There are a few things rambling around in my head this morning.  The first is that today is the deadline for contributors!  I mean it - if you haven't sent me an email with your intentions and let me know if you are going to be a bit late on the submission of your blurb/photo than you have missed out.  Right now we have 18 awesome people who managed to get their 'stuff' together - what are you waiting for???!!!  (I also have 4 other people who are sending me stuff this weekend).    So - long story short - if you want in...  you need to email me today!!!

Now for the other big thing rambling around in my head; I have realized that I am way too hard on myself!  I had this great conversation yesterday with a mentor of mine who is currently finishing her PhD at Fielding right now and she brought up the concept of balance... of leading a full life or just being busy to feel like you have  a full life. 

Women are particularly bad at this game as we take on far too much!   And then when we let something slide like our health, we blame ourselves and then the cycle repeats!   Apparently one of the biggest regrets of female executives is taking on far too much and missing important moments in their lives. 

So I have decided that I need to be nicer to myself.  Stop beating myself up for missing a workout or not vacuuming the house or deciding to do nothing.   I feel like I have a bit more time that is going to be full on but I am also going to schedule more time off in my calendar when I don't have to worry about anything. 

Today's Lesson: Be nicer to yourself!!!  You ARE awesome!   

One of the programs I took advantage of for my very first expat experience in 1998 was the working holiday visa program that was offered by Australia.  I chose Australia because I was quite apprehensive about the entire living abroad experience.  At the time I figured that they spoke English, it was a former British Colony (like Canada) and it also looked great on a postcard!  I couldn't get any further from Toronto!   My first week there was an introduction into the world of Jet Lag and also hostels.... not sure I still like either one!  As I settled in I found that even though the countries are similar, there were still cultural adjustment points, culture clashes and a little bit of homesickness. 

Now, 16 years later I am happy to report that I have lived in a total of 8 countries and traveled to another 31; I am comfortable landing anywhere in the world and enjoy the challenges of cultural integration!  So, if you are thinking about getting out there, do some research and take off!  You never know where it will take you  :)

http://global-goose.com/travel-tips/working-holiday-visas-for-canadians/

When I was finishing school I decided to go and move London and study a course that a guy I fancied was studying, awesome move, right? Needless to say that didn’t last long and before I knew I had dropped out of university and was pondering what to do with my life. I started working to pay off student debt and to get some cash together to travel.

I decided New York was the best place to start. Before healing over a good friend of mine gave me a travel journal and wrote in it “make every moment count” this really made me think, was I living life to its fullest? As a uni drop out I was constantly being told I would never amount to anything and that I needed to go and get a ‘real’ job as at the time I was working as a waitress. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this for a living and didn’t pay attention to the seemingly older and wiser folk in my life.

10 years on and I have become extremely successful in my line of work – hospitality. I have traveled the world for in various roles and have amazing opportunities due to my job. I may have left uni and decided to start a new route to success but I did what I wanted to do. I am glad that I didn’t give into pressure and end up working a job that I didn’t love. I didn’t need to study to get to where I am now, I needed to work my ass off, which I did. Now I am taking time to change careers all over again, I have had my moment in hospitality and have decided it’s time for a change again. I am going to try something completely new, I don’t want to be one of those people who gets up and goes to work and has no passion. I know so many of them.

Live the life you love. Your passion should be your compass. Figure out what you LOVE to do and use this as your map for happiness. I live a life where my aim is to make the world a happier place by helping people change their negative self talk to more positive loving banter. Our constant negative chatter can create limiting beliefs (oh I hate that term) which give rise to self defeating behaviors, which affect your results that help reinforce the behavior, which leads to more negative thoughts,! AHHHHHH, it’s a vicious circle of negativity and we don’t go and do what we want to do due to the fear we have created in our own heads… now how silly does that sound?

I’m so excited to be a part of the project 20 and am here should any of you need help along your journey to awesomeness.

One of our contributors, Julia Kerrigan, posted this on her blog this week and invited me to share it here...  enjoy the read and if you want to see her blog click HERE.

Twenty is an age of blue sky possibility. Rarely is twenty old enough to have screwed up your life and often it is a time that any choice you make can be a formative one. It is exciting and tough all at once.

I remember thinking I had it all figured out at twenty. I was getting educated, I was young enough to  not be worried about what career I would have, I just knew I would have a good one, what ever I ended up doing. I wasn't worried about buying a house or how I would pay my mortgage, when I would get married or to who, though I was really interested in having a boyfriend and not getting anywhere quickly with that. I made job choices for the love of the work, not for where it would might take me, and never for the money, they took me amazing places.

My youth, wanderlust and encouraging parents made the world a place full of curiosity and possibility. I stood in nothing and everything was was available to me.

The 20 Project was founded by someone who has been a huge part of my journey. She was my first camp counsellor, a time in my life that had a huge affect on who I would become. She was also there for me when I decided to leave the first career I loved, but no longer served me, to go back to school. Of her many projects I feel so lucky to be a part of this one. The main page of the website reads "Advice from the other side of 20... a collection of memoirs, journeys and wisdom from around the world".  Collaborators from all over the globe of varying ages providing their thoughts on what it meant to be 20 and what they would tell those embarking on their third decade of life.

This might get you thinking about a simpler time, or a time when it was hard to make ends meet, or a when the challenges of life included getting up for 8:30am archeology class on a friday. It might make you remember what drove you before life became strangely more complicated and that may start to trickle back into how you make decisions. Whatever it does, I hope you will check out The 20 Project. Hilary is still looking for contributors for 11 more short days and we are all looking for a little sold wisdom and a few tales of adventure.

This link was sent to me by Mariska Richters, who is currently raising money through kick-starter to fund her Sochi Olympic Spirit Photo Project ... 

So in the spirit of the 20 project, here is the article link ->12 Things I would say to my 20 something self

Good Morning Contributors!!   As of today we have 15 people that will be contributing to the project and I am expecting 3 more next week.  This is so great! 

As promised I have put together a 'writers guide' to help solve some of that writers block...  Remember your deadline is the 31st of March 2014 but I suggest that you get this done while it is top of mind.  There is nothing like procrastinating till the last min - but we are looking for quality here  :)

Also - any contributions to this blog would be appreciated!   Have a great week.
Cheers, Hilary

Hey Everyone,  just a quick Friday update!  I am working on a writers guide to help you with the expectations on the writing part - I will have that posted on this blog early next week. 

I am still accepting contributors, I would love to get at LEAST 5 more people!   I have a few in the pipeline that I am following up with... 

Have a great weekend,
Hilary

So, this morning I felt a little bit blah.   Nothing in particular, mostly the usual feeling of being tired and the work week drawing to a close type blah. 

However, inspiration comes in many forms and I opened my Facebook account this morning and a good friend of mine in New Zealand had posted a set of pictures from when I lived with her and a crew of very good friends in Auckland in 2003.   **Instant warm and fuzzy feeling!** 

I still can't believe how far I have come in the 10 years since those pictures were taken but the interesting thing is that I count those people among my best friends.  I don't see them very often but I know that if I ever needed them they will be there for me!  

I think this is an integral part of the 20 project.  The ability to look back and reflect on events that have positively shaped our livesstrangers we have met who have turned into lifelong friends and allow us to look forward to new adventures to come. 

Happy Thursday!
Hilary

p.s.  I have 2 more contributors to get up on the site!  They will be posted later tonight. 

I have heard you! 

People are super busy but want to contribute... so I am pushing the deadline for contributors to the 31st of January 2014.  The deadline for submissions is going to be 31st of March 2014.

Cheers, Hilary

Hey Everyone,  it has been a super busy week and we are now up to 9 contributors with a few more in the pipeline!   So, waiting for a few more pics/blurbs and I think we are definitely getting there!

Just so you know I am am going to be sending out a writers guideline for the contributors to kick start your creative juices!  Also, I have found someone to contribute as an illustrator!  This book is definitely going to be an amazing project... 

Stay awesome!
Hilary