a bit about me
Hello! I am Beth Nicholls, an adventurer, wanderer and seeker of knowledge and beauty, currently 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 where I am thrilled to be moving to again in March 2012. 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!)
What is next I wonder?
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PS I was recently honoured to be chosen as one of the UK’s 16 most exciting young female entrepreneurs, and awarded a place on Marie Claire magazine’s groundbreaking Inspire & Mentor programme. Get inspired by reading about it here!
PPS You can read about my enterprise journey here
