My husband has proclaimed he’s having a mid-life crisis. He’s in his mid forties and his ninety-year-old grandmother just passed away. He feels his life is half over and he wants to take more risks in the next phase. Now as the mother of two teenage boys that also happen to be ski racers, I spend most of my days discouraging risk taking. Risk taking is definitely a male phenomenon. You won’t find my daughter, who also ski races, jumping ten-foot cliffs in her spare time. Women aren’t natural risk takers, which is why we need encouragement to step out on a limb and reach for our goals. This is also why I love ski racing for girls. My daughter may not be as speedy as her brothers, but she’s learning some great life lessons when she steps into the start-gate all-alone on a steep, icy mountain.
My start gate was launching YourOnRamp and I definitely needed some encouragement to point them down hill and take the risk. We launched our site seven months ago and while we haven’t crossed the finish line, it’s been an awesome ride. You won’t find me jumping cliffs, but when I stand on the race course, holding my breath, watching my kids fly down the mountain, I feel fortunate that some of their risk taking rubbed off on me.
What’s your start gate? ... 5,4,3,2,1 … go!
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