When Zack Giffin looks back on his professional life, he doesn’t feel any regret. Sure, changing career paths from skiing big mountains to building tiny houses on his own TV show, Tiny House Nation, is a leap of faith. But, he’s immensely glad it all happened, and still manages to slip in a couple weeks of shredding every year. This video from DPS conveys Giffin’s story, and has a lesson in store for all of us that if you just roll with the opportunities in front of you, everything will be just fine.

Giffin-grams

Today was a really good reminder that the beauty of the world is just waiting for me to experience it. It's not easy to articulate to people what it is about the mountains that's so inspiring, but days like this need no explanation! #zack&zackattack #mtbaker #dpsskis #outdoorresearch #zealoptics ⛷Zack Barrett ????Zack Giffin

A photo posted by Zack Giffin (@zackgiffin) on Dec 13, 2016 at 5:17pm PST

The trade off for staying out on the road for the past few years is that it has given me another family. A family of pirates… By now everyone probably knows that John and I feel like brothers, but what people don't see is the all the other members of the #TinyHouseNation crew. I have the best job in the world for a lot of good reasons, but mostly because of the crew that I get to work with! #nojoke

A photo posted by Zack Giffin (@zackgiffin) on Nov 5, 2016 at 7:57pm PDT

A trio of powder professors ascend Alaska's Chugach, rising above the desolate and rain-soaked primordial soup of lower elevations, and evolving upwards into the purple-hued peaks that tower above the clouds– a world of brilliant color and life. The mountains become the laboratory in which they embark upon extensive study and experimentation, in order to form theories on some of mankind's oldest questions: how did life begin, and what makes this life worth living? Directed by: @sturgegram Featuring: @santi_guzman_ @pierssolomon and myself. Thanks to: @outdoorresearch @newbelgium @dpsskis

A video posted by Zack Giffin (@zackgiffin) on Nov 17, 2016 at 12:22pm PST

None of us know what the future holds in store. When we are healthy and employed it is easy to feel like the world will always provide but we all know how things can change so fast and unexpectedly. With a one serious medical emergency, a family loss or a major financial hit, what we think of as mandatory necessities for our happiness can so easily become distant memory. Security is a gift and a blessing and I know for sure that without my friends and family helping me my life would have been very different. We are conditioned to believe that if we are men, we don't need assistance but truthfully everyone needs a helping hand from a friend especially people carrying the added burden of trauma from war. I think the statistics prove that too many Veterans returning from service try to go at it alone. A supportive community is missing in the lives of many homeless Veterans and it is exactly what I believe is so profound about the mission of organizations building Veterans Villages around the country. Building homes that give Veterans a sense of pride and ownership while facilitating togetherness is a path to true healing. I am building tiny homes for veterans not because giving back is a good thing to do, but because I believe it will work. #OperationTinyHome #veteranscommunityproject

A photo posted by Zack Giffin (@zackgiffin) on Oct 30, 2016 at 7:36pm PDT