Dear FindingLife followers, In 2005, I unknowingly embarked on a journey to the Himalayas that would, unknowingly then, completely change and reshape my life. I had never climbed a mountain, I had never traveled and I had never even slept in a tent! I embraced the unknown, took a leap of faith, gave up my life as I knew it including all that defined me, trusted my instincts and most importantly, followed my heart and never looked back. Since 2005, my life has been a non stop roller coaster ride of adventure, discovery and exploration. I have learned so much from the people of the countries that I visit, from the children of the world, from the ever so beautiful and hostile environments that I feel the most comfortable in, from mother Earth, from the young Canadians and their awe inspiring forward thinking educators and certainly, all of you. From the highest point on Earth, to the Amazonian Rain Forest, to the dunes in the Sahara, I have lived, I have learned and hopefully through the sharing of these adventures, I have inspired you! It would be easy to live these experiences without the hassle of sleeping with HD cameras and batteries in -40c, trying to make the impossible possible on a budget of $0, foregoing the ambitious concepts of integrating social media based edutainment in environments without power, roads, infrastructure or internet, but that would completely defeat the purpose of WHY I do what I do. As most of you know, FindingLife began as a film dedicated to the life of my fallen mentor Dr. Sean Egan who aspired to become the oldest Canadian to summit Mt. Everest. The film in honor of him, a tribute to his life, became my Everest. It became my journey of FindingLife and through that journey I discovered my purpose in life. The organization was born, youth engagement became the main focus of the organization and social media and technology became the tools of how FindingLife creates these life inspired journeys. After 6 years of gaining enough experience from the ‘never having slept in a tent explorer’ days, I am now in the exact position that I always wanted to be. That position is willing and able to bring others on these FindingLife journeys, whether through technology or on the ground in the most inspiring environments on Earth. Youth, adults, explorers, FindingLifer’s if you will, those who are looking for more. Those who realize there is more to life than what we know. Those who realize that life is filled with infinite possibility of travel, discovery, social contribution, realization of dreams, goals, visions of life experiences outside of ‘real-life’ that can redefine our lives , make a difference and inspire others to do the same. This blog is the first of many that will share with all of you my experiences, challenges, visions, physical and mental preparations, ideas and of course opportunities for all of you to be involved in FindingLife. I am developing business ideas, travel opportunities, charitable initiatives and active participatory experiences that are all geared to helping you FIND your most meaningful LIFE. The best is always yet to come. My journey has only just begun. Has yours? Elia Saikaly Founder of FindingLife Adventure Filmmaker/ Inspirational Speaker http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/elia-saikaly
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