To live an extraordinary life you must take extraordinary risks.

One thing that will become apparent in this blog is that I have not had a lot of influencers in my life who would encourage me to take risks.  In fact, I have searched for stability for thirty years. Born to a single mother who struggled with money, although from a wonderful and hard working family, my obsession has been to create stability and security for myself as an adult. I thought that I had accomplished this. I had found a good career, a boyfriend turned fiance, a purchased condo and a future filled with marriage, babies and material things. After all, that is what everyone aspires to, isn't it? What happens though when one of these building blocks crumble? What happens when one after another, the blocks come falling down around me? Faster and harder I would fall. I became someone completely unrecognizable. At the time the demise was somewhat gradual.  It took coming out of what I now know to be a depression to realize how far I had fallen. I had achieved the exact opposite of the stable and secure life I craved. 

While I love my friends and respect them for who they are, they can't offer me the risk that I am now trying to embrace. The ones with the babies now have a life that they cannot trade in. While I have envied them for a long time, I am realizing that there is more life to live for me before I become a mother. The single friends are enjoying being single in the great city of Vancouver but have not taken that "extraordinary risk" that is so fascinating to me right now.  So, I am seeking out those influencers who can help me turn my life "extraordinary".  An Aussie friend I met in my Spain travels has filled this void. While not overly focused on career, he recently spent half a year in Europe.  Now at home and saving money, he will come to Vancouver in September for ski season and will proceed to Africa for a year come next spring. His attitude is that when he is eighty he will look back on his life and assess if it was worth living. By taking these adventures, he is creating the memories that will warm his heart and his mind in the years ahead. The quote "To live an extraordinary life you must take extraordinary risks" is therefore his quote, his genius. I don't know if he yet realizes how much impact he is having on my life, but I think I will be owing him much gratitude. He is a wonderful friend, traveller and mentor.  I hope to learn from his teachings.