Bondi Beach baby! It felt fantastic to be back in Sydney this week. Sydney holds a very special spot in my heart after forming some magnificent friendships and creating so many incredible memories whilst living there.
Whilst waiting for my friends to arrive, I headed out to dinner by myself. I went along the backstreets and visited some of my favourite places to eat. I nestled into the corner of a cozy little cafe called Funky Pies which specialises in vegan and gluten-free pies, whilst eating, two girls asked if they could join the table I was occupying. “Absolutely, the more, the merry” I say. After chatting for a while, they asked what I was doing in Sydney. I told them that I was in Sydney to speak at a conference called ‘RadLivin’.
Around 4 months ago, I had a phone call with a girl named Olivia about an event she had created called RadLivin. You could hear her enthusiasm through the phone as she described RadLivin, a project that she had grown from the ground up. We exchanged stories about our individual journeys and how we both continually choose to pursue life in a ‘different’ way, one that is often said to go ‘against the grain’. Quickly I came to the decision that I would love to take up her offer on speaking at RadLivin. Additionally, this opportunity strongly aligned with one of my goals of becoming a better public speaker.
RadLivin is a very unique networking conference. Personally, I’ve never been to or heard of an event like it. The way I described it to my friends before attending was: A large group of predominantly young people (but not excluding any age) that come together to network and to learn about how others are going about life differently. Many of these people have goals and projects they either want to start or are currently working on, and RadLivin is the perfect place to share and unravel these ideas.
Fast forward 4 months, and I’m about to walk out onto the stage. I haven’t done a lot of public speaking, so it is a skill I am learning more about every time I step on the stage. Of the all the speakers, I was up first. Speaking first is an exciting position to be in but was also a little nervewracking. Before walking onto the stage, I walked around with my hands above my head, it was something I learned from a ted talk a while back. Walking around with your hands above your head (like a superhero) makes you feel like as if you’re in a position of power e.g. a boss. It worked a little but my heart rate was double my typical resting rate.
“GOOOOD MORNING EVERYBODY”, I burst out the doors and onto the stage. Some laughter early from the crowd was greatly appreciated and made me feel a little more comfortable. I moved into my introduction and the ball was rolling as I started to find my flow.
To start the speech I talked about the things that made me ‘tick’, quotes that have inspired me and a few thoughts which have lead me to do the things I do.
Below are some notes and quotes that I used to structure my speech and will help you get a feel for what I talked about.
IDEA ONE
“Welcome to the real world” – A phrase too often associated with the mundane and stereotypical.
Can you please raise your hand! If you’ve ever returned from a holiday, the weekend, a project, or from somewhere where you were buzzing and someone has been quick to shut you down with ‘welcome to the real world’ or ‘it’s back to reality now.’….
I can assure you, I’m not a gamer and haven’t been walking around with a VR mask on since the age of 5. So it’s honestly always baffled me when someone says, back to the real world?!
The real world shouldn’t be confined to someone working behind four walls. This is my version of the real world. And after this video, I’ll give you a little synopsis of what makes me tick.
This is the first thing that makes me tick.
QUOTE ONE
“I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.”
IDEA TWO
I really don’t like the word good or the word nice.
Be compelling, alluring, ravishing, exciting, marvelling, be kind, be wild, be brilliant, eccentric, mysterious.
But don’t just be good, or mediocre, or alright. That kills me.
Please don’t just be ordinary, don’t be comfortable.
Don’t be convenient, be curious.
QUOTE TWO
The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life. – Muhummad Ali
After this, I went on to talk about my book and the main themes inside it. These included, appreciate the one percenters, take more risks and to go and genuinely do or attempt what you love.
I finished the speech with the following,
It’s funny, it only takes a split second, a single decision to change your whole life.
The decision of coming to RadLivin. That may be it. You’ve made the decision today to surround yourself with positive, curious and driven people. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t.
The most common belief is that it takes months, maybe years to do that. You just have to make a decision and stick to it. The rest of the months and year is the maintenance required to fulfil that decision. Don’t hover over a decision, do not hesitate. Make it and get going with a big smile.
And then onto this quote from my book, page 200.
You may not change the whole world,
Yet if you can impact at least one person,
that alone with butterfly
and will leave a larger
and longer impact than you
ever couldimagined.
And too often,
my response was,
WHY DON’T YOU?
STAYING IN BONDI – THE BAXLEY BONDI
Throughout the stay in Bondi, we stayed at a marvelous boutique accommodation. The Baxley Bondi is a newly built guesthouse situated at the top of Bondi. I was fortunate enough to stay there as The Baxley hosted all the speakers from RadLivin.
For many reasons, I loved my stay at the Baxley.
– They had extremely friendly and helpful staff.
– The interior was clean, modern, minimalist and had everything I could need and more.
– It was close one of my favourite places to get an acai bowl; The Fruitologist and Barenaked Bowls.
– A mere 15min walk (at most) took us to the heart of Bondi or to the viewing point over icebergs pool.
– Very close to Centennial Park, making it easy for me to run.
Here are a few photos from my stay at The Baxley. If you’re ever heading to Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most popular beaches, I would highly recommend staying at The Baxley.
Next stop, Philippines!
Big Love,
Josh