Not just a portal to my work but a catalogue of inspiring insights, travel adventures and a reality-guide to making your dreams come true (no matter how long it takes).
In my life, I’ve tried to model that anything is possible, and to lead by example.
I can’t say it’s always been a comfortable ride. But I’d choose adventure over comfort any day of the week.
However you’ve found your way to me, I know you feel that too.
I’m Linda Anderson.
Like you, I have a bunch of helpful labels that I use to describe myself, including:
While all these labels are true, they don’t tell you who I truly am and what you’ll find here.
And while I could show you the highlight reel, I’d rather share my stories (both the shiny and not-so-hot), the dreams that came true and the choices I’ve made along the way.
Because what you’ll find here isn’t a glossy magazine life, but something much more real.
I wasn’t expecting to meet my future husband the night I escaped to a hostel in a National Park for a weekend of quiet solitude. But life often has other plans. We sat up all night taking about travel – a common passion that would shape the rest of our life. So a year later we sold our belongings, hit ‘pause’ on our careers and set off on a 365 day round-the-world adventure. Travelling through South East Asia, Europe, North Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand.
Lesson: We learned how little we needed to live a wonderful life and how sense of adventure lit up our souls.
Back from our first adventure and newly engaged, my husband to-be asked me what my dreams were, so I wrote them down on a piece of paper that has lived in my desk drawer ever since.
Lesson: Allowing yourself space to dream is the foundation to creating change in life. In 2004 I didn’t know “how” all of these dreams would come true. The intentions behind these dreams have shaped many choices I have made over the years. My dreams have given me clarity and confidence to take action I might not have taken otherwise. I am almost done in bringing this dream to life … I just need a dog!
I had wanted to be a mother for as long as I could remember, right back into my childhood. However I was totally unprepared for the challenges that motherhood would present to me as a person.
After losing my first baby at 11.5 weeks, I discovered a depth of grief that came as a shock to me. After 12 long months we finally conceived again and my first beautiful baby arrived in the world 6 weeks early.
As I sat by her Humidi crib in the NICU that very first night I realised that I was now her shining light, her rock and her safe space. It’s an awe-inspiring responsibility.
As I gave my love and devotion to this beautiful new being in the world I was not expecting to lose my sense of self along the way. This was probably my greatest personal struggle as mother, accepting the loss of the “old me” and redefining who I was now and my value in the world (beyond being a mother).
Part of my journey was to create ‘Mums on the Go’ – a website and directory dedicated to helping other Mums care for their grown up needs even with kids in tow. This gave me a great sense of purpose as I continued to expand my family. I was able to share with other Mums our travel adventures, the PND I suffered after baby #2, my journey to rediscover my sense of self and how I was able to start making myself a priority again.
Lesson: Motherhood takes you on the most unexpected journeys. The loss of “self” is more common for Mums than most of us realise, it is hard to come to terms with and find your new “self”. The more openly we can share with each other the easier this journey will become.
With my gypsy-heart still beating, I knew that as I redefined myself through becoming a mother, my children would need to learn the art of travel. So one year, (while working for Expedia), we took the three children (aged 5, 2 & 1) to Sabah, Borneo. My husband and I wanted to honour our wedding vows: “climb mountains, walk the beaches, paddle the oceans and travel the world by your side as long as we both shall live”.
As part of our trip we climbed Mount Kinabalu with a dear friend joining us to care for the kids for those days. My children got to see their mother’s adventurous spirit and determination to overcome obstacles.
Then, in 2014 we took them to France for a month. Hired a car and took them on an amazing journey. Every day my eldest girls (then 6 & 3) would order the croissants, baguette and pain au chocolat from the Boulangerie in French. Even now they like to role-play with me ordering food in French, or counting to 10 or just trying to recall all the other words they picked up along the way.
Lesson: Pursue things in life that light up your soul. You don’t have to stop doing that because you are a mother. You will shape and inspire your children though your actions.
Remember that love letter to myself? Well, we discovered Waiheke Island in 2010 and felt certain that we had found the place to fulfill our dream. The move didn’t happen overnight. It was 6 years laying the foundations to bring our dream to life.
There are many big changes ahead, some will go smoothly and some will challenge us I am sure. But we believe deeply in our dream, our choice to live a different kind of life and I know that all the sacrifices along the way will have been worth it.
Lesson: I suspect there are many to come …
I don’t believe life has to be perfect to light your soul on fire.
Ultimately, you can live your life as an adventure. Or you can live on autopilot, which isn’t really living at all.
Are you ready to live your life in the most fabulous way? (I hope so.)
So where to next?