Each of us has a result, a final goal, that we wish to achieve during our life. The lucky ones have found their passion and will pursue it as long as they live. For some, the passion they wish to pursue is risky, full of danger and possibility. As terrifying as it may be to the general population, these daredevils still achieve their goals, risking life and limb to make their dreams come true. This begs the question: Is it worth pursuing a risky life passion if death seems likely? The answer is, without the slightest hesitation, yes. Take, for example, the 42-year-old named Bruce Eric Matthews. Bruce had an obsession with kitesurfing, an extreme sport in which a kite drags the surfer. He recently died due to excessive wind gusts on the day of a tournament. (Leiker 1). As unfortunate as it may be, Eric died doing what he loved. For him, a life without kitesurfing was not worth living. While anyone can have a dangerous passion, those who excel at it are often naturally gifted. Gifted people often don't know they have a specific talent until an interaction piques their interest. In the book The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death Pursuit of Happiness, the novel's protagonist, Joe Slowinski, is motivated to pursue herpetology only when it offers a challenge to his life. “And yet when that prairie rattlesnake, awakened from its cool slumber under a rock, flew towards Joe and sank its fangs into his flesh; releasing a debilitating dose he experienced the most exhilarating viceroyal challenge of his life thus far" (James 45). "Ordinary people develop a frightening aversion to snakes after such an encounter, but there was nothing ordinary about Joe's attraction for reptiles," (James 52) Jo...... middle of paper ...... sometimes, however, passion is not the driving force. Success is. For some, going back to the beginning of traveling empty-handed is much worse than death. The professor in Journey to the Center of the Earth is a prime example. After finding the second world within the earth, he fights tooth and nail to return to the world above. not for life itself, but for the gratification of saying he was right (Brevig 08). Many people come within inches of their life goal, a task worthy of being written into history books and told around the campfire. only to fall short. I cannot adequately describe the anger, disappointment and self-loathing these broken souls must feel. For these failures, death would certainly be better. In the end, it is worth pursuing risky life passions because if no one crosses the boundaries of human existence, there is no meaning to our life anyway.