about live your journey

I really love road trips – except for the part where you sit in the car for what seems like an eternity before you reach your destination. I love backpacking – except for the part where you hike forever before you get to the campsite. I have always been a destination guy, not a journey guy. But as I look back over my life I have come to realize that the journey is the destination. As hard as this is for me at times, it is also really exciting! I am in the process of understanding that life is not about the destination. Think about that for a minute. If I were to live my life trying to “get there”, how would I know when I’ve made it there? How do I know where “there” is? And once I’ve made it “there”, what then? The destination is not all it’s cracked up to be – it’s rather unknown and very elusive. So, instead of trying to “get there” and focus on the destination, I have come to understand the power, excitement, drama, and intrigue of living my journey.

What exactly does it mean to Live Your Journey? Well, the great thing about answering this question is that for each person it is very different. But for all, to Live Your Journey has some very universal and specific applications:

LIVE. This is an action verb, not a noun. To live means that you are actively engaging the world around you with every moment and every breath – it is not stagnant, but dynamic.
YOUR.  This is your journey, your life – no one else’s. You are unique, an original. You have skills, passions and values that make you, you. As great as someone else’s journey may seem, you need to live your journey – you are the only person who can do so.
JOURNEY. This is a movement, a constant going forth, although there may be pauses. Within this journey we will experience mountains, steep cliffs, barren deserts; but we will also experience rolling hills, flower-filled meadows, and fresh creeks. The journey is dynamic, constant, and ever changing.

about nick

I began my journey (at birth) in Southern California. Because I truly seek to squeeze every last bit of life out of every adventure, my life-journey has been pretty interesting and exciting! After becoming an Eagle Scout in high school I turned down what was going to be an appointment into the Air Force Academy and decided to go to Azusa Pacific University where I received Bachelors degrees in Religion/Youth Ministry and Sociology. While in college my Dad and I designed and patented the first ever fiberglass removable hardtop for the Suzuki Samurai; designed, built, and marketed kit racecars (i.e. the Shelby Cobra), and worked with the staff at Disneyland to redesign the "logs" for the wild and wet "Splash Mountain" ride.

Since graduating from college my journey lead me to work with junior high, senior high, and college youth at churches in California and Washington. I also started my own construction company to put myself through graduate school ... to hear more about how I made that bizaar transition, stayed tuned through the blogs and podcasts! Obviously the logical next step for me was to an EMT and a Firefighter in the Seattle area! Like I said, my journey has been an adventure!!

Finally, my wild journey has led me to an opportunity to truly live out my calling: working with college students and their parents. After receiving my Masters Degree in Education and Counseling (M.Ed.) from Whitworth, I guess you could say that I "went back to college"! Wanting to truly understand college students from the inside-out, I worked in Residence Life and got to live with college students in the residence halls and then in the student apartments for more than 6 exhausting years. AS exhausting as this was, this is where I really found my true calling, a three-fold calling in writing, speaking, and life-coaching. In particular, I have dedicated my life to: 1. Coaching students and parents in their transition from high school into college, especially that crucial freshman year; 2. Coaching students and parents through their years in college; and, 3. Coaching people in their transition from college to the real world, especially those first few years from the graduation into their careers.

So, after almost 20 years of coaching, training, and speaking to people of all ages, I have a unique "insiders" perspective on the journey of life and how it is a mixed bag of incredible highs, devastating lows, and seemingly never-ending valleys where it feels like you are walking in circles. Because of this, I started Live Your Journey^TM. As the founder and president of Live Your Journey^TM, I have the incredible opportunity to reach people worldwide. I speak to groups of all sizes from small workshops to crowds in the thousands. I am known for my ability to connect with people of all ages through my humor, storytelling, drama, and my ability to help people to Live Your Journey^TM no matter where they are in their journey.

So where am I on my own journey right now? Well, all over the place! However, I have decided to zero-in on helping people in their transition from high school to college, especially through their Freshman 40 and beyond. Why is this? Because we have a problem in our culture where students and parents are not prepared for college and there seems to be little focus on the enormity of this transition, the Perfect Storm. So, most of what I am doing right now is focused on this particular transition. However, if you have already survived that transition and are looking at the next leg of your journey (i.e. from college to the real world), fear not! I will continue to write, speak, and coach on both transitions (from high school to college and from college to the real world). But since I can only write so much, you might find that the majority of my writing (including books, blogs, and podcasts) is aimed towards that high school to college transition.

Finally, let’s get personal for a minute: I am crazy about my wife, Susie, of 13 years and I can’t get enough of my 2 amazing children: Abbie, the 8 year-old little lady; and Jonathan, the 6 year-old boy who is all boy! When not chasing the kids, I love to be outdoors hiking, fishing, backpacking and camping. My family and I have found a new fascination in “GeoCaching” and are often seen wandering through the woods, GPS in hand, looking for the next treasure. And this is how I tries to live my life: journeying through life, in community with others, searching for all the treasures that life has to offer through the highs, lows and the valleys!