The 3 Best Decisions I’ve Ever Made (and What They Taught Me About Leadership)

The Power of Life-Changing Decisions

A personal development exercise I once participated in proved to be incredibly insightful. The task was to identify the three best decisions of our lives. Although I’d never considered this before, my list came together quickly:

1. As a first-year university student, I impulsively decided to spend my summer working at a guest ranch in a new country instead of going home. This experience opened up my world, ultimately redefining both my educational and career path.
2. I overcame cynicism and apprehension to accept a friend’s offer of a blind date. This led to meeting, falling in love with, and marrying my best friend, Becky.
3. I chose to leave my successful business to run a homeless shelter. This decision forced me to “walk my talk,” living out the leadership principles I had taught for years, and allowed me to tap into a better, stronger version of myself.

Reflecting on these decisions, I realized they all stemmed from embracing change—letting go of comfortable realities to lean into uncertainty and risk. This reaffirmed what I believe is a universal truth: We can only tap into our full potential and make a lasting impact by courageously embracing change and being open to life’s unpredictable adventures.

The Freedom of Taking Risks

The poem Only a Person Who Risks Is Free by Leo F. Buscaglia beautifully captures the essence of embracing change:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk being called sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, and becomes nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.

Chained by certitudes, they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedom.

Only the person who risks is truly free.

As you face opportunities for change in your personal and professional life, remember that embracing uncertainty is the path to true freedom and self-discovery. Step boldly into the unknown, for it is there that you’ll unlock your capacity for greatness and make a lasting impact on the world around you.