Let’s explore how to live a more meaningful and joyful life. I’m Scott Stoll, Author, Artist, Adventurer and a work-in-progress. My claim to fame is that I rode a bicycle around the world. For 25 years, I’ve been posting monthly stories, life experiments, worksheets, and more. Join me, and let’s live the best lives possible.
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Let's go exploring. #180
Published 4 months ago • 3 min read
Dear friends,
It's been another 3 months already. My goal was to send out one newsletter a month, but I've been fighting a battle behind the scenes to keep Google happy with my website. So, if you visit, you may notice that it's faster and easier to read. In addition, I've been continuing my rebrand. More on that below.
Also, I have big news. In a few weeks, I have an interview to be a diplomatic courier for the US Department of State. If all goes well, I'll be traveling the world delivering top-secret packages. Very exciting. I'm on round 4 of 8 rounds, and what I believe to be the most difficult. After my time as a cultural ambassador, I'm excited to continue my work as a diplomat. Wish me luck.
Below, I have a new series of illustrations and some other interesting things that I've found.
Cheers, Scott
How to turn dreams into reality
When I returned home from my big trip around the world on a bicycle, people wanted to know how they could do something similar. So, after much thought, I came up with this formula, which is the simplest explanation I could think of:
Get inspired. Dream big or little.
Plan your adventure. To me, everything is an adventure.
Go explore! Live your dream, share your adventure, get support and inspire others.
Grow! Reflect on your successes and “failures”.
Actually, that last step is brand new. I used to think of it as part of step 3: exploring, playing, learning from your lessons and reiterating. That is true for all the steps you take to get to your goal. But what if you succeed and your journey is over? Or what if you quit or fail? I believe we still grow, possibly even more so.
Meanwhile, take a look at the whole process visually.
Step 1: Dream.
Dreams are just outside of reach until we commit to pursuing them.
Step 2: Plan.
Even if we have a plan, we'll need to learn to adapt. Hint: Can you read the hidden message in Plan C?
Step 3: Explore.
To make our dreams a reality, we must take lots of steps of action.
Step 1: Grow.
Each thing we achieve in life, whether it is a success or a lesson learned from mistakes, helps us grow and reach for bigger and better.
Favorite adventure books
A Walk Across America
Peter Jenkins
When I announced my dream to cycle across America, this book was gifted to me. (When it is said that an author is a gifted writer, this is what it means.) I had never imagined such a thing was possible, and I never imagined someone was feeling and thinking the same things. "I started out searching for myself and my country," Peter Jenkins wrote, "and found both." Jenkins's journey to find himself set the stage for me to do the same.
His son also wrote a coming-of-age book about his 16-month bike ride from Oregon to Patagonia. To Shake the Sleeping Self. I enjoyed it but was disappointed that he disregarded his father's influence.
PS. These are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission, but it won't affect your price.
As always, hit reply to share any thoughts or questions or just to say hello. I love hearing from you, and I almost always reply (unless it looks spammy).
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Let’s explore how to live a more meaningful and joyful life. I’m Scott Stoll, Author, Artist, Adventurer and a work-in-progress. My claim to fame is that I rode a bicycle around the world. For 25 years, I’ve been posting monthly stories, life experiments, worksheets, and more. Join me, and let’s live the best lives possible.
Dear friends, I have a super special story for you this month. One that I've been waiting for a long time. If you’ve read Falling Uphill, you know that Dennis accompanied me halfway around the world on a bicycle. Many of you have wondered what happened to Dennis and if he found what he was looking for when he returned home. I’m honored that for the 25th anniversary of my website — a website Dennis helped build — he has written this wonderful story complete with important life lessons. One...
Dear friends, I've had quite a few adventures since last time, including a trip to Scandinavia, and now an adventure that I didn't sign up for — pneumonia. Haha. Anyway, as I mentioned last time, I wanted to debut a new format for this issue. Below are 4 quick highlights for each step of my formula for turning dreams into reality. You can skip to whichever point interests you. Here is the overview of my process. (I'm not sure if I need to say this every time.) Get inspired. Dream big or...
Dear friends, Before heading off on my Scandinavian adventure, I wanted to send out a teaser email and update. (Also, I'm trying to stick to my one newsletter a month goal.) First, the update: I had my interview, or assessment as they call it, to be a diplomatic courier for the US Department of State. It was a four-hour-long, difficult and intimidating test that I'm not allowed to talk about. Unfortunately, I was 0.45 points short out of 7, so my dreams to travel the world delivering packages...
