Posts tagged with “adventure”
It’s Okay to ‘Fail’ on Your Way to Finding What You Want to Do
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~George Bernard Shaw
I would say it’s a safe assumption that most people aren’t quite sure what they’re doing.
What do I mean? I mean that most individuals—whether they look polished and presentable or haphazardly have their life thrown together—are generally playing a game called “life.” And they’re trying the best they can.
In other words, we’re all capable and have all experienced the highs and lows of what life has to offer. Unfortunately, that’s just part of the human experience. To try to ride the highs while avoiding the …
Why You Need to Embrace “Beginner’s Mind” to Live a Life of Adventure
“The don’t-know mind… doesn’t fear, has no wish to control or foresee, steps off the cliff of the moment with absolute trust that the next step will land somewhere, and the next step somewhere else, and the feet will take us wherever we need to go.” ~Byron Katie
I am fifty-five years old. I’ve raised a family, been through two divorces, bought and sold four houses, and had a successful professional career. And right now I’m doing one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, which is learning to host in a busy restaurant.
My coworkers range from mid-twenties to …
How to Get the Excitement of a Fresh Start Every Day
“Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.” ~Nikos Kazantzakis
One minute I was a young warrior in a guild of travelers, the next, a middle-aged aristocrat in a strange Victorian world.
A pretty standard day. Oh, did I forget to mention where I was?
I was at a role-playing convention. That was over twenty years ago. Here’s how the fun worked.
Every three to four hours, I would play a different session. That means I would become a new character and go on new adventures in another world, with different people. It was …
How to Turn Everyday Life into an Adventure
“Every day is an adventure.” ~Joseph B. Wirthlin
Be honest.
It gets to you, doesn’t it?
You feel trapped in a life of monotonous everyday routine. One dull day merges into the next, each equally forgettable. The months slide past until you look up from your desk and suddenly another birthday’s here.
So you avidly consume programs and articles on fearless adventurers and bold entrepreneurs who risked everything to pursue their dreams.
And you follow them hoping someday to have your own stories to tell, your own daredevil memories to post and tweet. But instead, you end up doing …
Overcoming Shame When You Took a Risk and It Didn’t Work Out
“Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.” ~Jack Kerouac
There was no denying it. I had reached a dead-end. A year and a half spent living in a southern town that was simply too small for me; it was time to go. I needed a city, preferably a large one filled with numerous opportunities for a budding young writer.
Ironically, the very day it dawned on me that it was time to move to a metropolitan area, love summoned me. It shouted to me from thousands of miles away, beckoning me to change the course of my travels.
My …
Microadventures: Get Away and Have Fun Without Traveling Far
“One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” ~William Feather
I live for exploring the world, trying new things, and meeting passionate people. As a filmmaker I’m very fortunate to be able to do all these things from time to time, and I just love it!
However, this is only a small part of my work. I also often find myself stuck in front of a computer for weeks at a time editing—no nature, no people, no exploring. Just me and a computer.
It’s easy to get bogged down by all …
5 Ways to Create a Life You Love Without Making a Major Change
“Some people thrive on dramatic change. Some people prefer the slow and steady route. Do what’s right for you.” ~Julie Morgenstern
Admit it.
You feel like something’s missing from your life.
You see people who have transformed their lives, given up their day jobs, and moved to exotic lands.
People who have created a new life and found whatever was missing from their previous humdrum existences.
But you don’t hate your life. You’re okay with a little humdrum. You like your responsibilities—your partner, kids, house, or job. The thought of the life you have stretching out in front of you …
5 Life-Changing Lessons You’re Never Too Old to Learn
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~Confucius
My son was only a year and a half old when I left his father and began my journey as a single parent. I never in a million years thought I would be raising my child alone. But away I went, with no clue as to what I was doing. I figured I’d learn as I went.
I knew I wasn’t going to be one of those moms that are too strict, too overbearing, and too controlling. I wanted my child to grow up with some freedom, some …
The Value of Following Your Dreams When They Don’t Make Money
“The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.” ~Unknown
Five years ago, in a move I wasn’t sure was so brilliant at the time, I quit my career at a rapidly growing ASX-listed financial services organization, packed up my life, and flew to Thailand to pursue my love of scuba diving.
I thought I was just going for twelve months, that I’d get it out of my system then return to Melbourne and settle down—get a job in the not-for-profit industry, buy a house, maybe get married and have kids, …
Trying Things That Scare You and Trusting You’ll Be Just Fine
“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.” ~William Arthur Ward
They say traveling is the one thing you buy that makes you richer, and I couldn’t agree more. When my yoga instructor first told me about the retreat she was planning in Cabo Matapalo, Costa Rica, I just knew I had to go. What I didn’t know, however, was just how much this trip would change my life for the better.
There’s something so magical about going somewhere you’ve never been before, especially when that place happens to be …
Eliminate These 5 Words to Create the Life of Your Dreams
“Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dreams.” ~Unknown
For years I felt nothing.
Nothing, that is, except bored at work, trapped in my marriage, uninspired in my educational pursuits, misunderstood by friends and family, and stuck in my hometown. I’d lay awake at night wondering what was wrong with me.
How did I manage to manifest the exact scenario I’d been trying so desperately to avoid?
As I reflected upon all the major decisions I’d made up until that point, it didn’t take long to realize what had happened: I’d spent so much time focusing on …
50 Ways to Open Your World to New Possibilities
“To get something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” ~Unknown
Maybe you feel stuck. Or bored. Or frustrated. It’s not that you don’t like the life you live, it’s just that you suspect there’s something more. Some greater sense of meaning or excitement. New connections. New adventures. New possibilities.
The truth is those possibilities are always within your reach. You may not be able to quit your job or develop new skills by osmosis, but every day contains within it countless opportunities, all dictated by the choices you make.
Some of those choices may seem …
6 Ways to Live a Life of Passion and Adventure Right Now
“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” ~Denis Waitley
I remember dreaming for years about living abroad. First it was Italy so that I could discover my roots. Then it was Fiji because it seemed like the furthest place from Los Angeles (which I actually did, but only for two months during the summer of 2003).
After Fiji, there was an eight-year gap that was full of college and Corporate America. My daily routine involved waking up early, working all day, and studying …
10 Simple Ways to Enjoy Life’s Journey More
“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.” ~Eckhart Tolle
I wake up. I take a look outside.
I take a breath in and just appreciate where this dream has taken me.
I want to be a ninja.
Yeah, it sounds a little strange.
Probably even weirder when I tell you I have a Master’s degree in education, am a former teacher, and I’m about to turn thirty.
You could call it a quarter life crisis, assuming I’ll live to be 120.
But I prefer to call it …
The World Needs You to Come Alive
“Don’t ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman
Three years ago, I found myself in the biggest predicament of my life.
I had finally found what made me happy. I knew that travel ignited a part of me that otherwise lay dormant. The foreign sights, sounds, flavors, and language of a new country are what make my heart pound, my blood pump, and my soul bloom.
I love everything about traveling, and how it impacts my life: the Greek …
Maybe We’ll Never Arrive
“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” ~Matsuo Basho
Once, one of my friends shared a line of wisdom that summed up the dance of wholeness and aspiration I often find myself absorbed in:
“Everything is quite all right; our worth secure and true. Everything’s not quite all right; we’ve worthy work to do…”
Part of the longing and neediness I tend to feel comes from a rift between who or where I am, and where I believe I should be to be “successful.”
My life has been colored by this dichotomy: the strange see-sawing dance …
The Tiny Risk-Taking Challenge
“A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.” – Unknown
Two years ago, I was sitting in my car thinking just after being laid off from the job I thought I’d probably spend the rest of my life doing. According to how these stories usually go, I should have been mad; I should have been scared; I should have wanted revenge.
But I didn’t feel any of these things. Instead, I felt an unexplainable happiness—like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. When the shock of the moment wore off, I realized why I …
The Fear of Change or the Thrill of Something New?
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~Andre Gide
I’ve lived in Virginia all my life. Pretty much all that I remember at least.
I was a young boy when my parents moved here from Long Island, New York—away from much of our family—because life in the place they had grown up just didn’t provide the opportunities necessary to support a family of six.
Since then, nearly my entire extended family has followed—most of my aunts and uncles, and their children, and their children. And though they may live in Virginia, …
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