"Distinction is everything. If you look at any example of people who have been successful at what they are doing-not monetarily successful, successful in their life-they are generally pretty distinctive individuals. I think that can be a farmer in the boonies of Vermont and it can be the most progressive artist in New York City."
-Michael Jager, founder of JDK Design

When we roadtripped through Vermont we sat down with Michael Jager, founder of the design firm that does all the creative work for Burton Snowboards. "I realized I sucked at math and such early on, so I focused on artwork. I always had a feel for how to draw, so I channeled myself in that direction." Building on what made him distinct, Michael went to design school in Montreal, and later went on to start his own small design firm out of his garage in Burlington. When Jake Burton first started his snowboard company in the late 1970s, Michael did all of his design work. Over time, as Burton Snowboards exploded into an entire industry, Michael's design firm grew. Today JDK Design operates out of a four-story brick building in Burlington Vermont, where it works with several clients including Swatch and IBM.

After dedicating much of his life to allowing himself to be his own person, Michael had this to say: "I think it was Simon Woodruff who said, 'The world will conspire to support you if you really magnify what it is you believe in.' I think you'll find that if you're going to be a sculptor or if you're going to be a kick-ass accountant. If you really believe it, wear it on your shoulder, and do it with distinction, the world will conspire to support you."

When we roadtripped through San Francisco, we met with Beatrice Santiccioli, a color designer who works for Apple Computer. Growing up in Italy, her passion was always the colors she saw around her-in the fields and on the trees. "Since I was a child, I loved to work with colors." Similar to Michael, she harnessed her individuality and went to art school in Italy to further develop her talents. Today, she creates the color schemes for Apple's computers. She works out of her own small design studio in San Francisco and has built a life around what makes her distinct-her passion for color.

When we got home from our trip, to a certain extent we harnessed our own individuality. What we went through on the road differentiated us, so we started to build our lives around sharing that adventure. Similar to Beatrice and Michael, what made us unique would not launch us onto traditional career paths. Instead of letting that deter us, we harnessed our distinctive experience and the world slowly conspired to support us.

When we were in Seattle, we sat down with Jonathan Poneman, the cofounder of Sub Pop Records (Nirvana's original record label) who had his own take on risk. "If everything in your life is characterized as 'risk versus safety,' the human instinct is to choose safety. But what if you use a whole different standard for reevaluating your life, such as 'necessary versus unnecessary.' Things like happiness, passion, and love are all necessary." From that perspective, the real risk would be not having happiness in our lives. And the idea of refocusing our lives in order to feel more fulfillment becomes less of a risk and more of a necessity.

When people told us, "It was something I had to do," what they were really saying was that the traditional risk associated with taking action in that direction was nothing compared to the internal pull they felt to bring passion and meaning into their lives. That was the "necessary" part of the equation.

This is not to say that if you take risks and try to build a meaningful life, you won't have financial instability. Most likely, you'll be scraping by in the beginning. Before Jonathan started Sub Pop, he was a janitor at the Seattle Westin Hotel and a copy manager at Kinko's. He did anything to pay the bills so he could keep working in the Seattle music scene. During that part of his life, he traded a security blanket for happiness, passion, and love. By not focusing on the perceived risk associated with that lifestyle, he ended up defining a whole new road for himself based on what mattered to him.

Our decision to hit the road in the first place definitely felt like a risk. But looking back on it with some perspective, the greater risk would have been to stay on the freeway, continuing to live lives without passion or meaning. We were too young to start settling, but it wasn't until after the trip that we realized that.

The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Several concerts on the Dixie Chicks' "Accidents & Accusations" tour have been canceled after slow ticket sales, but the group says it has replaced them with other dates.

Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis, Memphis and Knoxville are among 14 cities no longer on the original schedule released in May, according to a revised itinerary posted Thursday on the Dixie Chick's Web site.

Other shows, including Nashville, Los Angeles, Denver and Phoenix, have been pushed back to later dates.

The North American leg of the tour kicked off July 21 in Detroit. Billboard magazine and other trade publications have reported lackluster sales in some markets, particularly in the South and Midwest.

Group spokeswoman Kathy Allmand said Monday that the total number of North American dates remains the same, with several Canadian cities added in place of the U.S. shows.

The trio released a statement last week attributing the changes to attempts to "accommodate demand" and said more dates might be added next year.

The group also said the adjustments will allow them to promote the documentary "Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing," for the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

"We hope that our fans who were looking forward to a stop that is no longer on the tour will be able to join us at a nearby arena this fall, and we are sorry for any confusion or inconvenience these changes have caused," the Dixie Chicks said.

Many country fans criticized the band after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of war in Iraq that the trio was "ashamed" President Bush was from their home state of Texas.

County radio stations dropped them from their playlists and have been slow to welcome them back, despite strong sales of their latest album, "Taking the Long Way."