t go out of our way to break any records, or make any dramatic changes in our lives. That might be too stressful or too risky! We just want to enjoy what we have and do what we’ve always been doing. In short, we want to stay in our comfort zone.

Well, that’s what I thought I wanted, too, until something happened that made me take a long hard look at my life and how I was living it. This event brought to the forefront something I had been hiding since I was a child. It made me face a fear that had limited my life and the totality of all my experiences. What was that fear? It was a fear of water! This fear was totally irrational, yet I convinced myself that it was justified, and for four decades, that fear controlled my everyday life.

So how does someone with a fear of water end up a scuba diver chasing the shark? What causes a person