It was at that very moment, that I realised how far life can take you.

I worked in IT and it was everything you would expect; Structured. Predictable. Sensible.

Then a few years later, I found myself in the Cambodian jungle, leading 16 students across Southeast Asia — and getting paid to do it.

We had experienced local jungle guides with us. They knew the terrain. They understood the environment far better than I ever could.

But I was leading the group.

• Sixteen students.

• Their morale.

• Their wellbeing.

• Their decisions.

• Their experience.

And at one point — with two sticks of bamboo in my hands.

The Jungle Moment

Midway through our 3 day jungle trek, one of the students started fainting. We rested, re-hydrated but she fainted again. It was continuous and to be honest, I had no idea what to do. 

There was no way we could build and use a stretcher because the jungle was too dense, and there was no hope of getting a helicopter. 

So we improvised:

• Two long pieces of bamboo either side of her.

• Lowering her gradually and safely every time she fainted. 

It wasn’t dramatic and it wasn’t heroic, It was just real life.

And in the middle of it, I remember thinking:

“How the hell did I end up here?”

Not in fear but in amazement.

From IT Desk to Southeast Asia

A few years earlier, I was troubleshooting servers and logging incidents.

Now I was organising border crossings into Vietnam, supporting teenagers through culture shock, navigating heat, exhaustion, and responsibility — and being paid to do it.

That contrast hit me hard. Because it wasn’t just about travel. It was about trajectory.

Somewhere between leaving IT and standing in that jungle, my world had quietly expanded.

The Step That Changed Everything

When I think back to the time I left my cushty job, I remember there wasn’t a master plan, I just knew I had to do something different.

Leaving IT didn’t come with guarantees.It didn’t come with applause and it didn’t even come with clarity.

But it came with growth.

And growth led me to moments I couldn’t have imagined from behind a desk.

Life Gets Bigger When You Let It

That jungle moment wasn’t about leadership ego, It was about perspective.

If I’d stayed where things felt secure and predictable, that experience wouldn’t exist in my life.

• Those students wouldn’t have trusted me.

• Those borders wouldn’t have been crossed.

• Those lessons wouldn’t have been learned.

And I wouldn’t have discovered what I was capable of.

If You’re Standing at the Edge

You don’t need to jump into a jungle tomorrow. But if you’re feeling that quiet pull towards something different — pay attention, because, the unknown isn’t chaos...It’s expansion.

Sometimes the life you want doesn’t appear because you have a perfect strategy.

It appears because you chose to take one uncertain step.

And one day you look around and think:

“I can’t believe this is what I get to do.”