Why moving away from home was the best career decision

Executive overview

Staying in a familiar place limits what you can become. Moving somewhere new — even without a plan — forces you to build skills, ask for help, and meet people who change your trajectory.

Three lessons compound over time: courageous decisions attract reward, asking for help accelerates progress, and adventure itself becomes an investment.

The world rewards people who act despite fear, not people who wait for certainty.

The move that started everything

• At 20, quit a well-paying job in Moncton, New Brunswick against his father's wishes
• Packed a 1987 Volkswagen Jetta and drove west without knowing which city to land in
• Left September 7, 2001 — September 11 wiped out every job offer within days
• Savings ran out fast; ended up sleeping on a friend's couch for weeks

Courageous decisions are rewarded

• Being forced to contract (not hire full-time) led to incorporating his first company
• Learned enterprise portal technology at Syncrude — foundation for Spheric Technologies three years later
• Walking away from an earn-out later, then still receiving it, reinforced the same pattern
• None of the outcomes were visible at the time the decision was made

Asking for help accelerates everything

• Most people don't ask — fear of looking like a burden or a mooch stops them
• Sleeping on Dan Hanson's couch for weeks was embarrassing but necessary
• Good people want to help good people; embarrassment is not a reason to stay stuck
• That experience became the reason he now opens his home to others

Adventure compounds like an investment

• Adventure is a core family value — not a one-off event
• Each move (New Brunswick → Alberta → Australia → San Francisco → Kelowna) brought new people and opportunities
• People met in the last 12 months now feel like lifelong friends — only possible because of the move
• The more you pursue adventure, the more it shows up

Why parents' advice has limits

• Parents give advice filtered through their own experiences and risk tolerance
• Love for a child makes parents want to prevent pain — but pain is often the mechanism for growth
• Find mentors who have done what you want to do, not just people who care about you
• In 25 years, defaulting to parents' advice means living their life, not yours
• Let children take risks in safe environments; resist the urge to stop them