Leap. It's Leap Year.

2024 will be a celebratory datapoint for yours truly.

It will be?20 years?since?I made the adventurous choice to move on from the around-the-clock, urban playground of NYC for the early bird, "clean-living" way-of-life of San Diego. When I step back and audit, here's my 2-decade-long tale of the tape:

5 homes

4 start-ups?

3 dogs

2 kids

1 wife

0 bosses

When I first moved here, I thought I was coming to California to write movies.?Not live one.?I had no intention of becoming an entrepreneur. I was just trying to inch closer to Los Angeles. I had written three screenplays back in New York City and felt the stories were sound but the dialogue needed love.?

My plan?

Live rent-free with one of my closest friends who had moved to San Diego from NYC (after 9/11) and help his wife grow a creative agency on the side while I refine my screenplays.

One month later?

That side dish became my main course.? With the help of “fear”, and “focus”, we went on to build our creative company from four people out of her house to, eventually, 90 people.?

Twenty years later, here I am.? When I look back on my move to San Diego, I only knew 2 people who were married to each other.?I didn't know much about the "original" fish taco and I was certifiably a land shark who wasn't remotely interested in surfing.

Uprooting to a city where you're an outsider to the culture, where you know just about no one, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.? But having the gall to go on the expedition — even when it was hard — has delivered my ultimate?return on courage: Happiness.?

If you simplify the experiment we're all taking part of, the ultimate treasure of life (from my viewpoint) is to achieve happiness. It reminds me of a memory that pops into my mind from time-to-time that I made in my last life. I close my eyes and can see myself sitting in an auditorium experiencing a lecture surrounded by other Manhattan dreamers. The course is a 72 hour blast session with Author and legendary story structure teacher Robert McKee .

If you've seen the movie "Adaptation ", you might remember the brilliant Charlie Kaufman marinating in the very same lecture hall being inspired by the booming Robert McKee.

In my lecture, I recall McKee sharing how the Protagonist in every worthwhile story must go on the journey. He continues how the tension must get grander and grander as the Protagonist works his/her way through the gauntlet of the story. The scenes of the story are as followed: Tension. Tension released. Larger tension. Larger tension released. Even larger tension. Even larger tension released.

No adventure, no tension. No tension, no story. No story, no treasure.

As I look back at my story, it makes me smile to have experienced... navigated... survived... 20 years of tension...tension released. As we all look forward to 2024, I share with you a quote I recently stumbled into that I hope you will take to heart:

"Don't live the same year 75 times and call it a life." - Robin Sharma

Is there an adventure you're afraid to take a chance on??

Have the courage to take on the tension.

2024?is?a Leap Year.?

Make the leap.?

THE COURAGEOUS PODCAST

We’re excited for our second annual Year End Special where we switch things up a bit. This year Ryan is joined by his two partners at Courageous; Nicole Miller and Billy Collins . Together, they’ll represent the three pillars of Courage: Knowledge (Billy), Faith (Ryan), and Action (Nicole) as they are joined by three MYSTERY guests. Taking a cue from Smartless, each mystery guest will have an opportunity to both ask and be asked, surprise questions. Some of the many topics covered include taking leaps into the unknown, unifying humans — no matter their home — through humor, and a discussion on the need for resolutions. Enjoy the episode and Happy New Year from the Courageous Podcast!

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Missed the last 5 episodes?

• Museum of Ice Cream w/ Erin Levzow .
• Executive Development w/ Mary Olson - Menzel .
• Interlock Capital w/ Neal Bloom .
• Kellanova w/ Ruth Hughes .
• Primal Kitchen w/ Morgan Buehler Zanotti .

Thanks for stopping by for your Weekly Dose of Courage ! Don’t forget to hit subscribe above or below to be notified when the next issue comes out.

Ryan Berman is the founder of Courageous; a think-feel-do change consultancy based in Southern California. With 25 years in creative business, Ryan believes your “future is safe with change”. Ryan is a speaker, practitioner, and authority on the subject who has been featured in Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Inc, and Forbes. Ryan has spoken on the topic all over the country including at Google, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, Logitech, Discover Card, and charity: water. Ryan also hosts The Courageous Podcast where he talks with leaders from around the globe to uncover what it means to be courageous in today's world. His book, Return On Courage , shares why companies need to unlock courage while providing practical tips on how organizations can operationalize courage today.?Learn more at couragebrands.com