Day: March 14, 2008

travel

7 Wonders of the World

Christa Avampato

I was recently flipping through the April issue of Vanity Fair and came across an advertisement for MasterCard. It was advertising the a giveaway for a trip to see the 7 wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, The Amazon, The Great Wall of China, Victoria Falls, The Great Pyramids of Giza, and the Great Barrier Reef. And it occured to me that in my travels, while I have seen many incredible things, I have not seen a single one of these place. This is a sad state of affairs.

Last night, I went to a work event and then dinner with friends, Dan and Lisa. Dan asked if I had any birthday wishes. At the time, I really didn’t. Now I do – by the time my 33rd birthday rolls around I hope I’ve been able to see at least one wonder.

business, Business Week, dreams, entrepreneurship, happiness, risk, sports

Ice climbing and starting a business

Christa Avampato

Bill Buxton wrote a great post this morning on Business Week’s Innovation blog, http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/. In a conversation with his friend, Roger Martin from the Rotman School, the two friends discussed the parallels between starting a business and ice climbing. They compared the characteristic of people drawn to these two activities, specifically their appetite for risk.

The parallel drew out some interesting comparisons such as training, having the necessary tools and trusting in the process. I would also add that there is risk in everything – even in not doing something. We often consider the risk of starting a business, going ice climbing, etc. though we rarely mention the flip-side: how will our happiness, sense of satisfaction and accomplishment be affected long-term by deciding not do something that interests us?

Will we get to a point in our lives when these opportunities are no longer possible because of other choices we made, and then look back with some kind of regret and sadness that we didn’t do something more bold that made us feel alive? While more difficult to conceptualize and put data behind, the point merits some consideration. In the long-run, I’ve found it’s the chances we take, combined with the ones we let pass by, that make up a life.

See Buxton’s full post at: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/mar2008/id20080312_205292.htm?chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_top+stories