Operation Getaway: Details of the challenge below

(The clock started ticking on November 20th 2010)

*This is NOT a countdown* - I have to actually beat the clock.

Edit: This page is no longer accessible via the menu bar on my website. But you have managed to find it; well done, you SEO ninja! It's a document of the clock that I had to beat - the very heartbeat and foundation of this site. Enjoy this retro post, it's been quite the ride since I wrote this!

Hello there! You're probably thinking something like; "so where does the clock come into this?" Well it's a case of simple maths. I have given myself the relatively daunting challenge of quitting my job and booking a one-way ticket out of England before the clock (the one on the top right) reaches zero! I could leave a couple of months before it reaches zero, or I could leave it until the very last minute. One thing that's for sure is beyond zero - my life will have changed dramatically.

Some rather frequently asked questions!

Why do you want to leave your country forever?

That's a tough question. Why would I want to leave everything I know and all the people that I love? The long answer is I don't feel challenged here. I feel like I am stagnating in my personal growth and it's never truly felt like 'home' to me....the short answer: I hate cold, I love the sun.

How are you going to support yourself, financially?

I honestly don't know. Right now I am selling all of my possessions and saving as much as humanly possible, while trying to set up an online business - but I have to pay off a mammoth debt of £16,000 (25, 500 US dollars) first. The prospect of making money via my laptop in any country appeals to me immensely and I'm spending pretty much all of my spare time trying to make this happen. I've never done anything like this before and I am learning more about it every day.

Where are you going?

Again - I honestly don't know. But isn't that part of the fun? One common thing that people are scared of is uncertainty. As humans we want things planned and set in stone, but we also have this innate desire to want more. Well if you want more, guess what - you have to face a lot of uncertainty, fear and potential failure. Personally, I'd rather try and fail miserably than not try at all or I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I quite fancy South America so I can learn Spanish, but South East Asia and it's beautiful food is also fighting for my attentions.

Are you scared?
No, I'm fu**ing petrified.

So what now?

I'm totally waging a war against fear and I'm starting a revolution against my own excuses and an average life. Care to join me? I don't see why I have to wait until I leave England to face my fears so I'm taking on a number of personal challenges - all related to stepping way out of my comfort zone, while showing you how to give fear the middle finger. You can find them under the category "comfort zone challenges"---------> on each challenge I will declare my fear, anxieties or just general lack of comfort surrounding it and each will have a time limit. You can get to see it ticking before your very eyes so I have no choice to back out!

Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.
Japanese Proverb