Stepping Into the Unknown: Why a Little Risk Creates the Greatest Rewards in Cohousing

Taking a risk can feel like stepping off a ledge into midair. Your stomach tightens, your mind races through every what-if, and a part of you wonders whether it might be easier to stay where you are. And yet, so many of the most meaningful chapters in life begin with a brave, decidedly imperfect leap. Gratitude Village exists today because a small group of people—including me—decided to do just that. We took a chance on something that didn’t exist yet, trusting that the vision was worth the vulnerability. Now, with eleven Founding Households on board and more joining soon, I’m reminded every day that the greatest benefits often arrive only after we choose to embrace a little uncertainty.

In cohousing, the people who step in earliest shape the community the most. Early Founders don’t just buy a future home—they co-create a neighborhood. That means having a direct say in the site plan, community layout, home design, common house spaces, and shared amenities. It means helping form community agreements that reflect your values instead of inheriting rules someone else wrote years ago. It means your fingerprints are literally on the foundation of the place you will one day call home. For those willing to join early, the reward is unparalleled: a community shaped by your voice, your vision, your needs, and your dreams.

Of course, joining early requires a level of courage. When you become a Founder now, you don’t get to walk through finished townhomes or stroll the path around the natural pool—we’re still building the dream. You say “yes” before the blueprint is complete, before the land is closed and before the first shovel hits the ground. That early leap can feel risky, but it is also deeply empowering. To say yes now is to claim agency in the creation of your future neighborhood. It’s like planting a seed before you can see the harvest—trusting that, with care and community, something beautiful will grow.

At Gratitude Village, we have worked intentionally to minimize the risks our Founders take. Gratitude Village Colorado is a nonprofit, meaning your Founder contribution is treated as a tax-deductible donation. If, for some reason, the community does not move forward, those contributions are not lost. This model, paired with transparent financial practices and a highly engaged board, ensures that every dollar is used responsibly and tracked with care. Our board members bring expertise in nonprofit governance, real estate, land development, community engagement, and finance, and they take their fiduciary role seriously. Founders aren’t stepping into a void—they’re partnering with a well-run, mission-driven organization that values stewardship and accountability.

It might also help to understand that building Gratitude Village isn’t the first time I’ve placed a bet on vision over certainty. My life has been shaped—again and again—by saying yes to risks that scared me. The very first big leap happened at seventeen, when I accepted a scholarship to a 23-day Colorado Outward Bound School course. My family wasn’t outdoorsy or athletic; in fact, both of my parents worked 50–60 hour weeks inside a small electrical engineering business they ran together. They smoked, they coped with stress the best they knew how and camping or the outdoors was simply not something we did. I had only slept in a tent once before that course—and yet I signed up to backpack across the Colorado Rockies with a group of complete strangers. That single decision changed the entire trajectory of my life, pulling me away from a path of rebellion and self-destruction and toward a life grounded in nature, discipline, achievement, adventure and self-trust. It led me into college, outdoor education, mountain guiding, entrepreneurship—and eventually even to Reyna’s father. All from one risky yes.

That early risk opened the door to many more. I traveled to Nepal to climb, then extended my trip by a month to trek to Everest Basecamp on my own. I moved across the country to Massachusetts, traveled to Peru, and even completed a 32-day, 30-city cross-country road tour promoting the company I was working for. I took the leap of starting Southwind Adventures with Reyna’s dad, then purchased a commercial office space—terrifying at the time, but ultimately a decision that strengthened our business. I wrote and published my first book, which won the Colorado Book Award the year it came out. It wasn’t a financial success because I loved writing far more than selling, but the creative risk itself paid off in far more meaningful ways. I went back to school for my master’s degree at 43 with a three-year-old at home. I partnered with my sister on a Mathnasium tutoring franchise, then—after she sold it—left the comfort of that chapter to start Gratitude Village, believing that something deeply needed could be built from the ground up.

Each of these decisions felt uncertain at the time. None were guaranteed. All required stepping into the unknown. And yet every leap, even the imperfect ones, became part of the foundation that prepared me to lead Gratitude Village today. My life has taught me that risk, when taken with intention, knowledge (or a willingness to learn) and heart, often leads us exactly where we’re meant to go. And that is the energy I bring to building this community.

And the beautiful thing? People are following. In the last couple of weeks, two more families became Founders, bringing us to eleven incredible households who believe in this vision. Each Founder who joins strengthens the momentum and adds new wisdom, energy and ideas to our planning tables. With every new household, the future becomes more tangible. More possible. More exciting. This is how cohousing works—the dream gets clearer as more people invest their hearts, minds and resources into it. Every Founder helps accelerate our path to land, design, financing and—ultimately—construction.

When you choose to become a Founder at this stage, you join a group of people who see possibility where others see uncertainty. You join pioneers who are shaping a community from the ground up—families who want a safe, walkable community for their children, seniors who want to age in place with dignity, young adults who want meaningful connection and a chance to build equity in their own home, and environmentally conscious households committed to NetZero living. You join people who aren’t waiting for someone else to build the world they want. They’re building it together.

The truth is, the most meaningful communities on earth were all created by people who embraced some level of risk. People who believed in something they couldn’t yet touch. People who thought connection mattered enough to build it themselves. Gratitude Village is taking shape because individuals dared to trust that belonging, sustainability, accessibility and affordability in a multigenerational community are worth the early uncertainty. Cohousing has always thrived on a simple, powerful idea: the people make the place. And Founders are the people who set the tone for everything to come.

If you’re feeling the spark—curiosity, resonance, a tug of intuition—that may be your next chapter whispering to you. Becoming a Founder doesn’t require perfection or certainty. It simply requires a willingness to explore what’s possible. The risk is real, but so is the reward: a community where you know your neighbors, share meals, co-create meaningful spaces, and live in a neighborhood built with intention and care. A community shaped by people who dared to go first.

Because the truth is simple: the greatest gifts of community belong to those willing to take a chance on connection. And at Gratitude Village, we’re ready to take that step with you.