a bit about me
Hello! I am Beth Kempton (nee Nicholls), an adventurer, wanderer and seeker of knowledge and beauty, just back in the UK after six months living in Kyoto, Japan.
Many moons ago a wise man gave me the following advice: “See, touch, taste, smell, hear and speak as much as you can. Spend time alone travelling out of the cities, research into religions, ways of life. Go with an open mind and a warm heart. Don’t cling to the past, but enjoy the present and fly towards the future.”
I try to live my life like this, exploring – through travel, art, cooking and conversation – discovering beauty, stories, inspiration and friendship. I have lived, worked and travelled all over the world – from Bhutan to Brazil, Mongolia to Mozambique, Azerbaijan to Antarctica. But the country that soaked deepest into my soul is Japan, where I lived for many years, and recently spent six months living in the ancient capital of Kyoto. There are adventures to be had every day, and I am so happy to be able to share them here with you.
I have always tried to make choices which have allowed me to do what I love – travel, create, meet new people, learn and explore. As a result, lots of weird and wonderful things have happened in my life so far – some seemingly random and some not so random. Here is a sprinkling of some of them…
By the age of 20 I had…
• Decided to choose adventure
• Raced across the Bay of Biscay in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships’ Race
• Learned to speak one of the world’s most difficult languages
• Been published in a leading travel magazine
• Been chased off the Great Wall of China by rock-wielding bandits
• Discovered the magical world of dark room photography
By the age of 25 I had…
• Been to every continent on earth
• Hosted my own TV show
• Bungee jumped off a bridge
• Raced down an Olympic ice track on a skeleton sled
• Got my powerboat licence
• Earned two degrees
• Travelled from China to England by train
By the age of 30 I had…
• Become an auntie and a godmother
• Sold my first painting – a celebrity collaboration that hilariously went for over $10,000 at auction!
• Dined with royalty (yak curry with the Prince of Bhutan)
• Learned how to shoot an AK47 machine gun (not at people or animals!)
• Travelled on a superstar’s private plane
• Met two Heads of State and a Nobel Peace Prize winner
• Been around the world on a boat
Now at 35 I have…
• Rediscovered my deep love of creating
• Found a new community in the blog world
• Been to three deserts
• Launched two companies
• Fallen in love, truly madly deeply (and got engaged after a proposal on my 35th birthday!)
• Got married! (and got a new name – I am now Beth Kempton!)
What is next I wonder?
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PS Beth was honoured to be chosen as one of the UK’s 16 most exciting young female entrepreneurs back in 2010, and awarded a place on Marie Claire magazine’s groundbreaking Inspire & Mentor programme. Beth was also a finalist in the 2012 Digital Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and selected as one of the ’42 under 42′ entrepreneurs to watch in Yorkshire, UK, in 2013.
PPS You can read about her enterprise journey here
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