BOLDNESS + BRAVERY Page 11 of 18

Help me write my TEDx talk!

TEDx

When I heard last week that I had been confirmed as a speaker for TEDxYouth@ Islington I was in equal parts thrilled and terrified. It’s a fantastic but somewhat daunting platform, and something I have had on my dream list for quite some time. Most people get around 5 months to prepare for a talk like this. I’ve got 7 weeks, and I need your help! In fact, I would be so grateful for your help that one person responding to my quick survey will win a free place on the Do What You Love course.

My topic will be “How to teach your parents to give you better careers advice”. It is based on the premise that careers advice is nearly always well-intended but frequently flawed, because we often ask our children the wrong questions when trying to help them discover their path in life.

In the talk I will offer the young people in the audience:

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Your year of microadventure

 

Alastair Humphries

 

 

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

 

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YOUR YEAR OF MICROADVENTURE

Would you like to live more adventurously this year?

  • To experience the wild and escape from the rushed, mundane real world.
  • To do something new, fun and different.
  • To spend memorable time with your friends, family or by yourself.
  • To challenge yourself, surprise yourself, and achieve something to be proud of.

I bet you can think of other reasons why you’d like to do have a more adventurous year. You may even be intending to make this the year when you really do get out “there” as much as you dream of doing.

But real life often gets in the way and good intentions fade.

So why not commit, today, to a challenge? It’s easy enough to be achievable, but will be really rewarding to complete.

12 months. 12 overnight microadventures. 1 adventurous year.

Are you in? Good!

Read on to find out more…

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In their words – why the Do What You Love e-course could be just what you need

We are always humbled and thrilled to hear how our courses have helped people change their own lives, sidestep mountains, move forwards, and find fulfillment and happiness on their own path. As we prepare for the Do What You Love course to begin on Monday 26 January, we thought we’d share some of the latest words we have received about the impact of the last class, in the words of the participants themselves.

If any of these resonate with you, and you’d like to be able to say the same within five short weeks, then join us for the online adventure of a lifetime.

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Our acclaimed course Do What You Love begins on Monday 26 January and runs for five weeks. In those five weeks, everything could change for you – not least how you see yourself, others, your future and your place in the world. It’s powerful and inspiring – don’t miss it. Book your place now.

The art of getting started…

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Whether it’s perfectionism, procrastination, or plain old fear that’s holding you back, there’s help and inspiration at hand!

Are you struggling to make your creative dreams happen? Do you have a great idea but don’t know where to start? Or do you have so many ideas that you end up doing nothing? Illustrator and self-professed procrastinator Lee Crutchley admits that he knows the ‘first blank page’ all too well. He says: “Turning ideas into real things is NOT the easy part. It takes work, and delaying the work does one thing – it delays the work.” In his book, The Art of Getting StartedLee shares some of the fun tasks, challenges and prompts he uses to kickstart his left-brain and get his creative juices flowing. Be prepared to write, draw, cook, explore, and be impulsive as you immerse yourself in creativity in its purest form and take the first step towards becoming unstuck.

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The power and danger of labels

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Happy New Year! 2015 has dawned crisp and clear, with possibility of adventure and an outlook of hope. We wish you much happiness this year and challenge you to make it your best year yet!

This week we wrapped up our Winter Writing Workshop with the question ‘How does it feel to call yourself a writer?’ Sometimes giving yourself a label – even if it doesn’t quite fit yet – can be a really powerful way of helping you believe in yourself, whether that means calling yourself a writer, an artist, an athlete or whatever.

Passion labels can be motivating and confidence-inspiring. But career labels can be dangerous. Here’s why.

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New Year, New You. Begin today.

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‘New year, new you’ must be the most over-used phrase in the world of magazine headlines, but there is a very good reason for that. The beginning of a new year can be a watershed. ‘Next year’ becomes ‘this year’. The time is now. If you had a bad year, that is now in the past. If you had a great year, you can step it up a level and make this one even better.

A new year is like a gift. It’s a chance to start again, and to tell yourself you have the power to decide how this year pans out. What will you do? Where will you go? Who will you spend time with? Who will you avoid? How will you behave differently so things work out differently? What different choices will you make? What will you tell yourself about what could be possible for you? And what steps will you take to make that happen?

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Why you should never give up…

“If you really believe in what you’re doing, work hard, take nothing personally and if something blocks one route, find another. Never give up.” – Laurie Notaro

We’re constantly inspired by stories of successful people who struggle for years to make it. People who endure failure after failure and knock-back after knock-back, but who keep moving forward because they believe in themselves and they know what they want to do with their life. People like Sylvester Stallone.

Image source This is a Book by Demetri MartinImage from This is a book by Demitri Martin

In this inspiring video Anthony Robbins explains how, after years as a dead broke unsuccessful actor facing put downs and rejection, Stallone finally scored the lead role in his own blockbusting movie franchise, Rocky, and went on to become a Hollywood legend. If ever you needed a reminder about why you should follow your dreams, this is it!

In Michael Pollock’s article, The Science of Perseverance: How Your Mindset Can Strengthen Your Motivation he explains that ‘according to decades of research, there are two fundamental mindsets that determine how people respond to struggle, setbacks and failure. In one mindset, you’re likely to get discouraged and give up on your goal. In the other, you tend to embrace the struggle, learn from the setbacks and keep moving forward – you persevere.’

Which mindset are you in?