Mike: Say Yes to Life

At the age of 10, he found out he has mild Asperger's syndrome, but he wanted to have a good social life.

He decided he would work 10 times as hard as others on his social skills. 

His method was trial and error. He decided to practice conversation any time. Once, he initiated a conversation with a girl reading calculus on the bus, "this is not a light read." The conversation started, and she ended up showing him around town. 

Since he was a child, he started practicing fencing. He mustered the courage to approach others to crash at their places for free during tournaments. 

Throughout tournaments, he found that his passion for fencing is because of his passion for travelling and connecting with people. 

So he quit his mechanical engineering degree at University of New Brunswick, started his backpacking tour around Europe and United States.

​He watched a movie called Yes Man. He decided that saying yes will bring him the gift of serendipity of life. Saying yes is more risky, but it is much more fun. In Hawaii, some stranger told him that Australia is fun. 

So he said yes to Australia, and came to Australia this February on a working-holiday visa. 

He said yes to quitting. He gave the middle finger to a manager that he didn't like. And the owner gave him his business card with a smile, and told him he had intended to do that for a long time. 

He said yes to love. He improved his dating skills by saying yes to all of his Tinder matches. Now he is happily in a relationship with a smart, beautiful, and artistic entrepreneur/singer. When he goes back to Canada next year, she will join him. 

Even when the day after the tournament is over, he can barely stand up because of the pain. 

Even when he hasn't been paid for 6 weeks and has only $11 left because someone makes a mistake in bank account details.

Even when someone gives him feedback that he is "being condescending".

His cheerful spirit, ability to connect with people, and willingness to experiment and learn somehow reminded me of Benjamin Franklin, the only man on the US dollar bills who is not a president. 
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