Dream Big and Don't You Dare Give Up!

DREAM BIG- author unknown
If there were ever a time to dare,
to make a difference,
to embark on something worth doing, it is now.
Not for any grand cause, necessarily -
but for something that tugs at your heart,
something that's your aspiration,
something that's your dream.
You owe it to yourself to make your days here count.

Have fun.
Dig Deep.
Stretch.
Dream big.
Know, though, that things worth doing seldom come easily.
There will be good days.
And there will be bad days.
There will be times when you want to turn around,
pack it up, and call it quits.
Those times tell you that you are pushing yourself,
that you are not afraid to learn by trying.
Persist.
Because with an idea,
determination, and the right tools,
you can do great things.
Let your instincts,
your intellect,
and your heart guide you.
Trust.
Believe in the incredible power of the human mind.
Of doing something that makes a difference.
Of working hard.
Of laughing and hoping.
Of lazy afternoons.
Of lasting friends.
Of all the things that will cross your path this year.
The start of something new brings the hope of something great.
Anything is possible.
There is only one you.
And you will pass this way only once.
Do it right.

Photo by: Genoa Robertson-Soruco taken on a hike near my house in Florianopolis, Brazil

Fear of Failure- Keep on Keeping on!

Selling the majority of our things and moving to Seoul, South Korea for five months wasn't nearly as scary as it was moving to Florianopolis, Brazil. Why? Because I had the security of a job and a return ticket set up and friends and former students living in Seoul for support. When Rodrigo and I booked a one way ticket to Brazil, after a three week visit home to California, it was jumping off the high dive instead of the low dive. We didn't have jobs in Florianopolis set up, we didn't know anybody, Rodrigo had been living in the States for 10+ years and had forgotten a bit about the order, and many times lack of order, that goes on in Brazil. Settling here has definitely had its challenges and I have wanted to throw in the towel more than once.
But alas, we just celebrated one year in Florianopolis and things are finally really coming together. I have built a solid clientele of students and Rodrigo is growing his real estate and import/export expertise with every passing day. Fulfilling the dream of living in Brazil has been a very rocky road but as Mickey Rooney puts it, "You always pass failure on the way to success."