It was about four years ago when I knew I needed a change. It was actually much earlier than that, but I was in denial for some time. I had been living in Melbourne for about 6 or so years, I had a Bachelor of Commerce and Law, and was a partner in a fitness studio working as a trainer. I was in denial because everything on the outside looked rosy, but I knew something needed to change – I wasn’t happy and I was bored. I spent six weeks in South America with my then-girlfriend over New Years and January in 2016, which still remains one of the most incredible times of my life. I wanted to be on holidays forever but with that goal being a little unrealistic, I knew that I needed to at least love what I was doing.
Fast forward three years and Adventure Abroad has created one of the most unique and fulfilling communities that I could ever have imagined, and I can say with absolute certainty that I love what I do and the people I do it with. I find it strange that people are in a rush for success in business. Isn’t it the journey of the story which makes it successful? But then it raises the question, what is success? I guess that answer changes depending on the people you ask.
I was in London earlier this year doing a keynote to an organisation for who we hosted a long lunch in the Arctic – yep – we hosted a 15 course degustation meal in the Arctic amongst the snow, ice and– I’m sure they were out there somewhere– polar bears. I spoke about the differences between happiness and fulfillment, courage and confidence, and how your vision can be impaired by your perspective of the task ahead of you: do you see all the roadblocks in the way of your destination or do you see the destination, which makes the roadblocks insignificant? To me, success is that feeling of fulfillment. It’s comments like “that’s the best thing I have ever done” after an event, and the catch ups months, or even years, after where your stories are still the centre of attention. To know that we have made your day and have been a significant part of this story of your life is a great feeling.
As Adventure Abroad has grown you’ve been incredibly supportive. I have made mistakes and failed at a lot of things during this process. From our first trip of six people in the jungles of Kokoda to hosting eighty odd people on Tour du Mont Blanc in 2020 is something we should all be incredibly proud of, because you have helped us create this. Our events are estimated to raise over $500,000 next year for our charity partners. It’s you, who are like-minded in being a proponent of change in our world and thinking about others than yourself, that has helped us get here. Without you in our community, we would not have been able to help with Gatlang, a small village in Nepal, which was devastated by the earthquake in 2015 – of the $4.2bn raised through NGO’s, they had received nothing.
So for me, life is about experiences and relationships. The good and bad ones. Where you want to come back and empower those around you to be motivated and inspired, to think bigger but fail often. I don’t want to be the old man who wonders what on earth happened to his life.
To you, I thank for continuing to support my dream and vision. You have provided me with my vehicle for sustained fulfillment. You have inspired and motivated me to continue this journey, and I’m not so sure that everyone gets to have that– so from the bottom of my heart, thank you. ♡♡
[vc_custom_heading text=”With much love, Tom Allwright” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”]
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