Monday 26 May 2014

Motivational Monday


Living life to the fullest. What does that mean to you?
I think it means different things to different people. For some it may be to travel the world and experience as many different cultures and places as they can. For others, it may be to embark on parenthood and be the best parent they can be. Then there are the ones who are the adventurers and adrenaline junkies, going skydiving, rock climbing, deep sea fishing, or braving the elements in other, more inventive ways than I can think of.
Embarking on careers that are challenging may be the definition for others yet - climbing the career ladder, leading people, maybe, hopefully making a difference.

Whatever it may be, knowing what it is for you is the first big step towards a happy and fulfilled life. Some people may find it easy and know what they want; others, myself included, needed longer to figure it out.

Yesterday I got lucky: I hit a series of fortunate links, and found a whole bunch of great, inspirational people. I love when that happens. Let me take you on my little journey that rocked my world: First, I came across this pin. Anything blogging-related catches my attention right away, so I had a look.
Amongst the many really great pieces of advice was this one: to write a manifesto. Which is something that I have never considered, but have to do! It's always good to define one's goals, and putting it into words is the best way for me to visualize it.
Anyway, the author mentioned this man: Chris Guillebeau. He wrote a pretty famous (I think) and ass-kicking manifesto: A Brief Guide To World Domination. The gist is this: Chris started a blog in 2008 that was sort of a movement: The Art of Non-Conformity. It's about standing out in a sea of mediocrity, choosing an unconventional path as opposed to the broad conventional one, and achieving your wildest dreams.
This is right up my alley!

I haven't read too much yet, but what I found out so far is this: Chris has travelled to all 193 countries! He's only a little bit older than me, 35 years, which is simply crazy. He published two books, has been self-employed all his life, and writes a lot about how you can achieve that as well, if you want to. Like I said, I have just begun to find out more, so if you are interested, check him out!

In the manifesto, Chris mentions several people, and I want to share one with you: The late Randy Pausch, who was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 45, and when he was told he only had a few months to live, gave his famous "last lecture" about "really achieving your childhood dreams".
Guys, it's amazing. He is funny, self-deprecating, and incredibly inspiring. This video below has been viewed over 16 million times on youtube since 2008, and you should watch it too.
It's over an hour long, so grab yourself a cup of tea and get comfortable: I promise, it's worth it!

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Inspired by these people, I have been toying with the idea to start a series here: Motivational Mondays. It's just an idea, and I wanted to ask you guys: Would you be interested in something like that?
Right now I envision sharing inspiring people, success stories, unconventional ways of living.
But I'm wide open to ideas: What else would you be interested to see here? Interviews? Introducing new bloggers? Something else I haven't even considered? Let me know in the comments!

America, enjoy your Monday off. (Jealous!)
The rest of the world: Ease yourself back into work, and treat yourself a little!

Lots of love, Miriam

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5 comments

  1. We're enjoying a Monday off over here in England too! Love this idea for a series. I've been thinking of writing a manifesto. Though I find I'm needing lots of time to just mull it over in my head first!

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    Replies
    1. Tell me about it, these things are hard! I'm jotting down ideas, but it may take a while before it's done.
      I'm glad you had a day off yesterday, I hope it was a good one!
      Thank you so much for stopping by! :-)

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  2. I like goals but I also like to be able to change my mind :) I think it is a great idea! Who doesn't need a little extra inspiration in their lives.

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  3. I always enjoy watching The Last Lecture. When I was in charge of the Apprenticeship program at my old work, I'd always make the apprentices watch it.

    And I love the idea of Motivational Monday! Inspiration and motivation are always welcome in my world!!

    -Amy

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  4. I always love a good motivational speech. I look forward to watching this tonight (I'm babysitting so have to get 3 kids to bed first)!! I'm trying to reach for my dreams right now so I'm really excited to see what Randy had to say :)

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