It reminded me of a familiar
saying by Helen Keller:
"Life is either a daring
adventure or nothing at all."
The latter had a profound
impact on my life, and had served as a source of inspiration which enabled me to
walk confidently into several uncharted territories. If life is an
adventure, I would certainly prefer to choose my own rather than to embark on
one that is prescribed to me by others.
Simply said, it boils down to
choosing between living a life by 'default' and living by 'design'. It
has been four and a half years since I opted for design my life and began my
adventure as a 'lifestyle entrepreneur' - to learn how to make a life while
making a living. The journey on the road less traveled has added many
colors into my life; enriched by the experiences from doing a myriad of things
that I had never dreamt of attempting previously.
These include operating a
neighbourhood cafe, creating brand names, life coaching, speaking, conducting
courses and workshops, writing
a regular column and
contributing
articles for magazines,
teaching young children how to play chess, volunteering, and making appearances
on TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.
There were many valuable
lessons learnt indeed, both from successes as well as failures, and the three
key lessons in the relation to living one's own adventure are:-
Lesson 1. Adventure is personal
Each of us deserves a unique
adventure that matches our personal values, gifts and aspirations. The starting
point is to look within and recalibrate our inner compass, as opposed to shop
around for predefined adventure packages out there.
Lesson 2.
Adventure entails risk
Risk is an essential element that
turns an endeavor into an adventure. Without risk, there will be no fear,
and without fear, there is neither excitement nor opportunity to be courageous.
An adventure involves taking risks that allow us to break free from the chain of
our fears and achieve personal growth by exploring beyond the boundaries of our
comfort zones.
Lesson 3.
Adventure has no limit
There is no limit to what is
possible, so long as it does not defy the physical laws of the universe (e.g.
attempting to fly like a bird unassisted by any device). In other words, we are
free to set out to be who we want to be. However, the journey might not be easy
and will often require disciplined actions.
I hope this brief article triggers
you to ponder about your own adventure as you are making your plans for the new
year. If you are still in town and are reasonably sober after the New
Year's eve party, do join us at 8pm
on 2-Jan for the next session
of Tuesday with Fisher and find out more about how you can
Live Your Own Adventure!
Happy New Year!
Best fishes,
Kenny, the Fisher