Life in Color

The Life That Dreams Are Made Of

Having a pulse and a heartbeat is evidence of being alive, but living a bold and rich life goes way beyond that. I believe we are all destined to achieve certain things in life from the day we’re born, yet it can be so hard to bring these dreams to fruition. You need to push yourself to reach new heights of excitement, destiny, and fulfillment, which takes a lot of determination and courage. It’s actually a full-time job to live with purpose and meaning, and my aim has been to do just that for most of my life. I believe this approach was a God-given gift—to live life with passion, gusto, and perseverance. We are all different, but most of us have had dreams we don’t pursue for a host of reasons. What is a constant, though, is that you must learn to live outside of your comfort zone to reach them. It’s a risk to actually live like this, as both success and failure can be harder than we can ever imagine.

A fearlessness birthed by a strong faith in God has allowed me to live and experience a life I didn’t think was possible. The experiences, travel, meeting people outside my proverbial circle, building businesses, and loving all of it, no matter how hard, have offered me a life that sometimes feels like a movie. This magazine has been a key to opening many doors that would have otherwise been closed to me, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I did not think I would ever attend a presidential inauguration, cover the opening of a $50 million renovated castle on the outskirts of Dublin, attend New York and London Fashion Weeks, create photo shoots in places from NYC to Ireland, or jet to St. Barth to stay at a five-star resort, Le Barthélemy, for the feature included in this issue. I have also had the joy of making people’s dreams come true by showcasing them as a cover girl or gent (including my beautiful mother, Marie Ryan, who passed away two years into the life of VIE).

Lisa Marie Burwell with her Connemara pony, Gentle Meg

Another dream come true was opening an office near the West Coast of Ireland, where we created a new magazine entitled Connemara Life and published it for five years. My family has a home in the remote part of Connemara with a rural and stunning mountainous countryside that looks and feels like a scene from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. On one of our trips there in 2013, when we were looking for office space in the nearby town of Clifden, I saw this magnificent white horse running wild in a field and yelled to her to come over and see me and my husband, Jerry. She was skittish and dirty, but with some coaxing, she gently came to see us and looked at me. It felt like she was piercing my soul. I loved her immediately and wanted her so badly, so I asked Jerry if we could buy her. He looked at me incredulously, as I’d seen many times before, but he acquiesced, and I loved him for that and will be forever grateful. He granted me my childhood dream of owning a horse, and I love this regal white pony to this day. Gentle Meg became our Ireland office mascot—but please don’t tell our Stateside mascot, Sucre Burwell (an adorable but feisty Chihuahua-Pekingese mix), or she won’t talk to us any longer.

It has taken me a very long time to understand how much I’ve been given along this journey, as it’s been an arduous one with many ups and downs along the way. But it changed me, tempered me, grew me, and gave me life—one that I feel was part of my destiny. I am able to share people’s dreams, stories, and creations while getting to know and love them.

My definition of living a luxurious lifestyle is not having expensive things—although they are very nice, of course, and who doesn’t want them? But a truly rich life brings joy and happiness that money cannot buy.

—To Life!

Lisa Marie Burwell

CEO/Editor-in-Chief/Creative Director

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