First of all, thanks for making it easy on us. And by *easy* I mean, you guys have got to be kidding. You really want to ship your children to Thailand to hang out with us for a week?
To catch you up on this potentially criminal plan, last week we had a great interview with Erica Bauermeister, author of Joy for Beginners. In it, we talked about the idea of trying something new, scary, or different and how we tend to not do those things as we get older. In Erica’s book, one woman gets a challenge given to her, and in turn she challenges 6 of her friends to try something new, scary or different with the catch that she gets to pick the challenge for them. Sometimes our friends know us better than we know ourselves.
Well, we modified it a bit and asked for your challenges, stating in advance that if we selected your challenge we would be giving one back to you. We received several private emails with challenges and ideas, but there were many of you not quite ready to put yourself in the ring and accept a challenge from us. (Hey, we’re not that scary, are we?) We loved hearing from you, but none of those count. You have to be willing to accept a challenge in return.
We narrowed down the legal entries to leave only things that would be new, scary, or different for us. That left out Darin’s excellent suggestion for a group charity event (though we are probably going to pursue that again in the future) and the idea for babysitting kids (which we’ve both already done). We’ve even given up the booze before when I was training for the half-marathon (and for most of my 20s, strangely enough) and we already donate to charity. The eating of bugs has already been discussed and planned for, so it wouldn’t be new (I love trying new foods, as you could tell by the haggis video earlier this week).
So that leaves Warren selling his photographs and the two of us volunteering at an orphanage in Thailand. We opted this time for something we could do together so we could have two different perspectives of trying the same new/different/scary thing.
The winner of the free Joy for Beginners book is Angela, who challenged us to volunteer in an orphanage. Rob probably said it best when I worried about handling the heartbreak by saying “the heartbreak is the challenge.”
The loser of the challenge is also Angela, because now she gets one back from us. We’re still thinking of what this could be since she seems to be pretty goal-oriented already. We’ll report back on that in the next few weeks as well as give you the details on the orphanage we have selected and the length and scope of our volunteering activities.
Thank you all for stepping up and contributing such great challenges (and for being open to them yourselves).
Last but not least, a great video from TED about taking new challenges. Could you try something new for 30 days? What would it be? And don’t think I’m asking just for my health, people. We have something up our sleeves. 
About Betsy
Whew! Dodged that bullet (No Challenge for Me!), but on a serious note — sounds like it will be a great opportunity to embrace the new, scary, and different, but for all the right reasons.
Great choice and looking forward to the updates!
Not so easy, Mister! We are still toying with your idea and how to make it happen. The only reason we didn’t pick it is because we have done things in that vein before, not because it wasn’t enough of a challenge! And don’t for a second think we wouldn’t contact you first to be part of it when we decide to do it. Consider yourself warned (and lucky).
Thanks for a very thoughtful contribution, Darin.
No worries!
I knew that the moment I typed a suggestion into the post, that I was on the hook for something! Will be happy to participate whenever and however it can provide the most benefit at the time it can best be put to use.
Heading into our final couple of weeks of packing, prepping, and general chaos (which is absolutely a blast so far!) before we head out, so we’ll catch up with you all soon!
Great pick and I’m sure you won’t regret it. I truly feel we are here on this earth, in many ways, to help others, carry their burdens so to speak, and in doing so we all find freedom
Thanks, Joanna. This is one that scares us more than a little bit for more than one reason. We are scary surprised at how well you guys have gotten to know us over the past few years and we are hoping to do Angela’s challenge justice both with our performance of it and the challenge back.
Okay, NOW I’d be up for you to suggest something. What should I do for 30 days?
Oh, Margit, have I got a deal for you! I have been making a “30-day challenge” list for a while now and have lots to choose from. I’d like to see you do the National Novel Writing Month Challenge in November. Something a little different than what you write normally but still plays to your strengths as a writer and teacher. I would LOVE to see what kind of story you would come up with!
That is so funny coz I had this *flash* that you were going to suggest this! Sure, I’ll do it. And I have THE greatest idea that I’ve been holding onto for years. I put it aside to build my biz but it’s a great idea. Thanks!!
I’m sure you’ll both do a great job of adding a little joy to the lives of a bunch of kids who have difficult lives.. Bravo.
Rob, I don’t know how much joy it will provide overall for them, but it will certainly be a challenge for us and something we can share with all of you. And who knows, maybe we can eventually tie it in to Darin’s challenge and have a bigger effort overall. That’s the great thing about challenges…they are always a “gateway drug” to something bigger. And that is a terrific thing.
Have you read this book ?? I loved it… I liked his attitude that he really liked the idea of having volunteered (and bragging rights) , but wasn’t sure about the actual work !!
Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan is a memoir of the author’s time as a volunteer in an orphanage in Nepal. Not only did Mr. Grennan volunteer, but he also went above and beyond his duties to find the long-lost families of these children who were not orphaned, but used and manipulated by war profiteers.
Grennan, fresh from a job in Prague, goes on a whirlwind worldwide trip in 2006. He starts his adventure volunteering at an orphanage called “Little Princes Children’s Home”. It turns out the kids are not orphans but victims of a notorious child trafficker
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-Little-Princes-One-Man-rsquo-s-975968.php#ixzz1SC3jIdXo
Joyce, this looks like a good read. I’ll have to check it out before we get there. (And Nepal is another place I’ve been dreaming of and reading about lately - if you get Wanderlust Travel Magazine - and luckily our friends here do - you can daydream and plan dozens of trips around Nepal and the Himalaya. )
Thanks for the recommendation!
I am absolutely thrilled for you guys, and terrified about what you will come up with for me!
I truly think this will be a life-changing experience, and can’t wait to hear all about it. I continue to live vicariously through you
Bravo to you. It’s going to be brilliant, for you and for the children at the orphanage.
It is going to be a great experience, though not one that will be easy for us. Thank you for the challenge - I think - and don’t worry about the challenge back. That’s the trouble with people like you, Angela. You regularly challenge yourself, so it makes it harder for the rest of us to ask you to do more!
Readers, if you have not checked it out, Angela has a great blog called My Year of Not Spending where she chronicled - you guessed it - a year of not buying anything new except groceries. She is an expert at living a minimalist, more responsible consumer lifestyle in one of the most consumer areas of the country - LA! Read more at http://angelabarton.com/blog/
I say the challenge should be for Angela to meet up with you in Thailand!
Very funny, Kate.
That sounds like a great idea!
Seems like love for children may run in our family. I am so proud of you and cannot wait to hear about your experiences with the children. Lots of photos and sharing please!
It sounds amazing! Great idea Angela, maybe we should both meet them in Thailand!
I’m really sorry I didn’t put my “challenge” into the ring . . . but as you know Betsy I’m up to my eyeballs in my own challenge (my “secret project”
) and couldn’t set aside any spare gray-matter to come up with something.
But the challenge you picked would definitely be a monster one for me as well. I very much looking forward to your posts on that; I expect that it could really be a bitter-sweet experience for you.
I just wanted to also thank you “publicly” for helping me out so much; your feed-back was fantastic! And I only wish I was savvy enough to implement all of your ideas! lol!!! (I may have just made a mess of things in my attempt. :/)
How is the book coming along?
Be Present. Expect Success. Live with Passion!
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