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Monday, April 15, 2013

When I grow up I want to be a ....? Time to work it out again.

If you have followed the previous posts you may know that last September I decided to farewell racing triathlon at the pro / elite level. So after three years of training and coaching, I am now training purely for pleasure and health and have time enough to start something new for work.

As I am based in a small village in the French Alps I don't have the unlimited corporate business options of a big city to chose from, but compensating for this I also have some pretty unique opportunities I can progress. For now I am busy building a website dedicated to female triathletes, multisports and adventure racers, swimmers, runners and/or cyclists. I am loving designing and planning it but am impatiently waiting for the launch and working with some great designers and web builders to do so. I'll keep you posted. It is coming to a computer, tablette or smartphone near you very soon.

So today, when I saw this link on a friend's Facebook I really enjoyed it. It reminded me that the uncertainly I feel right now is okay, and that if I keep setting goals and working hard to achieve them, it doesn't matter that my plans are not obvious in a school or university career support person's sort of a way, or even completely clear to me yet. They are emerging goals that have a clear kernel of purpose but will germinate into life in a manner based on a whole range of factors still being provided. So time to add water, light, nutrients and do some weeding and tending to my seedlings. Hopefully with a lot of hard work along with a bit of patience I can find a path to a new role that adds real value to others and provided some back to me, all doing something that I love.

Alan Watts "What would you do if money were no object?"

A great story of someone who followed their dreams and became the best they could be, which became their life and livelihood is Kilian Jornet a Catalan ski mountaineer and runner. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up he responded as follows,

"A lake counter. When I grow up, I want to be a lake counter! The teacher took her eyes from the board, where she was writing a list of the professions that the children in the class wanted to be when they grew up, and gazed over at my desk. 

That's right, a lake counter. But I won't only count how many there are. I'll go up into the mountains and when I find a lake I'll see how deep it is by throwing a stone into the middle of the water, tied to a rope, and I'll see how many paces long and wide it is. Where the rivers that flow into it come from. And where the ones that flow out of it go. I'll see whether there are any fish, or frogs, or tadpoles. And whether the water is clean or not. —Rosa looked at me in even greater surprise: it was not the job that most five-year-olds wish for, but I was quite sure of myself. It was my destiny...

I think that was one of the few times I have said “I want to be”. I have always been more one of those people who say “I'll try...”. I have always been a shy person, and I have always thought it was best to let things take their course, that everything would be alright in the end. So I let things take their course, and my destiny made everything alright in the end.

This quote comes from his blog. The link to his full blog is here if you would like to read more.

Kilian Jornet - Run or Die

It was his destiny and for Kilian, it did work out alright in the end. Today he must count very fast as he holds multiple world champion titles in both skyrunning (mountain running) and alpine ski mountaineering and has won many of the greatest global races in each. He has become one of the greatest mountain men of this generation and a source of inspiration to many with sponsorship deals, book sales, prize money and other rewards that hopefully allow him to live out his dreams for the rest of his days.  I was lucky enough to meet him briefly running in the Chamonix Valley last year. Here is a picture I look of him heading up to Lac Blanc, obviously still counting those lakes!

My quote of the week has another great example from John Lennon of a kids response to a teacher's request for what they want to be when they grow up.

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Enjoy your day. I hope you are spending it doing something you love too. If not, promise me to take a moment to consider what you want to be when you grow up or ask your kids what it is that they really love and what it is they would like to be.

À bientôt 
Christine

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