When I was five...

I cut a hole in a large box and pretended I owned my own little restaurant called, "Hot Dogs and More." You can imagine my disappointment years later when I walked into a food court and saw that A&W had stolen my idea and had a large sign that read, "A&W Hot Dogs & More."

When I nine, hair jewels were popular, and I realized I could make them on my own. I had my mum take me to the store and I loaded up on velcro and little plastic gemstones. My little hands spent the next week laboring on creating my own hair gems. Learning from my first set, and perfecting it by my last. I made creative and fun holders to present the gems on, and even spent time wasting paper to create the perfect brochure.

 I think the only person I showed was my mum.

At thirteen I decided I wanted a job, and made a formal resume for my own house cleaning service, which I handed over to my Aunt and Uncle. I got the job.

It seems that it has always been within me to own my own business. I just needed the confidence, which I finally have after all this time. I also need the motivation, which sometimes is easy to forget as you sit behind a desk for eight hours a day.

I am currently reading "let my people go surfing," a book by patagonia owner, Yvon Chouinard. Chouinard never had a plan to be a businessman. He just wanted to do what he was passionate about; surfing and climbing. His first creations were because he needed better climbing gear. And then his friends asked for him to make some for them, and then their friends, and then their friends friends. Everything that came after that was to fulfill a need in gear or clothing, that was missing or that needed to be improved, and 41years later it is a million dollar business. And it all started because Chouinard followed his heart.

There are things we are passionate about, things we are good at, and things we just settle into. Sometimes just because we are good at something, doesn't mean it will make us happy. Sometimes we start out passionate about something and say yes, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, this is it. But we get scared or life wears us down, and one day years have passed, and we've let our dream float so far away that we think it's too late, and never reach out for it again. That's when we settle.

We should all be as lucky as Chouinard to simply be doing something for ourselves and our passion, and have it bloom into something bigger. If I was lucky I would be able to find a business that would allow me to continue to see the world at the same time. I can't predict the future though, I can only hope that I will have the heart and motivation to make something great that is my own one day.