“You are young,” he said, “go out and explore the world!”

I met him at a sushi lounge during a night out with the girls. He forever changed my perspective on life. I naturally worry about everything. And if you’re anything like me, you have a lot of great ideas but you’re not sure if you should follow suit because of the risks it could take or your level of comfort. But this night, I changed the way I would approach every new idea that comes to my head.

His name was Kerny and he taught me the importance of taking risks in life.

He told me that he landed a job at a prestigious university making over 100k a year, but he wasn’t happy. He wasn’t satisfied. He would rather live the life he wanted. One day he decided to quit his 9-5 and has been supporting himself as an artist ever since. (He’s amazing by the way). Now, he makes money doing what brings him joy and he gets to travel where he wants, when he wants.

“If I want to go to Dubai, hell, I’ll book my flight and I’m there the next month!” he exclaimed listing the countless countries he’s visited since beginning his journey.

It inspired me! Kerny quitting his high paying job to being an artist, something he actually loved, is one of the riskiest stories I’ve ever heard. And I’m sure he struggled in the beginning for quite some time but now he is genuinely happy and I could see it in his eyes. His risk led to greater opportunity. It led to seeing the world. It led to becoming the most radiant being in a dimly lit sushi lounge.

Life is about the risks we are willing to take. If we don’t take them, we will be complacent in life. We will be stuck in the same predictable cycle. We will always wonder “what if?” And that leads to misery.

So I encourage you to take the risk that’s been tugging at your heart. Of course, make sure it’s doable and not life threatening. But if what’s holding you back is fear of failure then, it’s worth the shot. I recently saw a quote that read, “Apply for that job. Date that person. Buy that plane ticket. Move to that city. Do the things that scare you because they’re worth it,” and I completely agree.

If there’s something you feel on the inside you should be doing but you are nervous, I say, just do it. It might be a scary thing to jump into, but that anxiety will be replaced with satisfaction. Either you will realize it wasn’t for you and now you know, or it was everything you’ve ever dreamed of. There’s only one way to find out.

Just freaking do it.

xo, Brittany Kayla