The new mantra of British adventurer and explorer Anthony Willoughby. Now 70 years young, Anthony has spent the better part of his life in search of inspiration. Hunting with eagles amongst the nomads in Mongolia, herding cattle and learning about value driven leadership from the Maasai in Kenya, and learning about skills, courage and community in Papua New Guinea, among countless other adventures that I recommend you to listen to when you have the chance.
We met in August 2015, in the line for customs at Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan. We had much to talk about.
He was the first ever to establish a team building company in Japan. Then took it to the Great Wall of China. Worked with the young Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and since then with countless other global and local firms and leaders – all getting them to draw their own Territory Maps and leading them to levels of clarity, purpose and direction that so many hadn’t felt in years.
Anthony spent about 20 years using this tool to help organisations and teams understand their Territory, always leaving such events with an inbox full of glowing testimonials and gratitude from CEO’s for glueing their teams back together – stronger than ever before.
This year, 2020, was a crazy one for almost all of us. But Anthony, who is a living embodiment of the “I will not complain” philosophy, saw this disruption immediately as a great opportunity for all of us. In all the confusion, uncertainty and disrupted business landscapes it was super clear that EVERYBODY NEEDS A MAP. And for the first time since using this tool, inspired by ancient wisdom and nomadic adaptation skills, he decides to address us individually instead of from an organisational point of view. Because with us as individuals is where the hope is, and where the power for change is, right now.
You. And I. We need a map. Not only for our teams and companies, but for our own lives. Most of us have been confronted in the past year with big questions. Who am I? Where am I headed? What is important to me? What’s happening in my Territory, now that things look so different? Where are the swamps to avoid, the mountains to climb, which rivers to cross? In other words, look at your situation from a new perspective and draw your roadmap. Plan your way through to the other side and build bridges. Be Bold, Pivot and Migrate.
This message is StandTall’s message. To Stand Tall means to be bold, courageous. To be true to your truth. To stand up for yourself when something needs to change and to go after it with all you’ve got. While consciously experiencing the transformation that comes with it!
We need to Stand Tall to be able to migrate in life. To deal with the challenges that come with migration, and the resistance that you will experience, whether it’s within yourself, or from your environment. The first people to make bold moves always get the most sh*t. Anthony’s “I will not complain” philosophy may be a good reminder to get through that, together with the clarity, vision and purpose you drew on your own Map.
Be bold, pivot and migrate to a new world that WE have the power to create and shape. We better make it good. Draw that Map and follow it. The more people do this from a place of hope, vision, connection and authenticity, the better.
Get in touch:
anthony@nomadicschoolofbusiness.com
doutzen@standtall.biz