A day or two after the Night of Adventure talks I received an email. It made me chuffed that the event had achieved both its aims: to raise money for charity, and to inspire ordinary people to chase adventures of their own through pointing out that those of us who do adventures are not really any different to people who do not. We just do stuff.

I replied to the email, and asked whether I could post it on my blog.

Next day, I received a reply,

“Having given it some thought, I am more than happy for you to publish my email. If it encourages just one person who doesn’t like their job and is a bit miserable to get off their arse and go and do something that scares them a little, then I would be proud.”

So, here it is. An email that I hope might resonate with someone.

Hi Alastair,

I attended the Night of Adventure, and firstly I would like to say that it was a fantastic event, and it really spoke to me.  Three weeks ago, I completed a charity bike ride from London to Paris and I raised over £2300 for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group.  It was, without a doubt, the biggest and most challenging thing I have done in my life to date.

At the talk, one of the speakers opened his story with him standing outside his office, having a cigarette, and seeing a man run past. The man looked so full of life, and so healthy, that the speaker put out his cigarette, and took up running.  He then went on to tell the most inspirational story. 

This time last year, I smoked 15 a day, I was about 2 stone heavier, I did nothing more energetic than walking to the pub, and frankly I had very little respect for myself.  Then I went for a weekend with friends, and had a shot on a bike for the first time in my adult life. And I was hooked.  I have since quit smoking, become so much fitter, happier and healthier than I ever thought possible. And I just cycled almost 300 miles in 4 days, something I would never have thought I could do before!

I thought that this would be where my ‘adventuring’ ends; I would just go back to work, and get on with life. However, the Night of Adventure has made me realise that I am not done.  So, today I signed up to do another bike ride, this time from London to Amsterdam and then on to Brussels.  The ride is in May next year, so I have a busy year training and fundraising.

I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone involved in Night of Adventure. Having spent the last 10-15 years dealing with depression and struggling with life’s challenges, it was a great night, and it really put some things in perspective for me.  

All the very best, 

J

What about you?
Would you like to try an adventure this summer?
Watch this short little video: I hope it will encourage you to give one a go…