I am not one to watch dance shows on television, nor do I typically tune in to any of the brides-gone-wild genre. But the other night while channel surfing I came across a new show on TLC called “Rock The Reception.” It was more than halfway in progress, but I was intrigued enough to keep watching and I saw two couples do choreographed numbers for their first dance.

Between their own unabashed delight at performing and the howling responses of their friends and loved ones, I was laughing and crying simultaneously by the end. What’s so appealing is these were ordinary people, not polished professionals, who wanted to create a memorable “moment” at their wedding reception. Clearly they succeeded.

While the viewer in me enjoyed the sheer entertainment, the life coach in me always has to dig a little deeper. And here’s what I came up with – it’s great to see people put themselves out there. One bride was shown five minutes before the big dance and she said she was going to throw up, but she pushed through it and performed well.

“So, whatever you want to do, just do it … Making a damn fool of yourself is absolutely essential,” Gloria Steinem said.

Almost certainly she wasn’t talking about gyrating in a wedding gown to “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer, but you get the idea. So often my clients want to do things that others have told them are crazy or foolish. Or the client himself writes off an idea because he thinks he’s just being a dreamer or he’s too old to do it or doesn’t have enough money.

This is my cue to say, “Do you know how many people looked like fools en route to success?”

Last weekend I was reading The New York Times obituary of Dr. Michael DeBakey, known as one of the most influential doctors in the United States for his pioneering work in heart and blood vessel operations, when I came across this sentence – “A number of his surgical innovations and observations were initially ridiculed.” When DeBakey and another doctor made one of the first links between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, “Many prominent doctors derided the concept.” That was 1939 and the surgeon general documented it in 1964. This man lived to be 99 and performed more than 60,000 operations!

On a (much) lighter note, I can point to Sara Blakely, the inventor of SPANX. This is a woman who cut the feet off her panty hose to get rid of visible panty lines. After doing some research on patents and trademarks, Blakely says on her Web site, “I then approached several lawyers who thought my idea was so crazy that they later admitted thinking I had been sent by Candid Camera.” She eventually trademarked the name online. Approximately seven years later, this former salesgirl had turned her $5,000 into more than $150 million in retail sales.

Now who’s crazy?

A recent Newsweek magazine cover featured the headline, “Lincoln vs. Darwin.” And while, according to the article, the edge went to Lincoln, it reminded me of a memorable Darwin quote: "I love fools’ experiments. I am always making them."

You could even say I’m doing it here. Putting the man whose work is the basis of modern evolutionary theory in the same breath with people livening up their wedding reception seems crazy, too, right? But if we are to have lives filled with challenges, fun, learning, creativity, innovation and -- let’s not forget -- love, we need to push through the idea of making fools of ourselves every day on a variety of levels. Looking at the big picture, a couple that stares down fear together and partners to surprise and delight their wedding guests might be cementing their bond and creating a metaphor for what’s ahead.

Playwright and author Cynthia Heimel got it just right: When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap.

The net will appear.

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.