What happens if you continuously step outside of your comfort zone

If I would sum up my last eight weeks, the common theme would be stepping outside of my comfort zone! To provide you with a reflection on what I have learned, you have to know that my three values are courage, transformation and connection. 

Up to this date, I didn't think I was someone who could inspire large groups of people, because who would be interested in me and my story? Whilst this is not the topic of this post, you would understand that it took a lot of courage, to go public with it on Instagram and LinkedIn. You may think, why would you want to share intimate details about your private life on a platform like LinkedIn. I thought the same thing until I saw the results. 

Tory Archbold from Powerful Steps has been the reason for the transformation. She has mentored me and a small group of amazing women over the last eight weeks. She taught us by getting uncomfortable, by being in full alignment with who we are and knowing our personal values, we can achieve anything we set our mind to.

My very first post got 15K views, 330 reactions and 119 comments, including comments from people I have never met. The second post was to support the #thislittlegirlisme campaign, which got another 15K views and 66 comments. 

My story resonated with people from all around the world. Paul wrote, that he would be sharing this story with his four girls. Tushar said "This is absolutely soulful Alice. Your written words actually have a voice louder and more motivating than other brands promoting women's interests. And why just women, you inspire everyone alike!". I was very humbled by everyone who reached out and thought this was inspirational. 

My intention behind sharing those details with you is that we all have a story to tell and we can all inspire those around us by being authentic. I stepped out of my comfort zone to talk about my transformation, leaving East Germany with my parents, my sister, two suitcases and 500 Mark to being the owner and founder of Retreat a Little and major milestones that happened in between. 

Since sharing some intimate details about my life, I have been invited to appear on three incredible podcasts. Emily Hawkins from The LeaderSHIFT Playbook was the first person to extend an invitation. Emily lives in Atlanta, somehow my story ended up on her LinkedIn feed and she felt inspired to reach out. 

Little did we know that we would also be invited to appear on Tory's hugely popular podcast Powerful Stories, which just reached 11K downloads across Nova, Apple and Spotify. I am still pinching myself, to be featured on a podcast that usually hosts the biggest names in Australia. Listeners will find out more about my story and the inspiration behind Retreat a Little. 

The most recent invitation came from Dee, who is the owner of InSync Workplace Solutions, an inspirational leader across a wide range of industries who has also just launched her mentoring program Connect, Learn, Grow. 

Listening to podcasts has been transformational for me over the last 24 months. It took courage to say yes to those opportunities, but I enjoyed the nervousness, the rush and the adrenalin rushing through my body. I can't wait for each one of those podcasts to air, to find out how far my story will travel through the power of connection. 

I consider myself very lucky because my husband grew up in a household, where "I can't do this" didn't seem to exist. He gets real joy in pushing me outside of my comfort zone to show me what I can achieve. Over the years we jumped out of planes, participated in Tough Mudder & Spartan races, swam with whale sharks and grey nurse sharks and sat in ice baths for four minutes.

In 2016 we also decided to take an adult gap year to travel around Australia in our 4WD. We left our corporate careers, our six-figure salaries and the comfort of our home to live in a rooftop tent for fourteen months. Not only did I have to endure some of the toughest tracks in Australia, but I also had to drive them. How else do you get drone shots like the one below? 

So my question is, what would happen if you stepped outside of your comfort zone today? Because I can tell you from personal experience, that's where the magic happens. 

Camel ride at Cable Beach, Broome - birds-eye view

Frank the Tank, our home for 14 months.