ADVENTURE + ALIVENESS Page 4 of 13

What would you do with a day away?

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Last week we had our annual ‘away day’ at Do What You Love. It was actually two days – a strategy meeting on Wednesday, and a day on a yacht on Thursday! We chartered the boat to give us a way to get a complete change of scenery, open our minds and think differently. And it worked!

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We were brainstorming ideas for my book (more on that in the coming weeks), and it was amazing how the gentle lapping waves helped us forget about to-do lists and tune into some big deep questions.

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It was also good to spend some fun time with our lovely team, on a gloriously sunny day, to hear more about their individual dreams and plans, and get to know them better.

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We are only a small team, but moments like this are important.

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Even if you work on your own (or for someone else), can you give yourself the gift of an away day? If so, here are some tips to make it special:

  • Put it in your diary and guard that time carefully. No adding little meetings, or cutting it short for urgent business. Protect it, and make it happen.
  • Go somewhere you don’t normally spend time, or use an interesting mode of transport to get there. Try being on the move as you think – perhaps walking, hiking, cycling, or sailing.
  • Clear away all distractions (no email, no phones, no small people – just for a few hours!)
  • Plan one specific thing to think about, and ask yourself a handful of probing questions
  • Let your mind wander, and see what emerges
  • Make notes about your ideas, as they may disappear as easily as they arrive

This week we challenge you to find time for your own awayday. We’d love to know what you thought about, and what came out of it – please share with us on Facebook or Twitter!

Have a lovely week

Beth and team

[Tweet “What would you do with a day away? “]

Ditch the routine

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Do you have a routine? How does it go?

Chances are you don’t acknowledge your routine day to day, but we bet you have one. You probably go through most of it on autopilot, without stopping to consider whether what you’re doing is healthy, productive or enjoyable. Isn’t it time to change that?

We’ve been really enjoying doing the activities from the Do What You Love e-course recently. Week three of the course is all about being brave and coming alive. One of the activities asks you to spend a day mixing things up a bit, so we asked Rose to ditch her routine today. Here’s what happened.

When I started thinking about what I was going to do differently today, I was at a bit of a loss. Shaking up your routine is inevitably going to move you out of your comfort zone – that was clear at the very moment I started thinking about it. But when I really got to thinking about what I could do differently, I felt a strange sense of excitement.

It started with breakfast. Today I swapped my usual Marmite for Nutella and bananas on toast. Having chocolate for breakfast always feels indulgent, but it’s the chocolate-banana combo that makes this an unbeatable start to the day.

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Rather than sitting straight down in front of my computer after breakfast, I decided to go for a morning stroll on the seafront. It was a beautiful day – sunny and breezy – and I was surprised to find so many people by the sea before 9am. I was even more surprised at how friendly everyone was. I tend to assume everyone is grumpy in the morning, not being a morning person myself. But receiving so many friendly hellos so early in the day put me in a great mood.

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After my stroll it was time to get to work. But I was feeling remarkably chirpy, and I didn’t fancy working on my own. I decided to give my friend (a freelance designer who works from home) a call. She invited me to work at her house, so I grabbed some juice and biscuits and headed over.

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I loved working somewhere new in the company of my friend and her cat, Mila. We enjoyed frothy coffee, countless snacks and great music. And I had a really productive working day.

I was so surprised at what an effect shaking up my routine had on my mood, and my productivity. I felt more alive today than I have in weeks. I’m looking forward to changing my routine in different ways in the future – perhaps I’ll end up replacing my old routine with a great new one that’s just right for me!

The Do What You Love e-course will help you ditch bad habits and boring routines, and lead you to see what you really want (or need) more clearly.

“I am now far more open to ideas and willing to say yes to opportunities. I think, well, whats the worst that can happen?!” Shona W., Do What You Love participant, Jan 2015

Join us this June for the experience of a lifetime.

Life according to Mr K: Is doing what you love selfish?

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Recently Beth was on a panel at a debate in London, talking about whether Doing What You Love being good advice is ‘an urban myth’. As you can imagine, she was on the side arguing that it is important, valuable advice. During the lively debate, hosted by Barclays at the Royal Institute, a number of interesting points were raised by the audience. Due to time constraints, not all of these were discussed, but I wanted to pick up on one in particular that we hear quite often ourselves: the idea that doing what you love is selfish.

Personally I couldn’t disagree with this more. I think that the exact opposite is true. Of course, in the beginning when you are exploring your interests and your passions and realising your hopes and dreams, it may feel like you are being a little self-indulgent, especially if you aren’t used to spending time doing things that you enjoy and care about. But as soon as you open your heart and mind to doing what you love, through conversations, by being pro-active, or even starting a new business, you find that what you love starts to matter to other people too.

A personal journey towards doing what you love begins with asking yourself some really deep and thought-provoking questions. Questions that are all about you, your life and how you want it to be. But to perceive this as you being self-absorbed or even selfish is very short-sighted. Once you start to find the answers amazing things can happen. You start interacting with like-minded people who share your ideas, your passions and your interests, you open your heart and mind to exciting new opportunities that make help you learn and grow; you discover a greater charity and a willingness to share and collaborate, and you strive to be your best self.

Let me give you two very good examples based on two people featured in our recent Alchemy Series.

Dave Cornthwaite: a Graphic Designer who at 26 had everything that society had implied he needed to be successful. However he was far from happy. 10 years ago he left it all behind and set out on a journey to find some answers. His adventures since then have been very inspiring. His ‘Say Yes More’ campaign is helping transform the mindset of thousands and his newest project is helping plant a huge number of trees. His personal journey has ultimately allowed him to inspire many others to follow their own passions and do what they love.

Emily Penn: after University Emily was offered a job as an architect in Australia but because she was so committed to protecting the environment she refused to fly. Instead, she sailed there from the UK. It was on this journey that she discovered a deep love and respect for both the ocean and the communities she met along the way. Rather than taking the job, she became an ocean advocate and she is now passionate about eliminating plastics from the sea.

[Tweet ““Individually we are one drop, together we are the ocean” ~ Ryunosuke Satoro”]

These personal quests were pivotal to finding clarity and purpose and they highlight just what can be achieved when you follow your true passion. Maybe when you are the best ‘you’ that you can be, you can create the most opportunities to help and inspire others.

If you are struggling with the idea of doing what you love, or feel that it is selfish, or that it is hard to focus on your own plans and dreams when you have so many obligations to others, then I would encourage you to consider joining us for the Do What You Love e-course beginning on June 15, 2015. It will completely change your perspective, and help you understand why the world actually needs you to do what you love.

Either way, this month I’d like to challenge you to think about someone who inspires you. How they have followed their own passions? How have they ended up having a greater impact in the world as a result? Then think about what that could look like for you.

Until next time,

Mr K

 

Discover your passion and purpose today…

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Do you feel lost or as if something is missing in your life? Maybe you want to make a bigger difference in the world than you feel you are, but you aren’t sure how. So many of us walk through life, feeling numb and desperate for a deeper connection, but aren’t sure how to get it. We can help you change that. Tell us what you need today and we’ll help you do what you love.

Life According to Mr K: A snapshot of my life

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lifeaccordingtomrk

Earlier this month we spent a week or so in the Arctic Circle, North Finland. The trip was amazing on so many levels and even more special as we got to experience all its wonders as a family.

It was during the first evening in our traditional (and very impressive) pine cabin that it really dawned on me just how much my life has changed over the past year or so. As I studied the items on the little wooden table in our living room I realised that they provided a great snapshot of what my current life looks like.

FullSizeRender-2 A snapshot of my life (more…)

How do I plan my next adventure?

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Alastair Humphries

This is a guest post by adventurer, author and motivational speaker Alastair Humphreys. Find out more about Alastair here.

Turning an empty calendar and a lack of direction into an exciting, rewarding, challenging, money-generating expedition is both easy and difficult. This is how I go about making stuff happen…

 

  • Block off the biggest chunk of time possible. Guard this jealously. Time is so precious and demands on it so numerous. I can always earn more money. I can never reclaim lost time.
  • Sit and daydream. Think of all the places I have not been. Think of all the journey styles I have not done. Pore over an atlas as I pour the coffee. Browse my bookshelves for inspiration. Drool over Google Images and Flickr and Sidetracked.
  • Try to think of a trip that is, for me at least, fresh, novel, difficult and different.

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  • Draw up a shortlist of the few plans that currently excite me most.
  • Narrow this list down against criteria such as cost, season, timeframe and potential partners available.
  • More or less settle on one preferred option.
  • Faff around for a while.
  • Send out an email / meet up with somebody / do something that tips me over from day-dreaming about how fun this would all be to actually getting off my arse and making it happen. The tipping point is often small but significant: walking across India was solidified merely by having dinner with a friend’s parents, for example.
  • Buy a plane ticket or whatever is the single most expensive, painful, committing action to take. This is without doubt the most significant and difficult stage of the entire process (hint: it’s far harder than the scary expedition you are worrying about). This single act of commitment is what differentiates dreamers from do-ers. It’s not hard, but it is bold.
  • Run around like an idiot, realising that I have grossly underestimated the time and expense involved in making the trip happen. (NB: I have never looked back at a trip).

For the post-expedition phase, here is a post I wrote on how to make a living from your travels.

Notes from the Arctic #1: When your worst nightmare comes true

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Greetings from inside the Arctic Circle! Mr K and I have been digital nomads working at minus 15 this week, as we have spent an incredible few days in northern Finland. I’ll be sharing some of our experiences over the next couple of weeks, but first wanted to share a major lesson we have learnt on this trip.

I nearly didn’t book the tickets because I was worried about taking our daughter with us when she is still just a toddler. What if she screamed on every flight? What if she hated the cold? Or even worse, what if she was ill? But then I reasoned that they have toddlers in Finland too, and as long as we were well prepared with thermals and skiwear she’d be fine. So I stocked up on warm clothes and Calpol, and hoped for the best.

And guess what? She was a great little traveller on the flights, waving at everyone as they got on the plane like an air hostess in training. She coped with the weather brilliantly, proud of her new snow boots, and fascinated by the white world around her.

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But then disaster struck and our worst case scenario came true – poor Sienna fell ill with chicken pox. Of all the places in the world to come out in a raging rash. We were a 100km round trip from the nearest hospital, and really worried about her.

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A new beginning today

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Earlier this week I woke up to a magical winter wonderland – it was snowing! As I stood at the window admiring mother nature’s spectacular work, I started thinking about how beautiful the world looks in white.

There’s something quite special about the colour white. In colour psychology, white symbolises purity, innocence, awakening, growth, completion and new beginnings. It’s thought that we wear white clothes (often subconsciously) when we are moving in a new direction in life, such as travelling abroad, moving house, embarking on a new relationship or changing careers because white makes us feel calm, organised and optimistic. Colour psychologists also say that surrounding yourself with white is good for your soul because it cleanses and purifies your thoughts, emotions and, ultimately, your spirit, refreshing and strengthening your entire energy system.

Venturing out into the crisp white snow – a big blank canvas full of possibilities – was just the inspiration I needed to be bold and start the art course I’ve been dreaming about.

What’s will you begin today? We’d love to hear what’s inspired you.

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