Realising the secret of crazy plans
Back with a vengeance! The idea came to me in the early summer of 2018. In January 2020, I’d treat myself to another desert rally. This time from the Netherlands to Sierra Leone, followed by an exciting road trip. For a total of around 5 months. Adventure was calling! All I needed was to get ready for the big adventure with the best possible preparation of man and machine (including constantly explaining to the world what you’re going to do: ‘Yes, really 5 months away!’). Driving in a desert rally has the advantage that some things are clearly defined in advance. Such as the rules of the game, the global route and the agreed procedures for what needs be done but is terribly boring (such as visas and expensive insurance). On the other hand, you simply must perform at a high standard every day: the race against the clock! Because the rally waits for no-one…
Back with a vengeance!
Having successfully completed two of these kinds of desert rallies, I’m happy to share the secret of my ‘success’: think in long lines, also enjoy everything that goes wrong along the way, improvise, leave your comfort zone at home, work together with everyone you meet along the way, start early and always be ready for a longer day than expected, and prepare a plan at each decision point for when the going gets tough*. And strangely enough, all these things become routine and are done calmly, no extra energy required. And what does it give in return? The thrill of constantly facing new challenges, the unexpected encounters, learning about details that suddenly make the difference between a good or bad day, celebrating small successes together with a cold beer and quickly converting disappointment into new opportunities.
And although, as I’m sure you understand considering the times we live in, the travel plan came to a more abrupt halt, optimism quickly resurfaced: get back to work quickly and – particularly at this time – set up beautiful projects! Working with a strong team that isn’t afraid of philosophising about crazy plans and, like me, can enjoy the routine of putting the unknown into practice. While I spent last year contributing enthusiastically to the projects and the foundation of &Flux, now I can start working right here, right now! Super!
I can again make crazy plans and realise them! Which is exactly what I want to do again with you all!
*you’re owed this one. What kinds of things does a person experience on the road: making emergency repairs to the car in the middle of the Sahara (miles from any garage), closed border crossings, getting delayed by a day and so falling behind in the rally, having to drive through the dangerous Jihadist part of Mauritania during the night, very little sleep, getting trapped in a Senegalese police station, traversing the minefields in no-man’s-land, running out of money in an expensive capital, the military checkpoints with extremely bored and armed men, getting stuck at a busy, unsafe location in the city blocked by cars, people climbing into your car, and the adventure of refusing to sell a car to gangsters in Freetown. The things we experience on the road! ?