Little Adventures: Strangers and Turtles

I'm not sure what this place is called, but it basically overlooks Talofofo Bay (Maybe it's called Talofofo Bay Overlook? Ha.) I had a little adventure there yesterday afternoon just before sunset that I thought I'd share with you guys.

That morning I'd just finished rereading the Harry Potter series (Don't lie, you do it too.), and that afternoon, I worked down on the southeastern side of the island. Whenever I read fiction, I always feel like writing some of my own (which is why I sometimes avoid reading fiction, because writing takes my mind away from business...which is bad for business), so I made the decision to spend some downtime at the beach. First Beach, my first choice (haha), was already a bit crowded, so instead I pulled over at the Talofofo Bay overlook, brought a notebook and pen with me to the precipice (I like that word), and sat down on the barrier, ready to enjoy the view and write a few pages of what might just turn out to be a load of useless fiction (Not everything I write is genius, I admit.)

I was not alone. There was a man there who seemed to be surveying the area. I'd noticed the name of some sort of company on the side of his truck (can't remember the name), so I decided not to mind his presence and get on with what I wanted to do. He was about to leave, however, when he called out to me: "Would you like me to take a picture of you? That looks like a great picture."

In my head I was like, "Crap, he thinks I'm a tourist." But then, I decided to take advantage of his offer and gave him my phone. When he finished taking the picture, he introduced himself, shook my hand, and left.

After writing a bit, I got up to take some pictures of the misty look that was settling over the mountains. The mountains through which Cross-Island Road cuts always start to look kind of misty around 6:00-7:30 PM, and it always looks awesome. I got up and walked to the opposite side of the overlook and started taking pictures, but, as I did so, I was interrupted from my nature excursion by yet another stranger.

"Do you want to see sea turtles? Here, look!" Another man had appeared and was making his way toward me. He joined me at the very end of the barrier, climbed and stood on top of it and, holding onto a metal pole that stood near him, told me to do the same. Naturally, I thought he was going to lure me onto the barrier and push me over the edge, where I would meet my untimely and totally unsought death. That didn't happen, though.

I climbed up and stood next to him on the barrier. "I'm Apache. I'm from Tali," he said. Name and residence: two important elements to social introductions on Guam. I said, "I'm Jess. I'm from Agat." I also had to explain that, no, I'm not military. Some of you can relate. 

Anyway, this interesting being pointed down into the water, which was yards and yards below us, and showed me how to spot the sea turtles that were beginning to come to the surface. They were hard to see at first, but after a minute, it became easier to spot the dark outlines of the green sea turtles swimming against the current, out into the open ocean. We saw three of them! Apache explained that he was a hunter and a fisher: I knew he wasn't watching turtules for fun--But it was fun for me! And when I'd had my fill, I thanked him for the experience and went on my way, feeling very, very glad that I'd pulled over to do some writing at Talofofo Bay instead of speeding past it, like I usually do, on my way home.

Take advantage of little adventures!

The Pain of Desire

I just finished watching a Dale Partridge video in which he encouraged transparency in blog posts, so I'm going to go ahead and be transparent:
I AM FREAKING OUT!!!

The deadlines for two of my biggest goals this year (increasing my Thrive clientele and saving up enough for my business/family trip in November) are fast approaching, and I'm just trying to stay on track! I feel like I've had a crash course in marketing and creative thinking, trying to find ways to give more value so that I can truly make this year different. 

At the same time that this experience is driving me nuts, it has also helped me digest more deeply something I sort of already knew: There's no push without the pain of desire.

I'm pushing so hard right now. Pushing for results. I'm trying to make sure I make every contact I can, and edifying my services as much as I can. I'm even pushing myself to create products for my Auribus brand (more on that later). 

Fear is a great motivator, but, with the help of Denise Duffield-Thomas, I've been able to find motivation and a sense of calm through pinpointing my desires. I pinpointed one specific desire: I want to make sure my youngest sister can join me for part of my trip in November. This desire is so painful (it would SUCK if I failed!!!), I've been able to push forward with more clarity and confidence while I dedicated every little, painful, frustrating step to being able to go on vacation with my sister. It even made my money goal for the month seem more attainable!

Pinpoint what your desires are. Comment below and tell me what some of your most important goals for 2015 are! Are they specific enough? Write them out and tape them to your wall where you can see them everyday. Use your desires to push you to where you need to be.

Why Limit Yourself?

Today, I found myself driving through the afternoon traffic with two complete strangers sitting in my car. This sort of situation actually isn't usual for me. What was unusual was the conversation that took place during the short ride we had together.

They were a couple, backpacking (as made clear by their giant backpacks) across the Pacific on their way to Australia. They'd had a long layover in Guam, so they'd stayed the night at a bed n' breakfast I clean for. The couple had needed a ride to the airport, so I had agreed to take them there before I went to work on cleaning the apartment they'd stayed in.

The man was quite talkative and they were both very grateful for the ride. He was from New York, and she was from Berlin. He asked me if I was from Guam, and I said yes. He asked me if I'd grown up here, and I said yes. Then he asked if I had any siblings, and I said, "Yes. I have ten brothers and sisters."

Typically, when someone gets around to asking me that questions, I'll pause for a moment and think of how to tell them how big my family is. No matter how I answer, however, the usual response is drowned in surprise.

And he was surprised.

But very pleased. They both were.

"That is so awesome!" He said. And she said, "It is! It's beautiful."

It was a pleasant surprise to hear that.

I mentioned how people are usually surprised, and how, sometimes, people wonder, "Why have so many?" 

I think the real question to ask is, "Why limit yourself?"

He responded, "That's how people react when I tell them that I want a big family--like six kids. They freak out. But it's like you said--Why limit yourself, if that's what you want?"

I asked them how many siblings they had. He had one, and she had none. She admitted something that I've heard so many people admit before: "I wish I had siblings."

I'm not married or anything. I'm just one kid out of many. But that's kind of the point. By merely existing, I get to be a witness. I am evidence of something "awesome", "beautiful", and definitely surprising.

So here's my question to you young, married people out there: "Why limit yourself?"