Watching a Friend Take the Leap

One of my best friends is leaving her job to start a company. It’s something she’s wanted to do for years, and I couldn’t be more excited for her to start (after a well-earned vacation, of course). We’ve talked about this next adventure of hers at length, and I know that for all of the excitement she feels, there are also real fears about going out on her own.

It’s easier to share someone’s excitement than to share their fears. I can stir my own feelings of excitement by imagining the places she’ll go while traveling, the successes she’ll have when she’s back, and the new people she’ll meet along the way. Fear is different though; the sources of fear are deeply personal. Although I can imagine the fear of leaving what I know to pursue an uncertain future, it’s much harder to internalize the feeling that must accompany that fear.

So, as I joked tonight at dinner with her, from my perspective, she’s boarding a yacht headed for warm waters and adventure. But from her perspective, she’s leaping off an ocean liner hoping to find a life vest on the way down.

There’s more to the story though. The other thing that I can’t fully feel myself, though I might be able to imagine it, is the conviction that’s pushing her to make the leap. That too is deeply personal. It’s this conviction that’s brought her to this point, and I know it will sustain her through the ups and downs of her new adventure.

I can’t wait to see where the adventure takes her, and couldn’t be more proud of her for taking the leap.

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