(Interviewer)What was the tipping point that put you in the mind frame of quitting your seventeen year career and taking off to Africa? (Dana)There was not one conscious moment that did it; several things happened. The first was a very bold and direct person who told me that how I was living my life was not what he called living at all because I was literally working my life away. His comment reverberated in my workaholic head and ultimately gave me permission, if you will, to walk out on my career. I quit two weeks before my 40th birthday when the new owner of the company – this cult-like leader - disrespectfully lost his temper with me for no reason except that he was having a bad day. (Interviewer)How did you get from abruptly quitting your job to being on a plane to Africa? (Dana)I have always been a very responsible person so after only a few weeks of not working I began to look for a job. As I was updating my professional resume I came to wonder what my personal resume would look like should I try to write one. I never made it past a blank page. That was the moment I knew I had to change. I began to think back before my career to what I was really interested in. Wildlife, most particularly African wildlife, had always fascinated me, but I never imagined I would actually see elephants and lions in person. The fact that visiting Africa was so far from my thought process and so unlikely a place for me made me determined to go. (Interviewer) So you packed up and moved? (Dana) No. I booked a three week safari. However, after only a few days in Africa I knew three weeks was not going to be enough. Twenty-four hours after returning from that trip I began the process of selling my houses, car, most of my belongings and prepared to move to Africa. I actually left eight weeks later on October 30, 2001. (Interviewer) You left right after September 11th and the terrorist attacks? (Dana) Yes. My friends and family already thought I had lost my mind when I informed them of my plans to move to Africa. They were really concerned by my not canceling my plans after the attacks. But I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to let the terrorist attacks stop me. And indeed after a few weeks in Africa, even my mother concluded I was probably safer there than in the States during those troubled times (Interviewer) If you don’t mind me saying, you are a well put together, attractive, feminine woman. You don’t appear to be the roughing-it in Africa type. Were you ever scared? (Dana) I have been told that I don’t look the part, so to speak. But that is part of the point. If I can do something this drastic to change my life then I stand as a shining example that anyone can do anything they set their mind to. And, to answer your question, I was scared over and over again. In fact, every time I begin to pack a back pack to go back to Africa I’m scared. It’s that emotion that makes me feel most alive though. There was a moment in South Africa when I was charged by a male lion. This experience was the most frightening and exciting experience I had ever had up until that point. And that feeling, after you survive an encounter, is what keeps me going back time and time again. (Interviewer) Were you always a risk taker? (Dana) No. I was never a risk taker which again is the moral to my story. Anyone can do anything if you want it to happen badly enough. Convince yourself and the rest of the world will believe your conviction. (Interviewer) What was the biggest lesson Africa taught you? (Dana) There are so many things Africa has taught me and continues to teach me. But my biggest gain so far was being able to strip myself of everything; phones, email, palm pilot, house, car, dogs, the six-figure income, big title, fancy clothes, and absolutely everything materialistic then truly see who I was and what I brought to the table of life. I was afforded the luxury of having nothing except what was on my back; to become the simplistic version of me so that I could see not only who I was, but also what it felt like to know people were interested in me just because of who I am – nothing else. That absence of all outside influences allowed me to explore myself and grow exponentially during my days in Africa. That for me has been my biggest personal gain.