The Life You Dream Of

You’ve heard it hundreds of times: “Follow your dreams.” “You can do anything.” “You can be anything.” For some, this advice falls on deaf ears. So many people stick with the track they’re on—a secure and familiar path—even though it leaves them unfulfilled from day to day.

Although everyone’s situation is different, for most there is no good reason to delay living the life you dream of. And I’m living proof that you can wholeheartedly follow your passion.

I was born and raised in Minnesota. I lived there my whole life until two years ago. I was like many people you might know: I grew up in a medium-sized town, went to college in my home state, got an advanced degree, and jumped right into a career.

My career choice was the law. I practiced as an attorney for three years until my wife and I decided to move to Seattle in the summer of 2013. It was my first move out of my home state. The future was unwritten.

Although I restarted practicing law in Seattle, something slowly started to change. I became an avid hiker, climber, and mountaineer. I fell in love with exploring the area’s diverse natural beauty. And I found a deep passion for photographing my adventures along the way. As these passions grew, I became increasingly aware of the lack of a genuine passion in my work.

Then 2015 rolled around. It’s a year that will stand out for the rest of my life. I experienced unbelievable highs and lows. My father—my life coach and biggest cheerleader—was diagnosed with a re occurrence of cancer after being 10 years cancer free. In his last few months of life, he often reminded me to “take a good hike and breathe in all the natural beauty and share it.” “I live through that,” he explained.

He lost his battle to cancer in February 2015. When you lose a loved one, their absence is felt every day—but you learn to hold close the gifts they left you. My dad happened to leave me with the greatest gift: the lesson that life is too short to do anything less than what you love.

In the wake of this tragedy, a few things became clear: I wasn’t doing something I truly loved. But I had found something I truly did. After much deliberation, I signed my letter of resignation and walked out of my office.

You could easily describe the transition I made as a “180-degree turn.” I’m now pursuing freelance photography and writing. My work focuses on adventure, landscape, outdoor lifestyle, and astro-photography. My new work is challenging, exhilarating, and fulfilling all at once.

You might be wondering: Will it work out? Who knows if I’ll still be doing it in 2 years or 20 years down the road. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is I summoned the courage to live the life I dream of. And today I feel more alive than ever because I did.

If you are already following your passion and living your dream, congrats to you. But if you are one who merely hopes to live your dream someday down the road—what are you waiting for? Don’t let tomorrow turn into next month into next year into next decade. Give your passion a whole-hearted try. If you do, I promise you the world won’t come to an end. Rather, you’ll feel a new sense of life that will make you wonder why so many people settle for something less than their dream.

Now hear this as if you are hearing it for the first time: Follow your dream. You can do anything. You can be anything. Now go do it. Now go be it.

Check out my work at http://www.scott-kranz.com/

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