Taking the Leap: Why Life is Too Short Not to Give it a Go

I have spent over 25 years building my career, initially starting out in journalism before moving into communications and marketing. I’ve done this while also bringing up a family, and at one point studying for a senior qualification in PR. Coming from a working-class background, I am incredibly proud of what I have gone on to achieve and am grateful for the years of full-time work and the comfort of a steady routine. Yet, somewhere in the back of my mind, the idea of starting my own marketing and communications business has always lingered, tempting me with possibility while at the same time terrifying me with uncertainty.

It’s hard to take the leap. It’s hard to trade the security of what you know for the unknown of what could be. But sometimes, watching someone else dare to push beyond fear makes it a little easier to try yourself.

Dare to Dream

Downhill skiing legend, Lindsey Vonn’s comeback at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics struck a chord with me at just the right time. Even before she stepped onto the slope her story resonated with me. Here was a woman the other side of 40-years-old still daring to dream despite setback after setback. She wasn’t going to become invisible, she wasn’t going to just fade away into the background, she was going out there to continue to compete because she believed in herself and she believed she had more to give. Even a ruptured ACL, just weeks before the competition in Italy, wasn’t going to stand in her way. I was routing for her.

Her run ended with a crash in the downhill race and almost immediately after was met with a wave of uninformed judgment from people who didn’t know the conditions, the sport or what it truly takes to compete at an elite level. Her comeback may not have ended the way she had hoped, yet what happened on the slope doesn’t erase the courage it took to get there.

In her own words:

“Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying.”

Courage to Try

Her journey is a reminder that the courage to try, especially when the stakes are high, is what defines us, not the end result. She went on to say:

“I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly.”

I did take courage from her journey, even though starting my own business feels very much like that downhill course. There’s risk, there’s uncertainty, and yes, there’s the potential for failure. But if I never take the leap then I will never know what I am capable of. So here I am, stepping off the familiar slopes of full-time work, embracing the unknown and trusting that trying is more valuable than standing still. Because life is simply too short not to take chances.

In the words of Lindsey Vonn: “I dreamt, I jumped, I tried.”