by Emily Orton

Happy Fezywig Day!!

Never heard of it?!

Who can keep track of all the random holidays?

Fezywig day is a celebration we made up to mark the day our family of seven moved aboard a little sailboat we named, Fezywig. 

“I wanted to pursue a dream so big there was room for my whole family. I wanted us to deliberately disrupt our family, not just to do more or see more, but to become more.” 

––Emily, Seven at Sea, p. 26

We learned SO much from that transformative experience. You can read about it here or get the takeaways in this life-design course. 

If you have a big dream. If you're feeling a tug to become more. I invite you, in the spirit of Fezywig day, to consider these three simple tips to make big ideas happen. 

Write it down 

I’m not sure why this works. It feels like magic. You can look up your own statistics but they all point to the same conclusion. When you write down what you want in your life it is much more likely to actually happen. 

This is true—even if you write it down and never look at it again. February 8, 2010, Erik wrote in his journal, “Live on a sailboat for a year in the Mediterranean.”

On February 8, 2014, we moved aboard a sailboat in the Caribbean. We did not discover that coincidence until the fall of 2016 when Erik and I were writing the memoir of our sailing experience.

Whether it’s a skill you want to develop, a goal you want to achieve, or a relationship you want to transform:

Write it down.

Think big 

Falling short of an epic dream is way better than perfectly executing a goal easily within your reach.

We did not live on a sailboat for a year in the Mediterranean––Erik’s goal referenced above. The actual adventure was 10 months mostly in the Caribbean.

That being said, we got pretty dang close!

Big goals stretch your imagination. They expand what you believe is possible. They draw you into adventure and a sense of purpose. 

If your goal doesn’t inspire (and intimidate) you––it might just be a task.

Think big.

It Will Emerge

Start where you are right now. Take one step in the direction you want to go.

You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to account for all the variables. You don’t have to create contingency plans for every possible outcome.

As problems arise, solutions emerge right along with them.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were notified that our daughter, Alison, was being evacuated from Japan to our hometown, NYC. She was required to quarantine for two full weeks. I had no idea how to make that work in our two-bedroom/1-bath apartment. 

One of our friends offered up his empty apartment. Like so many of our neighbors, he left New York City to ride out the chaos with family. Alison had two glorious weeks to journal, play guitar, and process the transition. 

The solution rose up alongside the problem. 

Take a deep breath.

It will emerge.

Hope this was helpful. Thanks for being here.

Thanks for being awesome!