I’ve always thought it was a little strange that I was a person lucky enough to find not one deep and powerful passion in my life.. but two. Skydiving and life coaching. I think up to this point I’ve been operating under this half-unconscious notion that it’s incredible when a person even identifies a passion, much less finding two and actually living them personally and professionally back-to-back. It just seems so abnormal.
So why me, then? It had to be luck… right?
I went to the drop zone this weekend, made a super-fun 2-way jump with one of my oldest teammates, and ran into another old skydiving friend from way back in the day when I first started at Elsinore, and all those years I was there. It was so cool.
Anyway, we got to talking, updating, reconnecting, genuinely happy to see each other, you know. With that, I got to sharing this whole idea of how lucky I feel to have found this second personal and professional passion in life coaching. Crazy. I went on basically saying what I just outlined above, how it seemed so strange to me that some never find one passion, and I’m lucky enough to find two?? It’s just so crazy, and I’m just so grateful, yada yada yada. And then my friend rocked my brain a bit… he said something like, “No, I think that just has to do with you… you’ve always been like that… you go after what you love, what you want. I’ve always really admired that about you.”
And you know what, he’s right. Internally I want to resist his compliment, but here, now, as I type it out.. I have to own it. My life choices to date have not been for the faint of heart. And yet, by no means have I been reckless. Just like skydiving, my life has been a series of calculated risks and leaps of faith for love, life experience, and joy. Cheese-ball-cheese, but really. Sure, staying in investment banking would have guaranteed me a certain financial future, but you know what… this past year I made the same amount as I made in my most lucrative year at the bank. That blew my frickin’ mind. And I did it doing what I LOVE. Being my own boss. Living my DREAM. I mean, how much more do I need to have this hammered into my head?? It IS possible. And every last one of us can make it happen.
Not only can we live our dreams, we can be way more successful and happy in doing so with no ceiling dictating how high we can go. Success, joy, connections, money, friendships, collaborations, product, service, freedom, love, life, anything… whatever we can think up, and a lot of what we currently can’t. Leaps of faith for love get us everywhere and everything. All we have to do is do the work (see: work ass off), and take the chance on ourselves. As all those old-school L’Oreal hair-color ads with Cybill Shepherd say… we’re worth it.
See, my friend reflected back admiration for my approach to life because right now he’s up against his own possibility… he has the opportunity to take a risk doing something he truly wants to do… and you know what, I hope he does it. I hope you do too. Not because I know it would be best for him, not because I know it would work out perfectly… I have no clue about any of that. What I do know though, is that he can’t possibly fail. No matter WHAT happens, he’ll have taken that chance on himself, and proven he can do it and survive. Even thrive. He’ll learn there are doors of opportunity hidden in every mishap, and get the biggest reward in life from stepping through the fire, tapping his courage, and putting his true self out there.
Now instead of hair-product advertisements, I’ll quote Pretty Woman, the biggest chick-flick of all time that oddly strikes the heart of us all in it’s simple message……. What’s your dream?
First we identify the dream. Then we do it. :)
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Tell me yours below and maybe we can get you started on making it happen. I’m all ears.
Hope this helps, and thank you as always for reading!
xo Mel
… That blew my frickin’ mind. And I did it doing what I LOVE. Living my DREAM. I mean, how much more do I need to have this hammered into my head??

I love this post! I take care of a 101-year-old man. He told me one night, “He who doesn’t give up, wins.” I wrote it down in my iphone because I need to be reminded of this. Not sure yet what ” the dream” is for me, but I know I’m on the right track. My soul gives me little hints and “longings” for what it knows is best. I’ll be moving to Arizona in the coming months because that’s where I feel my next step is–even if I don’t know what it is yet. I’ve never, ever regretted following my heart, even if it is a little illogical sometimes.
Jen, this is so awesome. I completely agree with you in that deep trust I have for my gut/heart even when who knows what is gonna happen!
That trust totally creates peace in those times when it does look illogical, or unclear. Funny you’re moving to AZ, because when Nick and I moved here, it was exactly one of these types of decisions… we actually didn’t know for sure what it was going to look like when we got here.. like at all.. but we agreed that something in our guts was telling us this was the place we wanted to be. And you know what, after that Nick got his gig on Airspeed, we found our amazing home, and yeah.. it’s all so clear NOW!
hahaa Anyway, thanks for sharing, and hopefully our paths will cross when you get to AZ.
Oh, and if you do get more clarity on what your dream is, please feel free to post it anytime.
Flying planes for a living! And boy, does that one looks uncertaint
but I am giving it all I can for sure!! Love your posts Mel, keep at it!