What Life Experience Do You Want Next?

Here are five experiences that shaped who I’ve become so far.

• Fashion Designer. I made my own prom dress (inspired by Molly Ringwald in the movie, “Pretty in Pink”). It was butt ugly, but I loved it at the time! Making that dress taught me that I can learn to do anything if I just find the right teacher/resources.
• Novelist. I completed the first draft of a full-length novel, “Alone,” when I was just 19. It explored a boy’s relationship with his alcoholic father (I spent my teens wanting to be the next S.E. Hinton). I kept editing this novel into my mid-20s, until I couldn’t take any more rejection letters. Writing the novel taught me the value of a daily writing routine, and gave me the deep satisfaction of actually completing something. At first I was heartbroken when it didn’t get published, but then a national women’s magazine published my article about my dating adventures and paid me $1,500 for it; I realized my strength was non-fiction.
• World Traveller. I travelled alone through Asia for seven months, even though I was terrified to travel alone AND had just been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that caused a severe reaction to sunlight; I had to wear a veil over my face (my skin translucent and shiny with 60 sunblock) and cover every inch of skin. This was such a humbling, life-transforming experience, I ended up writing a book about it.
• Magazine Editor. I managed to get my (then) job of my dreams, by going after it full tilt. I read the last six issues of Financial Post (then National Post Business) magazine, then wrote a letter to the editor with a list of reasons why he should hire me, along with five carefully researched story ideas. It took a few months, and he asked me to write a 1,000 word article for the magazine first, but I eventually impressed him enough to give me the job. Within a few months, I became the senior editor. This experience taught me that effort often counts for a lot more than talent (and is the eventual basis for most talent), which is something I still remind myself of every day.
• Philanthropist. I co-founded a children’s education charity with absolutely no idea how to raise money or run projects, yet ended up raising thousands of dollars and helping over 400 children in Laos and India. I now have many beautiful memories of helping build schools, toilets and a kitchen for a lunch program on isolated islands in Laos. I also travelled to a slum in Kolkata, where I met a male version of Mother Theresa who was poor himself (he still lived in the slum), yet he had managed to build multiple schools for children. This experience taught me that most people who create big things have no idea what they’re doing in the beginning, and often have very little in the way of resources; the key is to get started and you’ll eventually figure it out.