Finding Your Path to Living Life Well

Most of us are raised to follow a pretty predictable script. Graduate high school. Go to college. Land a job that turns into a career. Buy a home. Start a family. Save for retirement.

And honestly? It's easy to start measuring your life against those milestones — to use them as proof you're doing things right. But some of the most interesting people I've ever met haven't followed that script at all. Not even a little bit.

My curiosity just lights up when I meet people who've chosen a different way. I love hearing about the moment that precipitated choosing a new path. How they got brave enough to step off the well-worn path that it felt like everyone else was walking on. To set aside what their family, their friends, their professors, and honestly almost every movie they'd ever watched told them adulthood was supposed to look like.

I had breakfast with a dear friend who three and a half years ago was standing smack in the middle of one of life's big crossroads. She'd been dealing with some serious health stuff, working in a field she loved but that was stressful in a life-or-death kind of way, and walking through the end of a long-term relationship — all at the same time. Instead of white-knuckling through it, she did something that took my breath away a little. She finalized the relationship, walked away from the career and financial security she'd spent years building, and volunteered to teach English as a Second Language on the Peace Boat.

Now, I had never heard of the Peace Boat before this conversation — and I'm guessing you might not have either. It's a non-governmental organization based in Japan, founded by university students who wanted to honestly reckon with the legacy of Japanese military aggression in the Asia-Pacific. Their very first voyage was about listening — going straight to the people who were most affected, and bringing Japanese citizens along so they could hear it firsthand. A cultural exchange rooted in real accountability and genuine curiosity.

Since then, the Peace Boat has carried over 70,000 people on more than 100 voyages — over 60 of them all the way around the world. We're talking toddlers to folks in their 90s, from every walk of life and every corner of the globe. While they're out at sea, passengers take part in cultural exchanges, learning experiences, and conversations with speakers from wherever they're headed next. When the ship pulls into port, locals are welcomed aboard to learn about the Peace Boat's work around environmental sustainability, nuclear disarmament, and human rights. And more often than not, they show up bearing humanitarian aid too.

My friend told me she never — not in a million years — could have imagined that what started as a chance to catch her breath, travel with her parents (who in their 80s and 90s were headed on a Peace Boat voyage), and volunteering to teach English on the ship, would turn into three years coordinating speakers and educational programming on board. She mentioned that my recent post Feeling Rooted had really spoken to her as she's been walking this new, unexpected path.

"I could have happily stayed at my job for another ten or fifteen years and retired nicely from there," she told me over eggs. "It was a great career. Great work. Great team. But this just came out of nowhere. I never would have dreamed it up for myself."

And that's exactly the thing, isn't it?

There are so many ways to do this life well. Just because a path is familiar and easy to explain at Thanksgiving dinner — that doesn't make it the only path. Or the right one for you. My friend and I both agreed that the pull toward what looks "normal" is surprisingly strong, even when you're genuinely at peace with your choices. It whispers, Are you doing this right?

Sometimes the most honest answer is: I'm not sure yet. And sometimes saying yes to what feels right — even when you can't quite explain it to anyone else, or even to yourself — is exactly how you stumble into something you never could have dreamed up.

My friend's story is a big one. It took real courage. But she'll tell you herself — all she did was take one small step at a time toward what felt true. Big change doesn't have to be some giant dramatic leap. It just has to be honest. And yeah, maybe a little uncomfortable.

It's never too late.

So what's your Peace Boat?

I love to hear from you and what thoughts, ideas, or questions come up as you read my words. Go ahead and reply to this email and let me know what’s happening for you as you walk your path and navigate this world.