ordinary2extreme

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

Last Tuesday night I went to a series of lectures organised by adventurer and inspirationalist extraodinaire Alastair Humphries called the Night of Adventure. The evening was in aid of the charity Hope and Homes for Children, of which Alastair is a Patron. He had lined up a number of adventurers to come along to the evening and gave them the task of speaking about their adventures in 6 minutes ( or 400 seconds) whilst their 20 slides rolled along behind them. the speakers included Arctic Explorer Rosie Stancer, round the world solo rowing, cycle and kayak sensation Sarah Outen MBE, The Turner Twins, the sparkling Anna McNuff and the extraordinary Kenton Cool.

Each speaker rose to the challenge, captivating the audience in their own style, recounting the ups and downs of their journeys or adventures, and in the case of Kenton Cool we also heard a poo related story. These extraordinary people claim they are ordinary – or at least – human after all, subject to the same kind of issues, doubts  and voices in our heads that we all have. For example, Sarah Outen who has rowed across the Pacific and the Atlantic solo is frightened of deep water!! but despite their ‘ordinariness’ they just got on and did it anyway.

Here’s what I learned:

1. You can’t NOT do something because you’re scared of failing
2. Life is too short – if not now, when?
3. Scare yourself sh*tless every once in a while – if possible do it regularly
4. Never, ever give in
5. Lie to yourself – its often best
6. Complacency leads to mediocrity and sometimes death
7. Always, always wear the most outrageous pants you can find
8. Have a good poo story up your sleeve