Learning Adventure

Adventure 363 ~ Read The First Edition Of The Folk And Fairy Tales Of The Brothers Grimm

/ intrepidjane

For Christmas this year, I gifted myself a copy of the first edition Grimms’ kinder- und Hausmärchen [1812-1815], and, for today’s adventure, I’ve spent some time reading it.

If you’re a fan of the Brothers Grimm, it’s likely that the version of the stories you know and love come from the seventh edition of this collection of folk and fairy tales – and not the first.

An American scholar by the name of Jack Zipes set about translating and editing the first edition – and it’s a fascinating read! In the first edition, the Brothers Grimm tried to remain as faithful as they could to the original stories. This means that there are often notable difference between the tales we know today and the originals.

Many of the tales in the first edition don’t shy away from reality. Some are gruesome and almost Kafkaesque. The baddy is not the stepmother – rather the mother. What our childhood memory insists are very long tales are often only  paragraph or two long. Oh – and Rapunzel … well she had a “merry time” with the prince and got herself pregnant!

In the introduction, Jack Zipes does not shy away from giving credit to the Brothers Grimm for prettying up the stories. They are undoubtedly great craftsmen. However, it is also clear that the later tellings bow to the cultural and social pressures of the day.

I like the rawness of the first edition and I like the fact that there isn’t always a happy ending. For me – that is life – and that is how I like to write my stories too. Today’s adventure has helped me to add to the simmering pot of storylines I have on the cooker – and added to a sense of kinship with the people who told those original tales … not the sanitised ones.

You can find The Complete First Edition ~ The Original Folk And Fairy Tales Of The Brothers Grimm on Amazon here.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 362 ~ Create A Survey Using SurveyMonkey

/ intrepidjane

After yesterday’s business planning adventure, I was feeling rather smug and organised until I realised that it was all very well having a delivery plan from a whole new range of products and services, but what if no-one wanted these new products and services?

This realisation (ie. that just because I think that my products and services are brilliant doesn’t mean that my customers do!) nudged me into today’s adventure : to create an on-line survey for my business.

I think this probably counts as the most sensible adventure of the year. It took a while to get the hang of SurveyMonkey, but it’s free and very professional looking. I’ve devised 10 questions (mostly multiple choice) to get some honest feedback about what I’m offering in 2015. I’m going to send this survey out in a newsletter to my mailing list on Friday.

I think this information is going to be vital!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 361 ~ Work Through A Year Planner For 2015

/ intrepidjane

For today’s adventure, I had a go at working through a planning process for 2015. I used a workbook I had gifted myself for Christmas : it covered my life in general and my business.

It took me several hours to work through the process, and I have to admit that much of it did not resonate with me at all (and it felt very constricting too). However, the business planning process was enlightening (although, again, I felt  “squeezed” whilst I was doing it!)

2014 has felt like a very expansive and opening year ; my only plan was to have an adventure every single day. And that loose plan has brought untold gifts and rewards. I think that it has really put me back in touch with my deepest desires and talents. I am keen to respect the outcomes of this year – and I intend to follow the threads of adventure that have brought me the most (writing is one of those threads and – it surprises me to be writing this, let me tell you! – technology 😛 . Webinars have been fun to do, and in 2015, I’m going to have a go at podcasting and making some digital products!)

For 2015, my business is going to be changing and I think the planning process in the workbook has helped me to concretise what those changes might look like, how much work will be involved, and what the financial rewards might look like. Going through the process also made me think that it might be quite useful to survey my client-base – especially since I am going to be making some big changes!

I talk more about today’s adventure in this video-blog :

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 360 ~ Learn Old English Greetings

/ intrepidjane

Be Well! In Old EnglishWith only 6 days of my 365 Days Of Adventure remaining, I really want to make the most of every opportunity!

For today’s adventure, I took my very first lesson in Old English (Anglo Saxon) and it was a lot of fun 🙂 . I studied both German and Old Norse at university, and there are huge similarities between these languages and Old English.

Today’s taster session was enough to get me interested in taking my studies further. (And, I think it will help my storytelling too!)

In today’s video you can watch me speaking my very first words in Old English!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 303 ~ Learn Facial Features In Finnish

/ intrepidjane

Yup. I’m still going with the whole Finnish thing : it feels good 🙂 .

Today I learn the words used to describe facial features. You an see how I got on in today’s video blog.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 302 ~ Learn How To Count From 0-10 In Finnish

/ intrepidjane

Today I learn how to count from 0-10 in Finnish. I find the rhythm of the language mesmerising. The rhythm seems to be the key to learning and remembering this language.

For some reason, today’s words seem uncannily familiar. To be more precise, they “feel” familiar. I’m going to pay attention to this feeling and walk a little deeper into the Finnish forest 🙂 .

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 301 ~ Learn Some Basic Finnish Phrases

/ intrepidjane

Do you speak Finnish?For today’s adventure, I’ve learned some basic Finnish phrases. I used Finnish Pod 101 to help me out. What surprised me about learning the phrases is how helpful rhythm is when speaking Finnish 🙂 .

You can hear me speaking Finnish in today’s video. I’m using the familiar form of language and I’m saying : Hello. My name is Jane. Pleased to meet you. Do you speak English? Bye!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 299 ~ Learn Some Basic Hungarian Phrases

/ intrepidjane

Do you speak Hungarian?When people hear about my 365 Days Of Adventure project, one of the most common things they say is, “That’s really inspiring, but I just don’t have time for that kind of thing.”

The whole emphasis of the project has been on having a micro adventure everyday. Some of those micro adventures have added up to become mighty big adventures. I’ll also admit that some of my adventures took me a little longer than others ~ in fact, writing the chapters for my unromantic romantic novel seemed painfully long at times (what with all those tragic deaths and no romance whatsoever) 😛

For today’s adventure, I want to show you that it is really possible to integrate daily adventure into your life without it taking too much time. At the moment I am super busy with work, and I’m also keen to tie up the loose ends from some of my larger adventures. And yet, I still have the impulse to break into new adventure territory every day.

My 365 Days Of Adventure project has reminded me that I love to learn new things – and that learning feels really adventurous. When I’m learning something new, I’m pioneering. When I’m learning something new, I’m not sure if I’m going to succeed, I’m not sure if I’m going to bump up against my own edges. When I’m learning something new, I’m learning more about myself.

And now that I find myself in a very busy period, to keep the spirit of adventure alive, I’m going to feed that spirit with learning. A wee taste of learning will be enough to keep the spirit alive. It’s as simple as that!

For today’s adventure, I’m learning some basic Hungarian phrases, helped by Hungarian Pod 101 . What I like about these language-learning videos is that they say that you’ll learn something in less than 3 minutes. My inner adventurer gets excited by that invitation 🙂 . Is it really possible for me to do this? As I’m watching the video, I can feel the thrill of adventure and I can feel the fun of learning too.

You can see if I managed to learn some Hungarian in today’s video. I’m saying “Hello. My name is Jane. Nice to meet you! Do you speak English? I don’t speak Hungarian.”

If you know what brings you to life, I wonder what would happen if you spent 3 minutes a day “feeding” that thing? And if you don’t know what brings you to life, I wonder what would happen if you spent 3 minutes a day experimenting and exploring… until you discovered what brings you to life?

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 298 ~ Explore My Branding

/ intrepidjane

Jane Talbot ~ Humans ResourcedConsidering I’m such an adventurous gal, you’d think that I’d enjoy a change-about now and again, wouldn’t you? Looking at both my Facebook wall and page for my business, I realised that I hadn’t changed my wall cover image since September 2013 – and I hadn’t change my Humans Resourced page cover EVER!

Jane Talbot ~ Humans ResourcedThis 365 Days Of Adventure project has really got me thinking about what I’m all about, the way I’d like to run my business in the future, and the kind of life I want to live. So for today’s adventure, I’ve been exploring and playing – trying to find images and words that express more of who I am.

Jane Talbot ~ Humans ResourcedFor my Humans Resourced page, I’ve now generated a collection of images around the theme of “Bold Living” – I think that’s the direction my business is headed in right now. I’ve posted my favourites here ~ the peacock image is currently gracing the header spot on my Humans Resourced Facebook page 🙂 .

Henry Thoreau QuoteFor my personal wall, I’ve taken a Henry David Thoreau quote and made it into a cover picture. I think the quote really captures the essence of what I’m about and how I’m living.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 278 ~ Create A Poll For My Audio Download Cover

/ intrepidjane

Today I thought I’d have a bit of  fun learning how to insert an opinion poll into my blog! So, I’ve created 4 images that are in the running for being the cover for the audio download of my original Irish faerie story, The Faerie Thorn. All you have to do is to tell me which of the images works best for you (or if none of them works for you, that’s okay too!). If you have any additional comments or thoughts that may help me to craft an image that is attractive to you, just drop me a note in the comments box!

Click on each of the images to enlarge them 🙂  and then check the appropriate “button” in the poll box below.

Image 1

Image 1

Image 2

Image 2

Image 3

Image 3

Image 4

Image 4

 

 

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT