Every single time I get on an airplane to travel for one of my freelance jobs, I repeat the quote, “With no risk, there is no reward,” in my mind. This has driven me to push myself to try new things in a dozen different ways in the past couple of years.

"My people” are not among those who put themselves out there in any sense of the phrase. I was blessed with two hard working parents who never let me quit and encouraged me every step of the way as I was finding my way through my adolescence and into college.

Despite all that, I grew up as . . . well . . . a wuss.