Have you ever thought to yourself – hm…. “I would love to do ……… with my life”… maybe it was climb Kilimanjaro in Africa, or run a marathon, or even become somebody – like an Astronaut or a Nuclear Physicist or may be even the President or Prime Minister of a country. Or maybe it was to sail around the world solo. Well, whatever your dream, 16 year old Jessica Watson from Australia will prove “That anything really is possible.”
This story has really inspired a lot of people, myself included. Jessica, a young girl with a dream, has just completed your solo sail around the world adventure. I am still not sure just yet, whether has been made official yet, but this would make her the youngest person ever to sale solo around the world. An amazing achievement for someone so young. But here is credit to someone that had a dream and followed it to the end.
Sailing solo around the world is certainly no easy feat, certainly even for the most experienced sailor. But a massive goal and a dream, together with a carefully thought out plan and taking massive action, Jessica was able to go about achieving her goal. The journey that she has been on mentally and physically shows how good her attitude and approach to life is something we should all learn from.
You can read more about Jessica’s story and her complete journey on her website. But what I wanted to share today, was some lessons I took from learning more about Jessica and what she has achieved. Hopefully you can take something from this and apply it positively to your own life, no matter your age, background and life so far has been.
3 Lessons from Jessica’s story:
Lesson #1: Having a dream and sticking to it, no matter what the obstacles are can be a very powerful force. Jessica obviously had planned our her journey and the trip around the world very carefully. Her dream was afterall, to sail around the world. However, as you will learn from reading her story, when she first left Sydney harbour on her first attempt, Jessica actually collided with a cargo carrier not that long into her journey. This broke her mast and put her trip off for a brief period of time. But it certainly did not break her spirits. Even despite the additional fuel this gave to her sceptics and those that were critical of her doing such a dangerous voyage at such a young age, Jessica persisted. Despite the failings, Jessica continued to follow her dream. And over the weekend, this dream was realised, the broken mast a lesson and distant memory in comparison to the joy she most likely felt in stepping off her boat in Sydney.
Lesson #2: Very often, with great achievement, comes great risk, but with carefully thought out and actionable plans, that you then follow through on, you can start to move your goals forward. I am just guessing that it was more than just the part of sailing a boat around the world that Jessica had to focus on to achieve her goal. Coordinating the correct safety for her trip, the right equipment in case she ran into trouble and planning out her exact voyage would have all been part of the lead up to her eventually arriving in Sydney safely. Although, obviously not every situation could be assessed, and there is obviously great risk in what she did, but doing it anyway is where the inspiration from this story comes into light. With a careful plan and taking action on that plan, Jessica was able to sail around the world. What dreams, plans and actions are you going to take in your life?
Lesson #3: I was amazed at literally the hundreds of boats on Sydney harbour and the number of people that came down to the Sydney harbour foreshore near the Opera House to watch Jessica’s arrival back into Sydney after her adventure. Even the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was there to welcome Jessica. The major lesson here, is that there will be very few people to cheer you on when you decide to change your life and become successful at what you have chosen to become successful at. You will have to endure a lot, in Jess’s case many lonely nights, sometimes in the midst of massive ocean storms where you won’t have the cheering crowds to push you along and may start to question whether you can make it or whether it is all worth it. It is not until you reach your goals that you will have the cheering crowds or even that complete sense of achievement. But it will be in the moments of doubt, that you will need to remember the end goal and almost create your own cheer squad to keep you going. Because it will be worth it in the end!
Remember – shoot for the stars, and you never know might hit the moon : ).
Get Jessica’s full story and watch out for the book on Jessica’s website : http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/
Check out more of the interview that Charles Wooley from 60 Minutes did with Jessica. Jessica Watson – Going Solo (Before Jessica headed off) and then the celebration of her home coming and her amazing achievement Jessica Watson – Jessica’s Excellent Adventure.
