Summer Road Trip 2017 - Packrafting Mountain Lakes

July 17, 2017

There is something about a mountain lake that draws you in. It is in a sense the ultimate in doing something simply because it is there. Paddling out into the middle of the lake is often largely pointless, it is not wide enough to pose a physical challenge and it doesn’t take you anywhere, in the way that a river might.

It does however offer a genuinely new viewpoint and I think it is this which is so attractive to me. I have always walked around mountain lakes in awe of their beauty but it is only recently that I have discovered the true joy that is to be found on the water.

Summer Road Trip 2017 - Bobotov Kuk, Durmitor [Video]

July 15, 2017

It was a superb day, which started off cold and misty but was soon bathed in sunshine. The array of flowers in Durmitor National Park is absolutely spectacular and the climb itself gives equally stunning views.

Amazingly a stray dog which was kicking around the car park followed some other people to the very top. Perhaps she has climbed this mountain more than any other living creature!

The view from the summit is uninterrupted as Bobotov Kuk totally d

How Will You Adventure in the Summer Holidays? [Video]

July 4, 2017

A bit of an in-betweeny random post today but I am just back from a short climbing trip in the Alps (Trip report here) and we are now days away from our summer holiday adventures beginning.

As I discussed the trip with my daughter over the weekend I also had the chance to reflect on the past month in which it would not be an overstatement to say that she has been "learning" to adventure.

Testing video content [Video]

April 13, 2017

Video is already important and will continue to become more so, especially on mobile devices. Nobody with an online presence can deny this importance and all small business and brands should be looking at ways of engaging with their audience and customers through video.

Video in an email leads to 200-300% increase in click through rate [→]
75 million people in US watch videos online, every day [→]
Video on a landing page can increase conversions by up to 80% [→]
Embedded video on websites can increase traffic by up to 55% [→]

Different generations. Back in '93, when being really, really thin and pale was cool!

Morphine & Memories

March 9, 2017

Morphine and Memories. It's all I seem to have these days.

Ok, perhaps a tad dramatic but I am writing this hunched and twisted in agony. Another night of fitful sleep saw me turn up to ER at 06:30 this morning seeking pain relief. I am pinned by a trapped nerve in my back which is particularly excruciating. It means that yet another week goes by in which I cannot get close to doing what I want; namely spending time outdoors. Walking boots gather dust and a new packraft lies deflated and unloved.

Time for a Power Thank You! [Video]

February 24, 2017

I recently came across something called the "Power Thank You", courtesy of Mark Goulston (American Psychiatrist and Consultant to Major Organisations). You will find this short quotation from Goulston’s book Just Listen, all over the internet, but here it is:

"if you’re deeply grateful to someone who’s done an exceptional favor for you, you need to express that emotion by going beyond the plain words ‘thank you’ and instead offer a Power Thank You. When you do this, your words will generate strong feelings of gratitude, respect, and affinity in the other person”.

This is as valid outside the workplace as it is in, and today, back from our travels in Thailand, I would like to say a power thank you to someone who made a difference in my daughter’s life, and therefore mine.

Travel Planning

February 8, 2017

When I first met my wife I remember her telling me about the happiness she derives from planning travel. Believe it or not it is a simple pleasure I had long neglected, at least since the days of my late teens or early twenties when I still used up valuable hours imagining myself on classic Alpine routes… instead of actually being on classic Alpine routes.

Now, in this year of transformation, I find myself in a position to plan a number of interesting travels which in turn I intend to intersperse with smaller adventures. Next weekend we travel to Thailand and with us shall go a few guidebooks of the countries that make up what was once Yugoslavia (Ex-Yu).

Making Your Life Adventurous: Mind Over Money

January 11, 2017

Last week I outlined some travels and adventures I am planning in 2017. Someone said to me this week that it was easy to make a life more adventurous when the financial strains are not so pressing. Whilst there can be some truth in this, I think its more down to the individual's mindset and it isn't just our wallets that can make us "stop imaging and start living".

When I turned 18 I was under the illusion that to have really big epic adventures you needed bags of money. I saw friends travel around the world and have amazing experiences and I figured it was something I could never do.

Challenges for 2017

January 5, 2017

I am writing this from Seville, the capital of Andalusia.

A year and half ago I spent a magical few days in this region with my family and some close friends. I was at a lowish point in terms of my working life and the seeds of my idea to change the way I work were first sewn...

In praise of my back yard.

October 3, 2016

I say my back yard - it could be your back yard.

Some time ago I wrote a blog post on the benefit of longer term travel planning on my mental health and my family’s happiness. This still rings true and barely a day passes by when one of us doesn’t mention forthcoming trips to Italy, Spain or Thailand. However the only downside to this wanderlust is that home tends to be neglected. We fail to see what is around us because we are craving what is further afield.

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