It is rarely the case that the start to the life of a scientist will take a straight path and sometimes, early decisions will need to be revised. While searching for a suitable direction it is encouraging to see, that even in established fields, unbiased and unconventional thinking can lead to a strong impact and sometimes even revolutionary changes. Apparent fundamental limits or limits of technology are barriers, which sometimes exist only in our minds, but they can be a source of inspiration. Starting an adventurous project, which people may regard as too ambitious, may require to take some risk. Someone who has gained enough self-confidence by learning from lessons taken from failure and mistakes, however, does not hesitate to dive into the unknown. I will share my own experience with the audience by describing how key encounters and decisive circumstances lead to our success.