The Flight

It was 11:58pm when I was on a plane from Los Angeles to Taipei on January 10, 2008 preparing for departure on an adventure of a lifetime. As I secured my seatbelt I thought to myself…”This is real…I’m going to be gone for a very long time…” Then, a familiar feeling crossed my thoughts. It was the same feeling I had when I left last summer for the first time to Vietnam. The question that was pounding my thoughts was, “Did I make the right decision?”…

For what seemed like a quick moment in eternity, I just sat there and stared out the window and thought about the life that I was leaving behind. I lived a very comfortable life back at home in little ole’ Charlotte, NC, but I had grown tired of it – the monotonous routine schedule, along with occasional spurts of spontaneity. It just wasn’t enough for me. It wasn’t the life I had imagined for myself, and definitely not the life that I wanted to continue living. There comes a point in time where every man and woman will ask themselves…”What do I want out of life?” That, ladies and gentlemen, is the million dollar question!

It’s surprising though at how many people let their fears hold them back in their pursuit of happiness. (I was one of those people.) The common symptom I see most often is a justifiable excuse, with a rare case of life-dealt-me-a-shitty-hand. It really isn’t about how life dealt you a bad set of cards, but what’s most important is how you choose to play the cards that were dealt. Poker players often have bad cards, but they can turn that one hand into a defining moment of victory - against all odds.

Sacrifice - The next question that popped in my mind was “How much am I willing to sacrifice to achieve my dream?” That, my friends, is what life is all about. Every day people make compromises and sacrifices for other people, but never actually stop to think about the sacrifices they could make for themselves to reach a more fulfilling life. It’s not about being self centered, but more so, an efficient allocation of life-expenses. I don’t have answers to everything, and by all means, I’m no great example. I’m just a man on a journey trying to find his purpose - one step at a time. With the exception of some clothes, phone, and golf clubs, I gave up everything important on this journey – family, friends, belongings, and the 25 years of life that I built in America. Is it tough? Indeed it is, but I look at it as an investment in my life-portfolio. It’s probably one of the oldest and saddest stories of mankind when a person chooses to let things or circumstances hold him/her back from trying to achieve a dream. Anything (within reason) is a possibility.

Lift Off - The plane turned on its jet engines and the captain announced the flight information. The moment had come for me to begin my journey. After take-off, I flipped through the movie selections to see what was playing. I happened to stumble upon a true-story movie called Into The Wild. In short, it was a movie about a privileged college graduate who had a troubled family life. His life seemed poised for success after graduation, but he wasn’t satisfied with what life had to offer him. The safe and secure life that was to be handed to him seemed boring and miniscule. He was in search of meaning, adventure and the definition of happiness. He packed his bags and left on a 2 year journey towards Alaska one day and left without a trace. He shed himself of everything he owned and learned to survive on his own in the wild. Sadly though, he died before he could return home.

He really reminded me a lot of myself. I had just graduated from college with a troubled family life, and I was tired of the life I was living. I wanted to find out what my limits were and I needed a great adventure to go on. So, one day I packed my bags and left to a new world across the globe – Vietnam. (I just hope I don’t have the same tragic ending!) It was really motivating to watch that film on the plane at that moment. It was a reassuring occurrence that got me even more pumped about the journey that lay ahead.