Brock { Abroad }

If you’re just tuning in to this site, check out the post below this titled a.pilgrim{process}
What Do You Want to Do?

I started with the easiest. I wrote down my hobbies. In other words, I wrote down what I like to do. Grab a pen and paper and follow along

Here’s what I came up with:
Bartending and waiting tables. Traveling. Collecting rocks, shells, scraps of paper, coins, stamps, and new information. Writing. Theatre. Acting. Working as a barista. Meeting new people. Reading and learning; particularly about philosophy, ancient civilizations, counterculture, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and more esoteric studies. I also like cooking, cookies, and quotes.

These things are things that I am also very good at, but I decided to look at past jobs, volunteer, and/or travel experience I’d had to brainstorm any more skills I was possibly missing.

I worked at numerous coffee houses, where I learned: people skills, costumer service, and work ethic.
I worked as a court interpretation consultant and language teacher, where I learned the skill of effective communication across cultures.
I worked at numerous restaurants and bars where I continued to perfect the art of conversation but also started at looking at people as a network.
Because of my travel and work experience, I speak fluent Spanish and intermediate French.
I volunteered at a clinic doing manual labor for a construction project where I learned hard work and reinforced personal responsibility. I also interviewed the majority of staff members for the website, and furthered my global communication skills while also learning to better connect with people.

Ok, all this has happened over recent years. That’s important, but what about this past week? I figure that the recent past is also important, so I think back to what I’ve done in the past few weeks:

I’ve gone out for drinks, cooked pasta, watched films, gone grocery shopping, had some great conversations with new people, taken a bike ride, interviewed someone, read, wrote, ate, taken photos in the city.

That’s good, but where did these interests come from? I think back to what I was involved in back in secondary school.

I liked to volunteer and did it often through my involvement with student government. I worked with elderly people at a nursing home and learned to listen to their remarkable stories. I was in Model United Nations and still have a huge interest in global affairs and politics. I also participated in Mock Congress to better understand the political system. I expressed a more artistic side in theater and speech, where I was a champion dramatic speaker. Finally, I helped the wheels in my brain moving by running on the track team. I realize I don’t run any more and end up thinking of other things I also want to re- focus on this year.
Ok, back to the big picture. Ask yourself:

What do you want to get out of life?
I want to travel, help people, and always be learning.

Try to be as succinct as possible when writing this one sentence. Because it really should be one all-encompassing, but direct sentence. With that, we’ll begin to plan our course of attack!

Suddenly, with the blank page in front of you, that fear of failure begins to start in and you begin to feel overwhelmed… You’re thinking: “I’m making new year’s resolutions that I’m bound to break!!?” Just write the list in ink, no need to sign in blood…

a,b,c. plus d- on Goals:

a)they do not rule your life, they create purpose for it
If you’re making this list and beginning to feel like you are placing a net around yourself that can only be cut after admitting defeat, you’re not making the right goals.

b)they are dreams with a deadline, but deadlines are not bad because some stress is actually good. Did you know that?
Stress is just the way we respond to change, and if you’re really making a list of goals, or things you want to change in your life, a certain amount of stress is required. As an actor, I get nervous before going on stage if I can’t feel those “butterflies in the stomach” that come with nerves. This goes back to the key strategy in life: learning how to manage time seriously and elegantly.The trick is keeping that synergy, or balance in mind, and making your goals work for you and not against you. Set reasonable deadlines and make frequent (and I mean weekly) benchmarks to mark your progress. Which brings me to the next point:

c)the race to the deadline is only with yourself, so think realistically and intelligently when developing a plan to achieve these goals.
Remember, this is where momentum comes in.

d)yes, develop a plan; goals are of no value if treated like an entry on a to-do list
believe everything is possible, and it is. write down each step it would take to become the president of Uzbekistan and begin to do them, one at a time, until you have won the election.

Ok, this makes me feel a bit better. Now, it’s time to dive in. Taking Chris’ advice, I organize my list of goals for the year into categories. These categories can be however you’d like to make them. Look at this as the beginning of making a great harmony between the big story of you and the big story of what you want to become. I make the following categories: Friends and Family, Service Work, Travel, Spiritual, Health, Learning, Financial, Writing, Business

With each category you’ve decided to use, take the time to write about 3-5 goals you’d like to accomplish. I won’t share all my categories, here, but I will share the ones that more directly pertain to my website. My success in this project depends on achieving these goals, so I really want to be held accountable by going public. I suggest you do the same when taking on this challenge.
Congratulations! You’re one step closer to defining your own path of pilgrimage! Now,  here’s another big question that may not be too easy to digest:

What can you offer the world that no one else can?

It was not easy to answer this question, but I’ve found from personal experience that getting there is always the hardest part, but once you have the answer, it’s all downhill from there. I promise.  What if you don’t know? You don’t think that you have anything completely unique to offer up? Remember: there is no one else in this entire universe that is exactly like you with the exact same experiences and personality you have. Maybe now would be a good moment to go for a walk or do some stretching, but you may find yourself in need of either stepping away from the process or stepping closer to it by reading your progress so far. All I’m trying to say is: Don’t just find an answer. You would score better to leave it blank in this game.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”

-Goethe

What is definite, however, is that once you begin see yourself as an individual capable of doing absolutely anything and begin to to consciously take control of that, you’ll be able to embrace any challenge elegantly. So here I am. Can you feel the magic, too?
My walkin’ shoes are ready and the bag is packed!  Let’s start this pilgrimage! If you allow yourself to awaken something calling you from deep within, you will find yourself experiencing one of the most freeing moments of your life as it used to be…

Related posts:

1. a.pilgrim{process}
2. Apples&Chocolate
3. My “Mastermind Group”
4. abroad{process}a.5
5. on energy and ‘doing’