After a recent first-time kayaking adventure, I found a new metaphor for our lives. The actual trip would have been the year’s big winner on America’s Funniest Home Videos for sure! My friend/guide wanted to try a new location, and chose to ignore the park ranger’s advice that the water was too low.  We struggled mightily over too many rocky shallows, and spent too much time trying to wade on slippery rocks while dragging our kayaks behind us. Nevertheless, I learned how to enjoy a river in a kayak, and discovered that I can still hang in there when required to do so. The good thing was that both my friend and I are positive people who approach most things with a smile and a can-do attitude.  Despite five long hours that were pretty tortuous at times, we laughed and hugged when we finally got out at our pickup point. The best times were when I managed to get up enough speed, steer to the right spot and then sail through the white water areas. Now granted, these were baby white waters, but the effect of getting everything just right, and coming out on the other side, was exhilarating nonetheless. Next would be a stretch of calm water to paddle through quietly while enjoying the occasional blue heron, soaring hawk or croaking frog. But then we would hit another shallow area and come to a dead stop that required serious hard work to get past.So, I got to thinking that life is very much like this river trip. There are times when things just glide along smoothly and we are able to enjoy the world around us.  But sooner or later, we begin to hear the sound of rushing water, and we know that there is a challenge coming.  Sometimes we get it all just right and sail on through but at other times, we are brought up short.  Then we have to be willing to pull our boats out and go around another way. I think our attitude about this trip of life is very important to the outcome. My goal as a solo-preneur is to be able to meet the challenges with a positive attitude; to recognize when I need to stop and go in a new direction; and to be able to make the most of the smooth waters by making time to enjoy family and friends and the things that I truly care about.While you are working on creating your new ideal life, don’t forget to work on your attitude and outlook also.We can re-design our lives and work to get as close to our ideal as possible, but we must also be prepared to meet the white waters head on armed with the knowledge and attitude and maybe a guide that can get us through successfully. 

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