I got a bit of a shock this morning when I went to a local school in Wallasey to give a motivational talk. I was expecting maybe twenty to thirty students! I had about 120!! So definitely one of the largest groups I’ve talked with. They were all aged about sixteen to seventeen years old and had just done AS Levels.
I talked a lot about my travels and some of the adventures I’d been on and what I’d learned from the different experiences. I’ll share with you a few of the key points I hope the students got from the talk.
- Opportunities - Take advantage of the opportunities when they come along. They may not always be there. So don’t miss out! Many of the opportunities that come your way are going to be outside of your comfort zone, don’t let this stop you.
- Keep facing forward, look to where you want to go. This was especially relevant when I was cycling down Death Road in Bolivia. In essence, keep your goal in mind. Go after what you want and don’t get distracted and go off course.
- Don’t give up on your dream or your goal. Most people stop when they’re so close to getting what they want. The hardest bit after starting, is just before you finish, when you’re so close to to getting everything. This is when you need to keep on pushing forward, keeping making progress and not give up.
- From climbing and reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro, I know it’s not always about the end goal, but it’s always about the journey you’re on to reach it. I’ve learnt a huge amount from all of the challenges I’ve done and I always learnt the most while I was on the journey. Reaching and achieving your goal is just the icing on the cake!
Some feedback on my talk!
Thank you so much for giving such an inspiring talk to our Year 12 students. Your exciting stories certainly gave them much to think about! It was interesting to hear how your adventures have taught you so many life lessons - from 'always look ahead to your goal', to making sure that you 'do things that are outside of your comfort zone'. We would like to wish you all the best for your future adventures!
L. Bainbridge - Weatherhead High School - Wallasey, Wirral