A Bit of Adventure History
Living a Life of Adventure takes the willingness to probe, wander, and search over the horizon and in daily life. I’ve plunged into the unknown multiple times, challenging my mind and my body. Adventure is more than activities like horseback riding, hang gliding, climbing mountains or sailing...it’s an entire attitude and lifestyle.
When I was little, my dad said I had a thirst for experience. It’s a craving I’ve had all my life. Sometimes I know what I want—an unfamiliar place to explore, a job I’ve never done, or being with people different from myself. If I can’t name the craving, then I give myself the time to let the answer reveal itself.
Seeking adventure is about giving yourself permission to take risks, to test, and to taste. As I always said to my partners in business, “If it doesn’t work out, I can always wait tables.” I know I’m living an adventure when I wake up energized and driven to greet the day, with no regrets about the past, even though there’s been some situations I call relevatory learning experiences. A life of adventure not often a hero’s journey, celebrity, or pushing yourself to extremes...although sometimes it can happen along the way.
I wanted to be Annie Oakly…not Roy Rodger’s wife.
Work is Always an Adventure
Airline Attendant. At 21, my protective Midwest parents and my frustration with the traditional homemaker-wife path were suffocating me. I quit college, not to run away but to run toward freedom. As an Airline attendant for United Airlines I had an independent life, security in their uniform and a glamorous profile. It was exhilarating and I discovered my passion for working with people of all ages and economic backgrounds in all types of situations.
Technologist. In the 1970s I snagged a technical clerk job to support a sea of electrical engineers. Within six months, my office buddies were teaching me computer programming. Twelve years later, I was a division manager, orchestrating corporate operational planning, developing technology methodologies for systems design and implementation, leading business transformation efforts, and earning degrees in psychology and business.
Business Innovator. After smashing my head against the glass ceiling multiple times, I left restricted corproate life. Over a period of 25 years, to co-found two women owned technology/business transformation consulting companies. Leveraging my technology, business expertise and organization know-how, my partners and I developed and applied a novel approach that merged engineering principles with facilitated group decision making across many industrial, financial,and manufacturing companies and federal agencies.
Intrepid sailor. When I first stepped onto a sailboat I was enraptured. Six years later it culminated in a work sabbatical, sailing as first mate on a 40’ boat down the Atlantic coast, then to the Bahamas and back. I learned what I didn’t know about inner strength and confidence, determined to captain my own boat one day.
Research professor. The Internet exploded onto the scene, provoking my return to university at 50. Research and teaching grabbed me. My research demonstrated how the marriage of culture, technology and language can transform the workplace. I taught at Georgetown University and the University of Baltimore after earning my doctorate in Communications Design in 2000.
Chief Information Officer (CIO). One colleague's conversation led to another, and I became the Chief Information Officer for the Peace Corps, a global federal agency. My IT teams modernized the agency’s network of headquarters and 65 offices worldwide, developed global databases and common applications.
Seasoned Sailboat Owner. At 69, I took the helm of my 15 year old, 46’ ocean worthy sailboat. With my husband as first mate and our female marine technician/mechanic, we lived aboard for a year, sailing the Atlantic coast to Key West and the Bahamas . Nothing had ever tested me so much, both physically or mentally. I never regretted a moment of it.
Author and Blogger. Today I use my family’s adventures to write historical fiction. I continue to greet each morning with energy and focus writing books and blogging which began in 2006.