My Happy Place.

Pat Okello introduced me to the idea of vision boards in 2020 when I participated in a leadership program. It was one of those things I did to keep hope alive amid the pandemic. I think I did it more for survival than for improvement. Those were uncertain times and I pray we have seen the worst of it. Pat gave us whiteboards to write, scribble or draw the ideas and desires we had. She brought along magazines for those who may want to cut pictures that speak to their goals and dreams.

I have always viewed the vision board idea as a juvenile one but this first close encounter revealed the power of vision and daily reinforcing it. After that exercise, I stuck my vision board on the wall in my office and have gazed at it numerous times since. I added a few pictures on the board when I mounted it.

I have fancied for a long time the idea of doing halftime transition coaching in the wild. That is my picture of success. Helping high-impact individuals get clear, get free and get going. All in the set-up of the wild where mother nature speaks to you. On my board is a picture or a big rustic wooden table with chairs around it. The furniture sits on a wooden deck at the verandah of a luxury tented camp facing the expansive savanna with a huge river in the foreground guarded by hippos and crocodiles. That is my happy place.

I have talked about that scenario a lot and dreamt about it even more. I am excited to say that picture came to life over this past long weekend. I indulged some good humans whom I have had the privilege of coaching this year. We were at the tail end of the halftime program and I suggested we end on a high by going out of town. I was surprised at how agreeable everyone was when I proposed we do it at the Masai Mara. Folks, could it be that we have dreams that are not getting supported by others because we have not made them known? maybe you have fans waiting to cheer you on but you have to get into the game and show up. Don’t keep them waiting too long lest they leave the stadium of your life.

Not everyone in this virtual cohort made it but I got an alumnus of the program plus Mathilda, my boss at Halftime Africa to confirm. This lady has been my destiny helper, guiding me on this journey to finding my purpose and living it out. All the logistics fell into place perfectly. Castel Mara is the camp we booked and it was all that and more. It is near the Sekenani gate of the reserve. Small and intimate with just five luxury tents, a log cabin dining and meeting room plus a rustic bar and deck for sundowners. The staff led by Tom are from the local Masai community. They spoilt us throughout our stay and even anticipated our needs before we requested them. The food was better than five-star hotel food and that’s not an exaggeration. Folks if you are looking for a small intimate camp at the Mara, then Castel Mara is the place to go. Value for money is guaranteed.

I picked everyone up early Friday morning and we set out driven by our guide Daniel. I was as excited as my baby shark on a school trip. The drive was smooth. We stopped at the viewpoint on the Mai Mahiu road for the full tourist experience. I couldn’t believe that I was seated in a tour land cruiser headed to the Mara for transition coaching. I was deeply grateful. We got to our camp safely, checked into our tents and then sat down for a sumptuous lunch. Nature is paracetamol for me. It always takes away the temperature caused by the anxiety of life. Even the baboons came to welcome us to their hood, of course in the hope that we will share our lunch with them.

We had three days of purpose. Reflecting and learning followed by game drives in the reserve. My love for photography and coaching came together and I was ten out of ten on the contentment and happiness index. My passionometer was huko juu. When you get a taste of what you want to do for the rest of your life then there is no turning back. You’re hooked.

Nature helps us introspect better. Maybe it’s because we were away from our daily routine and the environment helped reduce the external volume of life. Here even the birds gave us background music to keep us calm and listen to ourselves and one another bila filters.

One of the exercises we did was the road map exercise. It’s a diagram with boxes on it. Here one writes a draft of their mission statement on one end of the chart followed by a box where you describe your life today. On the other end of the chart is a box where you describe your life one year from now. In between are four boxes where you indicate milestones to aim for on your journey to the life you want to live one year from now.

Below these boxes, you list accelerators and obstacles to your life one year from now. Finally, at the corner of the chart you are required to write the head and heart actions you will take over the next thirty days to start your journey. The beauty of the halftime program is its practical application.

We broke out into a solo session to populate this chart thoughtfully. Nature helped crystallize some thoughts. One of the guys after that session reported that he discovered that he is doing many things but not living in them. Isn’t that profound? He committed to decongesting his road map going forward.

That long weekend we lived a life of meaning, joy and impact. Here’s to many more sessions in the wild. Planning for the next one already. Inbox me if you’d like to come along.