Take hold of your future! How to make radical changes. Future of Work. Salt in the Blood: new book co-author Sheila Dixon. Our 11,000 mile adventure, sailing the Med, across Atlantic, working virtually, re-inventing our global business.Lessons for Leaders

Futurist Keynote Speaker: Posts, Slides, Videos - Future of Work, Workplace, HR, WFH - Keynotes

ALL OF LIFE is a voyage to the future, carrying us beyond distant horizons, blown by the prevailing wind to which we set our sails.

"Many people will relate to this narrative....I commend this book."  Yachting Monthly

6 page feature published in Yachting World

You can read an extract on Google

Life Beyond COVID - millions of people are rethinking their own personal futures, what is important to them, careers, relationships and so on.

Seven years ago, as a pair of empty-nesters, Sheila and I embarked on a somewhat impulsive sailing odyssey, after more than three decades living in the same part of London. I was working at a frenetic pace, flying all over the world, advising global corporations on future trends, while Sheila was running our company, working as a magistrate, supporting a range of community projects, and holding everything else together. We were both very fulfilled, but exhausted.

We were looking to slow down a bit, develop new skills together, kickstart new business ideas, re-invent our future, broaden our minds, see if we could live more simply, and be rejuvenated. We hoped that what we learned at sea might help us sail better through life. But could we really take off into the sunset without wrecking our bank balances, neglecting family, weakening wider relationships, damaging our business, and risking many other things that really matter?

We hope that our journey will inspire you to create adventures of your own, whether close to home, at work, or far beyond, ones that fit each stage of your own life and situation. Adventures don’t have to be expensive or time-consuming to be enjoyable, memorable and completely life-changing.

Adventures are usually about doing something new: discovery, exploration, overcoming challenges, the sense of achievement having completed it. For one person it could be learning a new language online, for another to run their first half-marathon or even to sail around the world. It is often the case that the greatest barriers exist only inside our minds. And many practical constraints can be overcome with perseverance, planning and imagination – if the timing is right.

Life is too short to waste a single day doing things you don’t believe in, or don’t actually need to do. And in our increasingly virtual world, it’s even easier for many people to have longer adventures while working fairly normally, whether on their own, or with partners or friends, maybe even home-schooling children along the way.

Amazon Reviews

***** 5.0 out of 5 stars Laughing out loud (whilst reading on a train!)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2021

Verified Purchase

Whilst only halfway through, I’m loving this book!

My husband enjoyed the audio book and would come home from work each day updating me with the latest near misses and ocean calamities.

As someone who spent all my school holidays at sea, I find myself caught up in the story anticipating every next challenge and the choices that Patrick and Sheila make.

We’ve bought copies for friends who are equally enjoying it - it’s real, it’s fun and there’s lessons for all throughout.

***** 5.0 out of 5 stars inspirational

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2021

Verified Purchase

I still can’t make my mind up, are Patrick and Sheila amazingly brave or completely bonkers. Whatever conclusion you come to their story and love affair with the sea, sailing and their beloved boat Moxie, is an inspiration and I for one will not forget it quickly. Challenging, frightening, exhilarating, this book makes for compelling reading. I will not forget the advice to eat dessert first and I too think I have fallen in love with Moxie. There is a challenge in this book to move beyond the boundaries of your normal existence, to embrace new experiences, to learn new skills and to find a way to take that leap of faith when our westernised common sense minds say NO! Read at your own peril and enjoy.

***** 5.0 out of 5 stars Great holiday read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2021

I read this whilst on holiday in Ibiza, I have to say it was great reading it in the setting where much of the book is based (in or around the sea). I loved the "lessons for life". I kept telling my husband snippets of the book and in the end, he told me to stop because he wanted to read it for himself. It has inspired us to embark on a journey ourselves. The boat in our case will probably be a motorhome. "Life is short, eat dessert first" will live with me for a long time.

****** 5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a book about sailing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 September 2021

If you like sailing then there’s all the highs and lows of the couple’s journey from deciding to buy a boat to sailing the Atlantic. If (like me) you don’t know much about sailing then there’s the life journey of each author, their relationship with each other and the interesting facts about where they stop along the way. Great book. Would read again. Definitely recommend

****** 5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2021

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It’s full of practical advice for life in general and at sea. The story has inspired me to learn to sail and hopefully experience a sailing adventure of my own one day!

Seize the day – or your future will take hold of you.

Video blurb: Futurist Patrick Dixon and Company Director / Magistrate Sheila Dixon went on a mini-sabbatical together that rapidly morphed into something far deeper and longer, taking them across the Med and then across the Atlantic. The journey changed their entire lives, transformed their business, generated new books, re-energising them at a critical time personally, while prompting profound questions about leadership, global trends and the very nature of human existence. 

When they first set out, they hoped to learn how to sail across oceans, but along the way also encountered important lessons for us all in sailing through life. During this time, Sheila was diagnosed with two different cancers, which made them both even more determined to "Carpe Deum" - Seize the Day. 

Their journey shows how it is possible, practically for many people to combine adventures of different kinds with current responsibilities - whether work, family, community involvement or other things, and how such adventures can quite often be financed in creative ways. On the water for example by renting out homes, virtual working, earning while travelling, home schooling aboard, and even by being paid to move other people's boats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f96zal9Cjuc

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