Looking before you leap is the logical thing to do, at least for me.  I, of course, take it a bit far though on the conservative side – rather than just jump – I will look, assess, over think it, work the pros/cons, etc.  Sometimes you need to jump, take the risk and see what happens. As I get older I my safety net keeps getting smaller and I often wonder what I am missing?

But I did leap without looking the minute  pressed “buy” to attend the World Domination Summit in Portland.   I was initially drawn to the journey (quest) of World Domination’s founder, Chris Guillebeau, to visit 193 countries before his 35th birthday. What an impressive goal he set and reading his progress over the past few years has been inspirational.  During this time, he has launched a few businesses and in his spare time wrote a book or five!  I know, what have I accomplished in this same time?  But this isn’t about comparisons, it never has been for me – I need to measure myself on my own timeline and hold myself accountable for my progress (or lack thereof).  This I am aware of – I am fortunate to travel the world and explore and my happiness/success is up to me.

Having signed up for his Art of Non-Conformity newsletter to keep up with his adventures (and misadventures along the way), I quickly learned that Chris was questioning himself along the way and asking the big (and small) questions that were applicable to everyone.  When he asked a question, hundreds quickly replied from around the globe and you could see that many seemed to be struggling with the same issues/questions and yet others had worked through it and were offering advice/sharing their experiences.  What a great supportive community.  The positive nature of the newsletter and the community each week was something I looked forward to so when the first World Domination Summit was launched, I wanted to be a part of it.

Sadly, I would view from afar and read the updates learning about all the fun along the way.  This year, I was on the wait list so when the email came indicating ticket availability, I jumped on it.  I quickly hit “buy”.  I wanted to meet people from around the globe trying to figure life out in positive and many unconventional ways – trying to live great lives and achieve their goals (note to self, you may need to start setting goals). So much of my life has changed in the past few years and the summit seemed a natural fit in my continuing education.

I may have forgotten to research the costs in my quick leap from the wait list.  No pro/con list was done for this trip. No time for a budget (I should have done this).  With my non-refundable summit ticket, I started putting my trip together.  My flights from Philly to Portland (not cheap and no mile availability), hotel space expensive (no point options left)  and a few other items that I am blindly charging to AMEX and will worry about later.  So this trip is definitely different from my normal travel planning in that no miles were used and I’m paying cash (much more than normal) but what price happiness?  Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, is speaking, maybe she can answer that for me – what price happiness? I don’t think you can assess an ROI on this one – its a personal and spiritual, therefore, different for each person.

Reading through the schedule, I actually have no idea what to expect – a bit scary and exciting at the same time.  So off to Portland (my first visit) to experience World Domination and Voodoo donuts (I hope there is no pop quiz, I haven’t watched Portlandia yet!).

When was your last leap without looking?  What did you do and how did it play out?