When you read that one word, how did you feel? For some, you thought ‘thrill,’ for some you may have had some chills run through your body. Most people have one of those reactions. The reason I left this title one word was because you need to feel your feelings for that word.

In my last blog we started down The Path then, as fate would have it, my daughter called me to ask me for help on a question she was asked. Alexandra was having a corporate meeting and they were requested to answer the question; ‘What do you think the biggest risk you have ever taken is?’. She was having a problem answering this. The reason for this is because Alexandra is a risk taker. Fear, since she was a young child, was not a word in her vocabulary. Alexandra knew what she wanted and was willing to do what she needed to get it. Later in this blog, I will come back to what she settled on.

Doesn’t the question she was asked fit? Remember those crossroads? You are making a choice of which path to choose, one way there are risks, one way there may not be. Now, take a moment and think, what was the biggest risk you ever took? Wait, I have a better question, what are the risks you didn’t take and then regretted? Do you remember them? How are you feeling? Why did you regret them? Was it because you felt you missed something in your life? Did you miss a job opportunity? Maybe you wanted to become an entrepreneur, but didn’t because of the risk involved, those ‘What if’s’. We tend to make these the scary ‘what if’s’. Now I want you to stop think about that risk and think about the positive ‘What if’s.’ What if I succeeded? What if I got to spend more time with my family? What if I could give those I love the life they want? What if my product or service improves the world and helps others? What if I just feel good inside, because I feel good about what I did? Aren’t you feeling a little more hopeful? Doesn’t the choice you have to make seem a little easier? Our mind is one of the most powerful tools we have! One of our goals is to leash the powers of our minds to make choosing easier. (In future blogs I will be talking more about doing this through creating your vision).

Of course, this question got me thinking about my risks. I never considered myself a real ‘risk taker.’ I don’t like heights or roller coasters, bungee jumping is definitely off the list, and I cared a lot about what people thought about me. However thinking about it now, I think I may have been. In my 20’s I moved from my hometown of Woodstock, Ct to Southern California for a job, by myself, and then I moved to New York City, by myself and then back to Sothern California, by myself. Do you see a pattern there? I did these things ‘by myself’. You see I did it because my fear of ‘What if I don’t do this’ was far, far greater than any of the negative side thoughts of; ‘What if I do’. I remember telling people that I never wanted to live my life by ‘What if.’ What did I gain by taking these risks, adventure, a job working for a gentleman that gave me many experiences that I would never have if I stayed in Woodstock. I met my husband there and had our children, and the people I met, oh, each one of them is a treasure in my life.. And what else did I gain? Stories, lots and lots of stories. Brennan Scanlon, my business partner, asked me once about how do I have so many stories? It is because of the risk I was willing to take.

My daughter and what she settled on? We thought of a few, like when she was 4 and jumped off the high dive. However, the risk she took was at 14. She got the opportunity to be a US Congressional Page for six weeks in Washington DC. Now you may think…’what risk is in that?’. They let those kids on their off hours have the run of the city on their own. She grew up in a small town and now she was in the big city. Oh, did I say she was a risk taker? I believed she looked at it as an adventure, not a risk. She did get some of my genes.

Feeling a little braver? Are you at the crossroads, and now a little clarity is coming through? What risk are you now willing to take? Please tell me I would love to know!

The journey now continues down your path!