A commitment to take six months off and do what I loved. To travel and take pictures. I wanted an adventure. I wanted to drive from my home in Tucson all the way to the tip of South America. That commitment led to a shift, a shift into living a life beyond my dreams.

The commitment was partly motivated by the death of my father. I remember when it hit me, driving home one evening. I remember the exact stretch of road where I realized: "I'M GONNA DIE TOO!" I can't worry about what anyone else thinks. I gotta get on with MY LIFE and DO WHAT I WANNA DO!! This was early 1999. Suddenly I had a laser focus on the day I had chosen to depart, November 1, 1999. (Keep that date in mind.)

No matter what it took I was gonna make it happen. I had a busy dental practice with an associate dentist working for me at the time. I told him if he wanted to stay with the office he had to buy a portion of the practice. I wanted to be able to leave with the confidence that my practice would be taken care of during my six-month absence. I told my associate dentist that he could buy a quarter or a one third interest in the practice. He said he wanted to buy half. I said no, I didn't want a full partner. Off the top of my head, without really thinking I said, "You can buy a third or you can buy the whole thing." Much to my surprise, he said he wanted to buy all of it!

This was something I had not really considered. At the time I had recently started a marketing company for other dentists, built round a successful TV infomercial I had created for my own practice.

The company had had some success but it was not taking off like  I had hoped. Shortly thereafter I got offers to buy some assets of my young company, specifically the videotape I had created and the company name, SmileWorks, which I had trademarked. Keep in mind that this was 1999, the craziest of the Dotcom craze. One thing led to another and I ended up selling all three items: my dental practice, the videotape, and the trademark. All three different deals were closed and signed on the same day, November 1, 1999. I had earned a small fortune and my freedom.

Before long I was on the road and south of the border. I created a website (www.filmtrips.com) to document my six month journey. Six months turned into four years and a new way of life for me! I wrote and photographed my way through 16 different countries. I posted over 120 stories and 1000 photographs online. I pursued my primary passion for photography and discovered a new one for writing. I am currently working on a novel inspired by my adventures in Latin America.

It all starts with a commitment! Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: