This is a retro-post from an old blog of mine that helped spur on a few changes in my life.

Venture 15

Set the Course

December 2014

About the Venture

Venture 15 has been in the works for many, many years. I just didn’t know it until now. For me, this venture is all about exploration, change, confidence and learning. Venture 15 is the embodiment of everything that I aspire to do, become or have, squished into a single (albeit, very large) project. Fifteen does not denote the chronology of a ‘Venture series,’ but rather the location of time in which it began. The year twenty-fifteen.

While the year is still twenty-fourteen, the thoughts of changing my life for the better have really been consolidating in the recent weeks. These are not particularly new thoughts; only the initiative that I’m taking to bring them to life is new. With the New Year right around the corner, I thought it a more-than-opportune moment to capitalize on making change in my life. I don’t see these as New Years Resolutions (they hardly stick as it is), because Venture 15 is merely the beginning of all change yet to come. A collection of all the desires welling up inside of me that I yearn to acquire, accomplish or achieve. A catalyst for a life of excellence.

And this doesn’t mean that any change from the past (both good and bad) go unrecognized or become insignificant in favor of this year or this ongoing project. Simply that this is a turning point in my life that I feel just as important. A turning point to jot down in my book of life as a new chapter.

I don’t aspire to do only that which I feel I can do, but to challenge myself to take on things that seem impossible. That seem so far out of my range that it makes my heart jump, makes my hands sweat, and makes my whole body heat up and itch out of sheer discomfort. At the mere thought of it! Venture 15 is a collection of both those that I feel are possible and those that are impossible. Within time, I’ll take on those discomforting challenges. If successful, I take one step up. And with each rising step, I will learn to understand what my potential is and can then move on to more ‘impossible’ challenges.

That’s my hope, anyway. All the planning in the world will do nothing if I don’t act on any of it. But I’ve not had this much self-inspired motivation in a long time. Time will tell, of course, on how successful the Venture actually is, but I must have faith that I can pull it off. Or at the very least, understand what my true desires are, and what actual boundaries I have (rather than merely assume) and therefor what I need to work on next.

Aspirations

There are so many things that I hope to accomplish in my life, even things I can’t even fathom yet. I’m so inexperienced within life, and even within my very, very small sphere of influence that I can’t even imagine all that there -is- to dream of. Venture 15 is meant to be a catalyst towards change, to help me get a better vision of where I want to go, to take action by moving towards that vision, understanding the challenges and both my strengths and weaknesses along the way, and unlocking insight as to what more I can do with my life.

As of writing this, my ‘ventures’ within the Venture 15 project revolve around a handful of categories: Travel, Education & Learning, Minimalism, Fitness, Discipline, and Finances. Challenges of interest include, at a glance, the ability to lift a certain amount of pounds, to travel so many times within the upcoming year, to take classes about topics that interest me, to reducing the clutter (both physical and mental) within my life, and so forth.

Learn more about Venture 15 here!

– Austin Pranger, December 2014