The Risky Path Story

Though The Risky Path is the name of our business, it definitely did not start out that way. Years ago, the risky path came into our lives as a way of living, being brave, walking in courage, and having faith when we feel uncertain. This is what it was then and what it still is to us today. When we decided to FINALLY, as everyone in our lives would say, start our own company working hand in hand together, everything about it felt like a risk! And to be honest. A HUGE RISK!

Sean would be walking away from a very lucrative corporate life as an executive and partnering with me to start with a humble beginning and new way of life. RISK was all he could see, and of course, his career has been all about how to mitigate risk. With almost 30 years in security, from the military to the cyber world, this was a big step. A step into the unknown, into the dark, and into uncertainty with nothing but our faith to drive us forward. His passion for providing for and protecting our family felt in jeopardy. He struggled with all that he had known to venture out into a new role, a new path, and one that wasn't as "secure." You mix that with his ever-growing calling to step outside of what he has always done and be who God has called him to be. It definitely felt risky.

As far as me? Well, for the past 20 + years, along with my creative endeavors, raising children, and coaching young adults and families, I have struggled with anxiety brought on by health issues along with personal trauma. I have suffered at the hands of my own bad decisions, health scares, and well… just life.

In 2010, my life took a turn where I had finally reached the end of myself and decided no more. I wanted and needed more for my life and for myself. I have been on a 14-year journey that has led to this moment. 

2018 was a milestone year. Sean and I started traveling to Florida on and off for his job. We lived here for half the year, going back and forth to our home in Georgia. It was then that we fell in love with Florida and all it has to offer. Sunsets, the beach, entertainment, and ease of traffic (ATL is hell compared to here) provided time and the calling of freedom to us. We knew then that one day, we would be here.

While we were here, it felt like all of our problems back home in GA were a distant memory: kids, pets, house remodeling, chores, etc…. So, we utilized every moment we could. We ate delicious food on the water, spent time at the theater, walked the beaches, explored Disney for the first time, and purchased season passes to Universal Studios. We were so excited.

We went every time we were in town, sometimes multiple times. That year, Sean was very excited about October rolling around. Universal does Halloween Horror Nights, and he was excited! Me? Not so much. The last "haunted house" I had ever been in was built for elementary kids, and I was in the 4th grade. Let's just say it was my first and last experience with haunted houses, and I swore never to partake again. There was just no reason for it; it scared me to death, and since anxiety had entered my life in my 20s, leading to full-blown panic attacks, I was not interested in triggering that.

 When anxiety entered my life long ago, it fundamentally changed me, how I think, how I react, and how I maneuver life. It changed how I navigate life as a whole. Now, I am not afraid to DO anything, but I was afraid of having a panic attack, so… if at any given moment something that we were doing or going to do might make me feel like one would or could be triggered, I tend to veer away. This has become a completely regular auto-pilot habit for me. I don't think twice about it.

When Sean started traveling to Florida and wanted me to go with him, even that was a concern for me. So when we first got here, and he wanted to venture out and about going to concerts, new places I had never been, dolphin boat cruises in the ocean, and Bioluminescent tours in the middle of the night at Cape Canaveral in alligator-infested waters. You can imagine how my mind was screaming at me to run for the hills.

It was then, though, that I knew something had to change. I was so tired of living in fear of something I had zero control over. I had no idea when a panic attack would happen or why, but I was living to avoid it with no data on how I could even do that. So, I made up my mind. I decided that I was going to do all the things that we wanted to do. They sounded amazing, and despite the anxiety, I have a strong heart for adventure. So, one day, when we discussed going on a bioluminescent tour, I was hem-hawing about it, and he kept reassuring me that I would be fine. This is also something I have always wanted to do, and I was feeling so torn but I also did not want to give up the opportunity! So I looked at him and said, "ok, let's do it! I'm going to take the The Risky Path! "… Sean laughed at me and said, "What?" I said, "The risky path. From now on, when I make decisions, I will base them on whether or not they are the risky path versus the safe, comfortable path." See, I have learned that whenever I choose comfort and safety, I miss out, lose out, and live in regret. So, with Florida in our grasp, I chose the risky path. He was very excited about this and was all in holding me accountable to my word.

Now, it may sound like I took a strong stance and did it with ease, but I assure you I did not. As soon as I said it, my thoughts came flooding in, like, "Why in the hell did you say that? What even is that? The Risky path? You know risk means danger, right Heather? What are you doing?" Truthfully, I didn't know what I was doing, but every time a decision came up, and I was like, umm, I don't know about that, Sean would ask me, "Well, what is the risky path?" "Ugh…." Ok, if that's the case, it makes the answer easy. Until….

Until the day we went to Universal Studios unknowingly during the Halloween Horror Nights opening weekend. We were already in the park. We had free tickets due to our season passes. There was NO reason not to stay except for me. Oh, how I wanted to run, but oh yeah! The risky path! So we stayed. Oh, and did I mention I have a phobia of clowns? And, oh yeah, one of the exhibits that year was Killer Clowns… What? How is that even possible? How is this my luck? Let me tell you that night was something to be contended with in my life history book, rivaled by only a few. I walked into every single haunted house that night. I ran with the Killer Clowns, and we selfied together. I stood alone in the middle of Diagon Alley with not one soul in sight except my husband. I reprimanded everyone who jumped out and tried to scare me like the "MOM" that I am, and I had one of the best nights of my life.

God has a very funny way of walking you through your trials and seeing you out on the other side of them. He showed me that I had faith that could be exercised, that not everything meant to scare, fool, or trap me was meant for me, he taught me that my anxiety did not control me as much I didn't control it. He taught me that stepping out in darkness, into the unknown, into uncertainty may be terrifying but also is the most liberating thing one can do. It offers faith, trust, and freedom on the other side. 

Believe me, I never would have thought that haunted houses and killer clowns would set me on a path to inner growth and healing, but they did. They showed me that choosing the risky path was choosing life and choosing it more abundantly. It showed me that I could.

So when Sean and I started out on this new venture together, we searched for the right name for a while, and nothing fit… One night, we were feeling the unknown and uncertainty of it all, and I laughed and jokingly said, "We should name it The Risky Path…"