Alastair Humphreys coined the idea of a “microadventure”, which is talks about in his Do Lecture. Its the idea of while you can’t always trek through Bhutan, you can have great adventures and good times with friends ANY weekend wherever you are in the world. This video shows what appears to be a great way of life. Very inspirational in the way its about just going and making the most of what you have. The video shows a very idealistic day paddling up the Pembrokeshire coast in search of a secluded beach to camp. Watching seals and dolphins, catching fish and crabs, cooking on a campfire and sleeping on the beach.
Music: Restless Feet – Danny and the Champions of the World
Everyone knows Jamie Oliver and his School Dinners program here in the UK. However he is now trying to do the same in the US. He won a TED Talk award, which this speech is for. TED Talks are basically the American version of The Do Lectures. Inspirational talks and lectures on a variety of topics. Jamie is trying to make change to the way kids eat at school and at home, and pushing for an American equivalent of EU food labelling. Its a huge task but as he says its about small steps spreading.
For me, Tim Ferriss, author of Four Hour Work Week, is arguably the man who set me off with wanting to do things, and making you realise anything is possible. In his book, the idea of Dreamlining symbolises this perfectly. A dreamline is setting a “dream” and then breaking it down into steps to make it reality. Whether its driving a Ferrari, or holding a conversation in Chinese with a local. While no doubt Tim is now very successful, he still keeps his ideas of living well and spending time on things he wants to do.
Tim’s book, Four Hour Work Week, is in my eyes essential reading. Its a great non-fiction book. Get it now, it will change your life if you follow!
I first came across Alastair Humphreys from stumbling across the Do Lectures. The Do Lectures are basically a load of amazing people talking about great things they have done and what inspired them to do as such. This one by Alastair, who biked around the world for 4 years. He has also done many great, what he calls, “microadventures” like walking around the M25, and more recently Sea kayaking in Pembrokeshire. We both have met him, and he is a great guy. He has also completed the marathon des sables which my friend Will and his twin Jim are doing in 2012. I really like his ideas on taking a picture everyday, as it means you did something that was worth remembering. Also the idea of “when was the last time you did something new”.
Alastair has raced a yacht across the Atlantic Ocean and canoed 500 miles down the Yukon River as well as walking the length of the holy Kaveri river in India.
Alastair has published three books, with one more due by the end of 2009. (He has also written chapters for Lonely Planet’s ‘Flightless’ anthology, the Adventure Cycling Handbook, Stanorama and The Traveller’s Handbook. He ran the Marathon des Sables, finishing as one of the ten fastest Brits despite breaking his foot during the race. To fight off the wanderlust Alastair managed a sub-3-hour marathon, had a miserable time during the Original Mountain Marathon, the Devizes to Westminster 120-mile canoe marathon and another one during Tough Guy. Travelling round the World Cup in a camper van was much more fun.
After spending a year teaching 10-year-old boys in a school’s Special Needs department, Alastair is now training for the Bob Graham Round and preparing for SOUTH, the first unsupported return journey to the South Pole and the longest unsupported polar journey in history. In February 2009 he rowed to France with Major Phil Packer, a soldier paralysed in Iraq, as part of Phil’s attempt to raise £1million for Help for Heroes.
camp. Watching seals and dolphins, catching fish and crabs, cooking on a campfire and sleeping on the beach.
