I came across this video of Steve Jobs giving the 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech and wanted to share it.

He talks about trusting that everything will work out and not settling for less than what you truly love in both your personal and professional life - revelent advice no matter your age or place in life. He makes a moving point about death and the need to let your heart and intuition, not the opinions/expectations of others, guide your choices.

What a beautiful message about the importance of courage and possibility!

Think big.

Do bigger.

Trust yourself.

Trust your gut feelings. 

Trust that it will work out. 

It will work out if you trust yourself.  

Your gut feeling is generally spot on.

Most people are good.

We have more in common than we think.

Home is not a place, but a feeling.

Big risks lead to big rewards (except for when betting).

The less you have, the more free you are. 

Planning is overrated and hardly necessary.

Age is irrelevant.

The sky is bigger in some parts of the world...

And so are the possibilities. 

My thoughts after 5 months traveling.     

Going into 2010 I had no idea what the New Year (and decade) had in store, but I was sure that it would be amazing! (Besides the fact that 2009 was one of the hardest years of my life, so anything had to be an improvement...) I decided to take lots and lots of time for myself to figure out my next move.

And it turned out I literally decided to move... to a place on the other side of the world where I’ve never been, and previously never really had a desire to visit. But through a random(?) series of events it was becoming more and more clear that I should go, and go sooner rather than later.

Now I’m standing on the edge of 2011 having sold 98% of my belongings, leaving a comfortable (and pretty awesome) life behind with only a vague idea of what’s to come. I have a series of one-way tickets that over the course of January will take me from the life I’ve built in the American Midwest to remote Western Australia.

This isn’t a quest to “find myself.” If I was unsure about who I am, I don’t think I’d be brave enough to take off on my own. I want to be a citizen of the world. I want to know what it’s like to live outside of the U.S. I want to know empathy and fulfillment and love. I want to dwell on the edge of my comfort zone. I’m ready for an adventure.

So many people have told me how they could never do what I'm doing. And maybe that's the case... if for no other reason than an open-ended trip around the world might not be the thing you want the most. But if you take the time to figure out what it is that you desire to do more than anything else in this world, I'd be willing to bet that you could do that. The possibilities are endless! 

I found the following excerpt in Bill Bryson's "I'm A Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away," and thought it was especially appropriate for this post, my adventure and the New Year: 

Take a moment from time to time to remember that you are alive. For endless eons there was no you. Before you know it, you will cease to be again. And in between you have this wonderful opportunity to see and feel and think and do. 

There are five billion other people on this planet, every one of them just as important, just as central to the great scheme of things, as you are. Don't ever make the horrible, unworthy mistake of thinking yourself more vital and significant than anyone else. 

Don't ever do anything on principle alone. If you haven't got a better reason for doing something other than the principle of the thing, then don't do it. 

Whatever it is you want to do in life, do it. There is nothing worse than getting to old age and saying, "I could have played second base for the Boston Red Sox but my dad wanted me to study law." Tell your dad to study law. You go climb Everest. 

Don't make the extremely foolish mistake of thinking that winning is everything. There is no shame in not winning. The shame is in not trying to win, which is of course another matter altogether. Above all, be gracious in defeat. 

Don't cheat. It's not worth it. Don't cheat on tests, don't cheat on your taxes, don't cheat on your partner, don't cheat at Monopoly, don't cheat at anything. Cheating is simply not worth it. 

Strive to be modest. It is much more becoming. 

Be happy. It's not that hard. You have a million things to be happy about. 

You have your whole life ahead of you. But here's the thing to remember. You will always have your whole life ahead of you. That never stops and you shouldn't forget it. 

I sincerely hope that 2011 brings you an abundance of peace, love, joy and adventure. Be brave. Be bold. Be nice. Love life. And most importantly, Never Settle! 

Cheers!  

For the past six months I've been planning my escape to Australia. I figured I'd save up some money for a year or so and then take off for the Outback and never look back. 

Then life happened, plans changed and all of the sudden I didn't have a job. Deep down I knew the timeline for my trip had just moved up considerably. I contemplated my options if I stayed in Omaha. I could do some freelance writing and get certified to teach yoga (both things I'd been putting off because of my full-time job). I thought about finding short-term contract work or trying to work for the non-profit I volunteered with. 

People kept asking what I would do about my trip. Did I have enough money saved? Would I leave sooner? I devoted an entire day to contemplating what I should do.

I knew I had to just go for it! I'd never have a cleaner break, and more importantly I'd always be able to find excuses to wait. There would always be some interesting, lucrative opportunity or event that I'd be missing out on. I called my immediate family and best friends to break the news. I figured once I'd said it out loud I was committed. 

My best friend said she wasn't surprised and then immediately asked for the bookshelf in my living room. My dad said he'd learn to use Skype. My sister was pissed that I'd miss her 21st birthday. My guilt was quickly tempered by the fact that she missed my 21st birthday. So what if she was only 14... My mom cried. My brother was excited to have a place to crash in Australia. Overall, everyone was extremely supportive. 

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. It's been really exciting and occasionally terrifying. I have no idea what the future holds, but for the first time in my life I'm in a position to do exactly what I want, whenever I want, wherever I want... and the possibilities are endless. 

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music."  

--- Angela Monet

Be sure in your steps even if you're the only one who can feel the rhythm in your soul. It's easy to get discouraged when others don't share (or can't understand) your vision. But keep it up and eventually you just might win the ultimate dance off that we call "life". At the very least you'll always be at an awesome dance party!

I've been called a perfectionist and an overachiever more than once in my life. It's just my nature. A big part of it is that I don't like to disappoint people. 

I, like most perfectionists, want to do it all and be everything to everyone. And, (at least I think) I usually manage to pull it off. But I'm tired. I'm talking really tired...most of the time.

I think my biggest downfall is that I hate to say "No." Don't get me wrong, I do it, but I almost always feel guilty about it. If someone asks me for something, even if it's a simple invitation for a cocktail (Ok, especially if it's an invitation for a cocktail) I generally accept. 

Combine my reluctance to say "No" with the fact that I'm one of the most social people on the planet and the result is that I maybe get 2 days/nights during any given month to do exactly what I want...No obligations to anyone else. 

Lately, I've begun to realize that this ratio of time devoted to others vs. time devoted to me has to change. I can't continue to run on empty just because I don't want to disappoint others. My hunch is that the people who matter the most to me will understand. No guilty feelings necessary. 

I don't think this will be an easy transition, but I feel it is a necessary one. As I said in my post Never Settle!, if you don't take the time to put yourself first, then who else will?

This is my vow to make, and when necessary to take, time for myself in a quest to live a more balanced and fulfilled life. I hope that you will, too. 

I'm willing to bet that all of us have heard (or said) this line at some point in our lives. We use this line when we're trying to soften the blow of rejection. When we're trying to justify our actions and lead others to believe that whatever is happening is not their fault.

We use this line when there are feelings on the line. When we're trying to take the blame so that we don't feel bad about potentially hurting someone else's feelings. But has hearing this ever actually made anyone feel better?

I think that anyone on the receiving end who truly believes this statement, already believed it before the other person said it. You're either good at rejection or you're not. You either understand that it's not always about you and things don't happen according to your plans (and desires) a lot of the time...or you don't. 

I think accepting rejection is an integral part of finding contentment in one's life. Don't think of rejection as a bad thing, but as an opportunity to practice resiliency....an opportunity to learn, grow and become stronger as a person. Rejection builds character.

 I'm proud to be a REJECT, and hopefully you are too!  

I'm excited to share a new project I'm working on! It's a website devoted solely to my travels - photos, stories of the people I meet, resources, etc. I'll write about my preparations for my departure to Australia over the next year. 

Check it out here. I hope you enjoy!

"That is the charm of a map. It represents the other side of the horizon where everything is possible." -- Rosita Forbes  

No really, I already have everything I need....and odds are you do too.

This has been my mantra for quite some time now, but over the last year I've really begun to internalize it. I'm a pretty simple person. I'm easily entertained and material things have never been that important to me. 

Of course there are things I like to indulge myself with (handbags, good wine and beer), however I've never owned a brand new car or piece of furniture. I never pay full price for anything and I love second-hand stores.

Beyond material things, I've learned that most of what I need in life I can provide for myself. Often times we look to external things (people, money, stuff, drugs, alcohol, sex) to fulfill our wants and "needs". But if we aren't fulfilled from within none of these things will ever be truly satisfying and the effects will be fleeting.

External validation is nice every now and then, but it's so much more rewarding when that validation is just reinforcing what we already know about ourselves, not defining our existence.

Gratitude has played a very important role in my journey of acceptance. In my earlier post on Gratitude I offered some practical steps for exercising gratitude in your life. The more I've focused on what I have as opposed to what I want or don't have, the more I've realized that I already have everything I need.

Furthermore, because I feel that all my needs are met, I'm better able to share and give of myself to those around me. Which has become especially important for me as I prepare to leave Omaha for good and travel the world next year.

I'm not a religious person, but I do believe (and my personal experience has shown) that the universe provides you with the means to fulfill your true needs. Unfortunately most people overlook this because they're too distracted obsessing over what they think they don't have. 

If you focus on being grateful instead of the things you want and don't have I think you may be surprised to find that you too already have everything that you need.