“Fear is a wonderful motivator—”

The boss and I are having a pint. We’re chatting about how he came to own a canoe and kayak shop next to a wilderness park.

“—it forces you to act.”

I’ve heard the story before…

He was a purchaser for some big corporation. Then he was laid off. On top of it all, he had a newborn to care for following a messy divorce.

This time I ask, “How did you manage it all? What kept you going?”

He takes a long, slow sip of his beer before setting it on the table.

“Let’s take a walk.”

We head down the path into the woods. Sunlight pierces the canopy to dot the trail and guide us toward the lake.

He steps to the shoreline and looks out over the water. “I have a blind belief in myself.”

He turns and looks at me. “Everyone thought I was crazy, buying a small outfitter in the middle of nowhere. Especially as a newly divorced, first-time dad.”

“It WAS crazy—and risky,” he admits. “But the cushy corporate job turned out to be just as risky.”

“I had to make a choice.” He turns to watch a loon drift by. “I had to believe it was the right choice.”

I step up next to him, reach down and pick up a small stone.

I turn the stone in my palm before tossing it into the lake. “A blind belief in yourself…”

“That’s what it takes,” he says, “to keep going.”