Shouting from my shed

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Throng La Pass Nepal
 

The fear you feel is not a red flag.

The question I’mve been asked the most since I began the Grand Adventures campaign is along the lines of “how can women have big adventures?”

So I asked Kim Dinan to share the story of how she went from ‘normal woman’ to ‘full-time adventuring woman’…

Rickshaw Run India

‘œListen’”are you breathing just a little and calling it life?’ ‘“Mary Oliver

Back in 2009 I was your typical 9-5 cubicle worker. And while things looked great from the outside, on the inside I was immensely unsatisfied with the trajectory of my life. As a child, teenager and even a university student, I’md dreamed of writing and traveling the world. But somehow my dreams had been moved to the backburner as I chased the traditional model of success. I owned a house, car and a bunch of fancy outdoor gear, but I wasn’t happy.

So I hatched a plan to turn my life into a never-ending adventure.

Over the course of three years I saved every penny, slowly sold my possessions, started a blog and took as many freelance writing jobs as I could find (which weren’t very many). And then I took a terrifying leap of faith.

It was the best decision I’mve ever made.

For the next 20 months I traveled to 20 countries on 5 continents. I swam with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands, drank directly out of mountain streams in Patagonia, drove a three-wheeled rickshaw through India, bicycled through Vietnam and trekked through the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. There is so much more. The small moments, the interactions with the amazing people and animals on this globe, were just as important and life changing as the big ones.

I’mve recently returned back to the United States because I was offered a job with an outdoor magazine. For the next seven months I’mll be driving around 35 U.S. states delivering presentations about backpacking, travel gear and adventure. It’s the sort of thing I would have never been qualified for had I not followed my passion out of my front door and into the world.

If I could tell only one thing to those of you sitting on the edge with your legs dangling over into the terrifying abyss of your own biggest dreams it is this: The fear you feel is not a red flag. The fear does not mean, STOP. The fear is there because your dream matters to you more than anything and, in risking big, you’ve put a lot on the line. Don’t let the fear stop you. Keep going.

This matters to me so deeply that I wrote a book called Life On Fire about how I went about bringing my dreams to life. It is filled with practical steps everyone can take to reach their biggest dreams too.

When it comes down to it I didn’t have any idea about the practicalities of this adventure. I didn’t know where I would go, how I would get visas, where I would find hostels or who I would meet along the way. These logistics work themselves out when you are out there on the road. I know they are the kind of thing that seem overwhelming before you leave but, once you are out there, they will fall into place.

I followed this dream because I was scared of the person I would become if I didn’t at least try. I knew that success wasn’t guaranteed but that I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t give my dream the best shot I possibly could. And I’mm so glad I did.

You can follow my adventures on my blog: www.so-many-places.com.

Throng La Pass Nepal

My new book, Grand Adventures, is out now.
It’s designed to help you dream big, plan quick, then go explore.
The book contains interviews and expertise from around 100 adventurers, plus masses of great photos to get you excited.

I would be extremely grateful if you bought a copy here today!

I would also be really thankful if you could share this link on social media with all your friends – http://goo.gl/rIyPHA. It honestly would help me far more than you realise.

Thank you so much!

Grand Adventures Cover

 

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Comments

  1. “I was scared of the person I would become if I didn’t at least try”
    I think I might already be that person. I seriously need to back track!

    Reply
  2. That quote resonates! I had copied it whilst reading the article and then I see Zoe had posted the same thing!

    “I followed this dream because I was scared of the person I would become if I didn’t at least try.”

    So much wrapped up in so few words.

    Reply

 
 

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