If I could go back in time and change only one thing, just one thing, I would have taken myself more seriously. I just turned thirty this January, having only recently finished my Bachelors in Tourism Management, I am getting a late start at my career. I love my life, I love the dream that I am pursuing now. What I have realized, however, is that I spent a lot of time listening to notions which I should have ignored.
There are those of us who look out into the job market and yawn. The idea of settling into a generic work life—to me—seems like death. What I did not realize when I was younger, is that I totally have the power to pave my own path, to make my own career. And that is exactly what I am attempting to do now.
The longer you are immersed in any environment, the more opportunity you see in it. You become familiar with all of the different avenues and details which were, at first, merely a blur in your peripheral view. Involving yourself in the totality of the environment, not just the main attraction, becoming fully immersed, is where you begin to recognize how you fit in, and where you can craft your niche.
After years of dedicating myself to adventure travel, volunteering and mountain sports, I finally feel like I have found a vision which inspires and motivates me. Currently I am working in Nepal as a Tourism Development Advisor, but on the side I am raising funds to develop new rock climbing areas for Nepali climbers. In the future I will be working on the development of a new regional park in my hometown. This park will have roughly 20 km worth of trails, likely over 200 rock climbing routes and boulder problems and will be a fantastic addition to the local community.
I get nothing from these things. Just the pure satisfaction of having made a difference for something that I truly believe in: access to wilderness and the protection of natural areas. Soon I will be attending grad school to study what I am passionate about and I cannot wait. My goal? To become a guru for tourism/adventure sport development in natural spaces.
I read an article recently which asked the all-important question “what do you want to do with your life?” in a new way. The question was: “what are you willing to suffer? What pain are you willing to endure?” Life isn’t easy. If you are working towards a goal or an idea, it should be hard, there should be suffering, but you should love it. There is pain and sacrifice in every choice we make. The point is that your suffering should not be for nothing, for no reason at all, it should be compatible with who you want to be and what you actually want to be doing, day in and day out. If the summit of the mountain is all you think of, but you hate the walking, climbing, camping, being cold (the actual process of summiting a mountain) then maybe summiting mountains isn’t actually what you want or love. Maybe, you are suffering for the wrong ideas.
I’ve tried a lot of things, and flirted with many ideas over the years. Now, looking back, I have realized how much of a waste it is to do anything other than what you love, even if what you love comes with tremendous sacrifice. My only suggestion, is that you take yourself seriously and treat your passion like a business. Market yourself and your ideas, commit to them, give yourself a chance to exceed your wildest expectations. Get ready to do a lot of learning and failing at whatever you do, but don’t be shy. Even if you have to eat your bootstraps for a while before you really figure it out. It will make that light at the end of the tunnel seem like Nirvana.
Jase Wilson
Jase is an aspiring tourism development professional who aims to work in the areas of outdoor sport and tourism development. He has driven through 20 countries in Africa and Asia, and volunteered in Vietnam on Capilano University's CBT Vietnam Project, and now in Nepal. Jase travels extensively for adventure sports and really really loves coffee.
Check out Jase’s Instagram page: @jmcrbide2.
If you would like to know more about his fundraising campaign for rock climbing development in Nepal, please visit:
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