Time to Step Out

Discovering Northern Geography
Photo: Chris Surette

"And now I'm wondering why the floor has suddenly become a moving target." - Ben Folds in a bittersweet song

I talk a lot about making things happen, going for it, choosing your own adventure. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of that. It included being offered a free trip to St. Louis for a leadership and entrepreneur conference. The trip was given to me on the day of leaving. Basically the scenario was, "You want it? Go pack; see you at the bus in 4 hours." I was feeling lazy. But I did it anyway.

It also included buying a plane ticket to Nova Scotia just days before that. I'd never personally bought a plane ticket to anywhere. In fact, I've never flown somewhere new by myself. But just the day before, an invitation was extended. I was kinda nervous. But I bought it anyway.

What happened?

The conference: I was surrounded by the most go-getting and positive young entrepreneurs I've ever met —17,000 of them. I developed a stronger sense of self, a more developed purpose, and a greater belief in my ability as a leader. We were all figuratively carrying each other on our shoulders; the feeling was remarkable. I made new inspiring friends and finally explored a city I had always dreaded even driving through.

Nova Scotia: Incredible (story to come). I spent every single minute exploring and learning and doing and trying and experiencing. Things I had never done before. Places I had never seen or heard of. I backpacked into the tip top of the province and stayed at a 75 year old converted country club on a hill overlooking a lake in the extreme south. I saw wild horses and ate wild apples. I was taken to black sand beaches and grinned so much my face hurt. I had no idea that piece of land jutting into the Atlantic was so beautiful.

I also thought it was an island. I am now a more educated American. (Sorry, Canada.)

Aftermath:

I returned. The next day I lost my job. So I took off to Miami. I spent time with my Ecuadorian "brother" and his son. He made me rice and I played cars with my "nephew." I went to a party and listened to a self-made man, just a few years older than myself, talk about following intuition. I kept on going, solo, to Key West and contemplated my week's travels at the southernmost point in the continental U.S. I waved to Cuba. I talked with strangers. An iguana chilled over my head. I put my feet in the water. I basked in an incredible sunset over the joining of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico's turquoise waters.

Goodnight Sun

The next 8 hours were spent by myself in a car. I watched the waters turn from turquoise to indigo to black and then disappear altogether into concrete and vegetation. I had a lot of time to think and a lot of time for reflection. No one was with me. No one was on the phone. It was the first time in a long time that I was completely alone.

What I learned:

There have been changes in the past little while. Big ones. Hard ones. Some that stung enough that they made me cry. Who doesn't have times like that? But I have also seen a lot of beauty. Things that made me smile. Things that made me stare in awe. Things that made me realize how incredibly fortunate I am and ultimately bulldoze over any that weren't so great.

At one point of the drive, bittersweetness swept over me. Maybe it was the Ben Folds song I referenced at the beginning of this post. Maybe it was just time for the realization of everything to finally manifest itself in that time alone. Yes, big doors had been closed, but ultimately? So what. I just opened a bunch of new ones.

"These roads don't move, you're the one that moves." -Jay Farrar (as quoted by Andy Ryan about me)

I never would have realized that unless I had taken those leaps and left my comfort zone. All I would have had was the past, which is no place to dwell. Instead, I came out with a stronger sense of what I want in life, a more determined purpose, and a more correct knowledge of Canadian geography. Not bad for a couple of weeks' travel.

Lesson: Life merely happens within the comfort zone. Living commences outside of it.