And dammit if that didn’t start a whole other argument on why I absolutely NEED to move out of Vegas. He said it’s too hot here and adamantly tried to convince me to move to the East Coast. No amount of assuring him that, being born and raised in the occasional hell that is the desert, I was built for withstanding the heart; The cold, not so much.

I told him I could manage sitting in 110-115-degree heat, just like I have for nearly every summer of my life. Put me in anything less than 40 degrees and I’ll be miserable. I like going to the mountains during winter on my own accord to play in the snow but can come back down to the valley where it’s still mildly warm. There’s no way I would ever move somewhere where dealing with snow is an extra thing I have to set aside time for on a daily basis, like defrosting my car or shoveling my driveway.

He laughed and then insisted I move to California. I told him I couldn’t afford to live there. He then argued that Las Vegas is no place to raise a family, mostly because the only thing he believed there was to do was to go to the Strip, and there’s nothing family-friendly to do there. So I told him that’s why I go hiking in the mountains and at Red Rock.

He chuckled to himself, shook his head, and decided to bring the conversation BACK to questioning my career path. After taking a moment to think he looks at me and says “Online magazine huh? You need to understand, it’s not going to be as easy as you think.”

I tell him I never said it was going to be easy; I understand that the task I’m taking upon myself is monumental, but I’m going to accept the challenge.

He then shakes his head and looks disgruntled. “No, no – I need to help you understand. I’m going to change your mind, I need to.”

If it wasn’t already a test, it just became one.

This started a short but stern back and forth between me and him. With a hard but excited and genuine smile on my face and a serious glint in my eye, I refused to let this man tell me I’m wrong for my pursuing my dreams. And while I thoroughly enjoyed this banter, I understood the importance of this test.

“I appreciate your concern, but I don’t believe if your cookie-cutter world view. I can do whatever I set out to accomplish if I work hard and don’t lose sight of my goals.”

“No, you don’t understand, you aren’t going to succeed if you don’t do it the right way!”

“Who says your way is the correct way or the only way? I can do whatever I set my mind to.”

He laughs, but is annoyed, “You think it’s going to be so easy.”

“No. It’s going to be very difficult, but I will accept the challenge gladly, and with enthusiasm. I will face it head-on and with all of my heart and soul. I’m going to do what I believe in. I’m going to be the change I want to see in the world.”

At this point, the man is FINALLY accepting that this is not a debate he is going to win.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see how successful you actually are, huh?”

“Yep. WATCH ME.” I affirm in a serious but friendly tone, and a big genuine smile.

He smiles back, and mockingly goes “okay, sure’”.

I laugh kindly, and again with my most intent stare into this man’s eyes, I say to him, “I mean it. You come back and see me in a year.”

He is now seemingly surprised by my determination as if nothing else I’ve said before was enough to prove that already. He makes an interesting, contemplative face. As if he’s willing to give my determination a chance. He smiles and says, “Well then what is the name of your business?”

“Millennials in Motion.”

He chuckles and rolls his eyes again, but in a sort of friendly, polite way, if there is a way to describe the way he did it; He didn’t do it in the same obnoxious, rude way he did earlier when I initially told him what my business was. I understand that he heard the word ‘millennials’ and thought something relating to whatever negative stereotype he has in his mind about people my age.

“All right, I’ll be seeing you then”, he says with a smile.

“Okay see you next year!”, I say with the biggest smile I can manage on my face.

He has a look of pleasant surprise and amusement, laughs to himself again, and said “Okay. You have a wonderful rest of your day.” He says this as he smiles and then heads out of my department.

I tell him the same, and to drive safely, and to be careful in the dust storm going on outside.

Finally, I could breathe and relax. Despite it being a fun challenge, my heart was pounding, and the adrenaline was coursing through me. I discussed the encounter with my coworkers who were there intermittently between helping other customers.

They had missed a large part of the conversation, especially the parts where I had to defend my life choices. We discussed the points I had been trying to make to this man, and maybe could have more eloquently discussed if he hadn’t been so adamant about trying to change my mind.

1. Life is not cookie-cutter; People don’t have to do the same things everyone else does to be successful. What works for some, may not work for others.
2. Today, if you’re tech-savvy enough, know how to network and organize people, and use the world around you to your advantage, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
3. I don’t necessarily need to be an expert at something to be successful in that field.
4. Money doesn’t define success, nor does it define happiness.
5. Success comes in many different forms, and my definition of success and my method of achieving it can be different than someone else’s. And, success can be motivated by different things; for some it’s money, and for others, it’s an opportunity.

My coworkers were astounded by my ability to hold my own, saying they wouldn’t have been able to stand there and be disrespected like that.

But, I wasn’t offended.
I was excited.

Determined.

There was a fire in my belly burning with passion.

In just the first half-hour of work, I was unexpectedly thrown into an interrogating debate over my very life choices. When I woke up that morning I had no idea what I was about to get into while I was getting ready. And I’m happy to have been given this opportunity and the lesson I received from it.

I fully believe it was a test of the universe, to challenge and strengthen my resolve, and my dedication to my path.

After that experience, I have never been so certain of my goals and my plan to achieve them.

I am now more determined than ever to do what I’ve set myself out to do.

I knew and expected there to be people who would attempt to challenge or hinder me, but I never expected it from a stranger, at least not while I was at work at my day job.

Nevertheless, I am thankful for the gift I have been given by this man. I am grateful for the gift of perseverance and passion that he unintentionally gave to me in his self-assigned personal task of challenging my beliefs about myself and my choices in life.

I’ve never had someone so vehemently protest my choices before, even by a friend, or someone in my family who knows me personally. I’ve never been confronted by someone who tried so hard to make me change who I am and what I want to do with my life. Even as a kid growing up, I’d never been pressured so strongly by someone as this man, this stranger, had chosen to do so that day.

This man literally took it upon himself, made it an attempted but failed personal mission, to “cure” me of my misguided ways. He literally stood there for perhaps 15 or 20 minutes to berate and argue with me about why I was wrong for I wanted to do with my life, and how I wanted to do it.

I know he didn’t wake up that morning with that intention in mind. But still, he chose to take time out of his day to try and change my opinion.

And for that, I thank him. I don’t even care that I lost half an hour of time that I could have used to make a sale. The knowledge that I have gained from this encounter is worth more than any amount of money I could have made during that time.

For I have found my courage.

My courage to stand up in the face of adversity and fight, tooth and nail, for my dreams.

My courage to hold my ground in the trials I am faced with along my path.

And, my courage to look at my adversaries not as my enemies, but as reminders to stay my course; Challengers to test and strengthen my will power.

Thank you, sir, for my reaffirmed perspective on my life, and for the affirmed surety in my decisions.

I look forward to showing you what I accomplish.