 Several years ago, as I was about to turn 50, it dawned on me that time was running out for me. Time to explore new places, new cultures and new adventures. Friends, have you ever felt that time is running out for you to pursue your dreams, your adventures? Toastmaster of the day and my fellow toastmasters and guests, luckily for me I was quick to realize it's never too late to be impulsive. Never too late to go for a trek in the highest mountains in the Himalayas. Never too late to travel to the beautiful Iceland in the cold winters just so that I could observe the beauty of the northern lights. Never too late to go scuba diving, the topic for today. And all this time while my wife watched helplessly as I went through my midlife crisis. Friends, have you gone through any midlife crisis? I want you to imagine 30 meters underwater for reference that is more than an 8 story building. To my right, the beautiful coral reefs of the Red Sea teaming with marine life. And to my left, the blue emptiness of the deep blue ocean. And as I peered down at the bottom, all I could see was a dark abyss of an almost bottomless sea. I was acutely aware that if I descended any lower, I might have difficulty to surface. As I followed my instructor, breathing oxygen from the tank strapped to my back and gliding as though I was in space. All I could think was, I'm 50. Am I really doing this? Am I really 30 meters underwater? I really was. After 40 minutes, when the oxygen tank started depleting, we surfaced where my anxious wife was waiting for me to return from the deep. When I show my friends pictures like this, the first question they ask me is, Kaji, is this safe? Isn't this dangerous? Now, I am very averse to risks. If I have to take any risks, I can only take calculated risks. So when I started my diving, the first thing I did was understand how safe or dangerous it is. And I found out that from the source, Divers Alert Network, the premier organization that manages all aspects of diving, that a fatality occurs in one out of every 211 864 dives. But what does this mean? What does this number mean? Does it mean diving is safe or diving is dangerous? So I started researching further and I started comparing these numbers with everyday risks that we take. And I have some data here related to two things that we commonly do, driving pregnancy. And I found out from the US Census government from 2008 that a death occurs in one out of every 5,555 registered drivers. In other words, scuba diving or driving is 38 times more dangerous than scuba diving. What about pregnancy? The stats from again US Center for Health show that one out of 7692 results in a death, which means scuba diving is safer 28 times more. Of course, this data is taken from US, which is having the best infrastructure, the best services, the numbers would be even worse if I was to take other countries. But that is not the point. The point I'm trying to make today is about risks. If you have an adventure in mind, if you have something that you want to do, but you're afraid, like I'm afraid of skydiving, but I haven't done the research about how safe it is. But if I wanted to, this is the way we should do it. Find out the statistics behind whether it is safe or not and whether you should calculate that risk and take the risk to achieve your dream and your goals. And what do we get at least for me? What do I get other than being 30 meters under the water? How about an encounter with a whale shark just right next to me? I was lucky enough to do that. I did not know at that time whether I should be afraid or excited, but I can assure you the memory of that not only was captured on my camera, but it is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. It is like living in a world that is inaccessible to most of us. So my friends, if you have a dream, if you have an adventure in mind, calculated risks is what you should do. Understand your risk. Understand that with proper planning, proper training, proper guidance, we can mitigate all the risks that we might encounter. So what are you waiting for? Go out and enjoy your adventure. Back to you, Thursmaster of the Day.