OK, hands up, I’m a Trekkie, from before the time that term was even created and seeing as the new Star Trek movie is to be released, I thought about what it means for me today to ‘Boldly go where I’ve never been before!’

I see myself as a relatively conservative risk taker, at least with money, but it seems I may live outside the box in my choices.

Some examples:
  • jumped off the side of a mountain – paragliding
  • jumped out of a plane – tandem jump
  • studied for a year in Germany & realised pretty quick that the money wasn’t enough for me to live on
  • came to the UK, knew no one – once again, realising the money wasn’t enough
  • gone river rafting
  • walked alone in a Canadian park and faced a bear
  • left my 1st husband with below poverty level income
  • took a year out to travel and not at an age anywhere near my 20’s, facing the fear my career would be killed by it
  • found out I like brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and many, many other foods I didn’t grow up eating or liking
  • started up several small business ventures with mixed results
  • turned around several small businesses to take them from not making money to making money (& yes, some of these were in the arts)
  • spoke to total strangers at parties or even bus stops
  • learned to sing/act & dance despite being told as a child I couldn’t do any of these things well & then went on to make a career of each one
  • self-produced – stage shows, events and short films
  • set up my own websites
  • etc.

Do these things make me a risk taker? I’m sure there’s a debate in it.  One thing I do know that working in the arts helps me find how much I can change and that something that was true yesterday for me, may not be true today or tomorrow because I keep learning, keep pushing my own personal boundaries as I discover more about myself and the world around me.

This is key for me: to always keep learning.

The people I admire the most live and speak these words and so I continue to seek new paths and develop existing ones I never dreamed possible when I started.

What paths or risks or frontiers have you taken?  What does it mean to be you?
🙂