As I’m posting pictures from another European adventure to cover the 2017 IIHF World Championship in Cologne with stops in Milan for the pre-tournament training camp, Lake Como because why not when it’s an hour train ride away and eventually Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris for a little vacation after the gold medals have been awarded, I’m getting a lot of messages about how lucky I am and while I do feel incredibly lucky to live an amazing life filled with friends, family, travel and hockey…I’m not doing anything you couldn’t be doing.

I knew at at very young age that I wanted to work in hockey and went to college with laser focus on achieving that goal as a reporter. I took some detours along the way, but I never gave up on that goal. I also made many sacrifices along the way – mainly working for pennies for longer than I would have liked – and I could have said it’s too hard and settled for a different career that was maybe a little more stable or financially secure, but I am proud to say that I haven’t worked a day in my adult life because as the saying goes: If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.

There might be days where I don’t want to get out of my sweatpants or do my hair or put on make up, but there has yet to be a day that I don’t wake up excited for the opportunity to go to a hockey rink, watch a game – or even practice – and talk about the something I love. I imagined this life for myself and I went out with fierce determination, unwavering commitment and a strong belief in my ability to do great things and I made it my reality. Of course, there were some lucky bounces here and there, but I guarantee you there was a whole lot more work that went into it and a whole lot more work still to come.

My point is…if you don’t like the direction your life is taking, I’m here to remind you that YOU are in the driver’s seat and only YOU have the power to change it. It might take months or years or decades to achieve your goals, but if you put forth the effort to get there – even if, and sometimes especially if, it’s only baby steps at times – I guarantee you, you will wake up one day to messages from people saying how lucky you are and how they wish they could do what you’re doing and you’ll be the one encouraging them to be bold and fearless and go after their dreams with reckless abandon to live the life they’ve always imagined for themselves.

You can either make progress towards your goals or you can make excuses as to why you haven’t achieved them. The choice is entirely up to you…so get after it!