6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXX
Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.
- Flying Turnips in Spain -- An odd and oddly beautiful tradition in Spain
- That Time Queen Elizabeth Drove King Abdullah Around in Her LandRover -- “His nervousness only increased as the Queen, an Army driver in wartime, accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads”
- What to Say to Get Your Way -- How to talk to anyone (anyone? yep—it seems that way)
- Virgin Atlantic Upper Class “Planeview” -- A fun tour of Virgin’s comfy seats (although in my opinion, the Clubhouses on the ground are the best part of flying Virgin)
- Inside Philadelphia’s Neglected Row Houses -- A photographic tour of a forgotten place
- I’m Much More than a Mother -- Kristy writes on what she describes as the impossibility of being both a good mom and an entrepreneur
When talking about adventures, I often relate the plot outlining of blockbuster movies and video games. What if the synopsis of a big summer movie was "So and so had to save the world from evil... and then they did?"
We'd think, "That's it?! How did they save the world ... what happened along the way? Did they lose something and have to recover it? How was the hero changed throughout the journey, and what was different at the end of the story?"
Challenge is the essence of adventure, and struggle is the root of any great story.
In fact, sometimes the struggle is the entire story. If the struggle is good enough, we're willing to overlook anything else. Why did the aliens invade the earth? Who cares—we have to defeat them!
Air travel has changed a bit over the past few decades—and mostly for the better. Back in the day, an average transcontinental airfare would run you at least 
Introduce yourself.
Tell us about yourself.
I've lived most of my life in Manitoba, Canada. It's where I grew up, got married, and worked. My husband Paul and I wanted to travel the world, but it seemed impractical. Once we had our two boys, though, I felt like there was never enough time to spend with Paul, with our family, or to indulge in being myself. And I didn’t see an end to being pulled in too many different directions. Something had to change.
Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.
1. At the end of the day, ask yourself, “Did today matter?”
Sure, you could spend a long time thinking back on your to-do list and reviewing your calendar. And what were all those emails about? But when you ask yourself this question, chances are you’ll know the answer intuitively.
Did today matter? If so, great. Do more things like it tomorrow. Can't remember anything in particular that made a difference? Well, better change it up.
Before you hit the ground running, take a few moments in meditation or thoughtfulness to decide what you’d like to see happen by the end of the day. Again, be sure to prioritize: it would be great to make a ton of progress on everything, but you probably won’t. What's most important? What is realistic to achieve?
Many years back, I checked into the Sheraton Heathrow after winning a bid on Priceline. It was incredibly cheap—something like $30-40 for the night, as I recall.
