I was fortunate to be able to facilitate training sessions at our Melbourne, Australia office and attend G Fest (their annual office meeting/ party!)
In this video, G Adventures’ VP of Technology, John races against our Oceania I.T. support guy, Steve to raise money for Planeterra. Lots of trash talking and laughs!
One of our core values at G Adventures is “Embrace The Bizarre.” As part of the Amazing G Race at Purpose Camp (a camp where our CEOs a.k.a. tour leaders learn about the culture at G and learn how to find meaning & purpose through their work), 4 people on our team were challenged to eat a tarantula!
This experience traumatized me. The hairy legs I could handle but I totally gagged when the body of the tarantula squirted in my mouth. So gross!!! Never again!!! At least I can say I tried it once.
Each year, G Adventures hosts a Women’s Leadership Camp. Through an application process which is open to all G Adventures’ women employees from all areas of the business worldwide, 12 participants are selected to attend the camp which is held at a different destination.
The camp includes time for personal development, learning leadership skills, and lots of discussions to explore the challenges and opportunities that exist for women. This year I had the privilege to design some of the content and be one of the facilitators at the camp.
In this video, the participants of G’s Women’s Leadership Camp 2015 were treated to tuk tuk off-roading, surprise cocktails at sunset at Lake Manyara and a candlelight dinner under the stars. It was epic evening with so many inspiring women.
Last week I finalized my divorce. I met my now ex-husband at the family court office to sign the final papers and legally consent to agree to no longer being married. It was a sad day.
One of the things I found the most sad was the process. It felt like we were standing in line at any other government office. It felt like we were renewing our passports or drivers license. We took a number. I have to give them credit for being efficient.
Unlike getting married, there was no ritual, there was no ceremony. Just a government clerk behind a desk separated by cubicle type dividers. It’s not that I was expecting anything more elaborate. But I wasn’t expecting to “take a number.”
“Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial perjoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. – Maya Angelou
I believe in the power of words. I attended a workshop years ago where they asked us to observe everything we said for an entire day. Every time I said something negative, I was supposed to say “cancel reprogram” to myself and then replace the negative word with something positive.
I couldn’t believe how many negative things came out of my mouth in the period of 24 hours. I always thought I was a positive person but that exercise made me realize how negative I actually was. Since I took that workshop almost 15 years ago, I have been very conscious of the language I use. Especially my “self talk.”
Some of things that I said to myself were “matter of fact.” Sadly, most of the negativity came out of habit. I caught myself saying, “You suck.” “I’m such an idiot.” or “This is impossible.” or “I’ll never get this.” No wonder things didn’t come easy to me when I was younger.
I watched a brilliant documentary today about poet and author and a wise and beautiful soul, Maya Angelou. She says…
“Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.” – Maya Angelou
After years of observing the words that I use as well as the words used by others, I’ve also come to the conclusion that words are things. I’ve noticed that words can shape you because when the words you use are repeated enough, they end up becoming your beliefs. And over time, your words eventually become “you” and people’s perception of who you are.
The words you choose can be limiting or empowering. They also have a negative or positive impact on the people and the world around you. Choose your words carefully.
I’ve decided to start blogging again. My first attempt on Blogger.com started in 2007 and I wrote sporadically since then. I never took it seriously because I figured no one was reading it. The truth is that no one was reading it because I was too afraid to share it.
Starting the blog was an experiment in getting myself to start writing publicly about personal things. Before the blog, I had written “publicly” a ton for work, for a couple of magazines and wrote tons of lyrics for other singers to sing. It was easy for me to share my work when it was more about the facts and less about my opinions. More about others and less about myself. As soon as the words got too personal, then it became too scary for me to share.
I’m hoping this time it will be different. I was inspired to write again after reading a blog post titled Talkers Block by Seth Godin:
“Do it every day. Every single day. Not a diary, not fiction, but analysis. Clear, crisp, honest writing about what you see in the world. Or want to see. Or teach (in writing). Tell us how to do something. …If you know you have to write something every single day, even a paragraph, you will improve your writing.” — Seth Godin
So this is my attempt at improving my writing and my attempt at honest writing about what I see in the world. This is my attempt at making my writing more personal. It still feels scary as hell. Maybe this time I’ll find the courage to share. Maybe this time I’ll have more readers. Maybe I won’t. Either way, I feel like I have a lot to say. So here goes…
Liz Lulu 