Roz’s Story
“I think there is a lot to be said for not being afraid to fail. I realized that actually it was okay. I kept breathing, the world kept turning. I didn't die of failure.”
During her childhood, Roz’s parents moved around a lot as they were methodist ministers. As a result, she just wanted to be “normal” and have a “normal” life. She started a career in management consulting, got married, became successful, and lived an “ordinary” life just as she thought she wanted. But Roz felt that something was still missing. She started reading self-help books and soon realized that she wanted to be remembered as someone who lived her life to the fullest. The change took a few years and required letting go of her job, her marriage, and her comfortable life.
She decided to write a book, travel, and be open to new opportunities.
Finding Her Purpose
“I was in alignment, the heart had persuaded the head. And I think when you have those two in alignment, there's not much that you can't achieve.”
In 2003, Roz went on a pilgrimage in Peru to write about her adventures for her book. During this pilgrimage she learned that the glaciers in Peru were receding due to climate change.
When she returned to England she started to educate herself on the topic and this lit a fire in her heart. She tried many things to find her true calling and was sitting with the idea for about 6 months. Eventually, ocean rowing found her in 2004. She was on a long car drive when it dawned on her that she could use ocean rowing as a powerful platform to talk about her environmental message.
Rowing The “Big Three” Oceans
“Early on, I realized that I wanted to be able to look back on this experience and be proud that I showed up and did my job.”
Roz prepared for a few months, and eventually, convinced her mind that she was capable of ocean rowing. She went on a 3.5 months long 3000 miles adventure all by herself. Early on in the voyage, she fell into depression as she was alone, the weather was miserable, and she felt like an imposter. However, she slowly became more compassionate towards herself and became her own support system.
The biggest lessons Roz learned during her voyage:
When you apply effort consistently over time, it's amazing what you can achieve.
No effort is ever wasted.
The world is surprisingly small and fragile.
Roz’s Mission
“This bird has been flying on one wing. And we need both wings now.”
Roz founded a network for women, called the Sisters. They are forging a web of connection around the world by collaborating on specific, mostly social impact-related projects. Her intention is to create a balance in today’s economic model, as currently, it tends to only reward competition and self-interest instead of compassion and collaboration.
Roz hopes that people won't just write off this time of lockdown and they will take it as an opportunity for a pause, a reset, and a recalibration to prioritize what's really important in life.
Eulogy Exercise
We hope you enjoyed the interview with Roz Savage. We would like you to take a moment and contemplate the following living inquiry:
What would it mean for you to approach your life with the end in mind?
Imagine yourself at the end of your life. What would you need to change (if anything) in order to have a happy death and be happy on your deathbed?
Roz mentioned that writing her own eulogy was a fundamental step to her transformation.
We invite you to find a quiet space, where you won't be disturbed and journal on the following:
Imagine someone close to you (a friend, family member, partner) at your own funeral reading your eulogy, looking back at your life as it is right now (honestly and without exaggerations).
What would that friend say about your personality, achievements, personal life, professional life, role in the community and behaviour towards others?
Now imagine your ideal eulogy.
What would you ideally like your friend to say about you and your life.
This time, feel free to exaggerate, to write down how you would ideally like your friend to describe your personality, achievements, personal life, professional life, role in the community and behaviour towards others?
What is the first step that you could take today to change your life in the direction of your ideal eulogy?
About Our Guest Roz Savage
Roz Savage is the first (and so far only) woman to row solo across the world’s “Big Three” oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian. She holds four Guinness World Records and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to fundraising and the environment.
It was an unexpected career move for a former management consultant who doesn’t particularly enjoy exercise. She was inspired to brave the oceans when she realized two things: 1) we are all capable of much more than we tend to believe we are, and 2) we need to make some changes if we're going to live healthy lives on a thriving planet. So she used her voyages to expand her own limits and to promote sustainable living.
She now writes, speaks, and lectures on sustainability, courage, resilience, and change.
Special thanks to Roz Savage for taking the time to share her inspiring story with us
Resources Mentioned In The Show
Stephen Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
James Redfield - The Celestine Prophecy
Neale Donald Walsch - Conversations with God
Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat, Pray, Love
Her book: The Gifts of Solitude: A Short Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Isolation
Continue Your Journey
Now it is time to find your own unique path. We can help you to connect with your innate wisdom and create an inspiring vision for a deeply fulfilling and meaningful life. Apply for a discovery session on our website, palmamichel.com.
Learn to meditate with Palma on the MUSE brain-sensing device and receive a 15% discount (will be shown at checkout only) with this link!
Thank You
Thank you for joining us on this journey of the Explorer’s Mind Podcast.
If you enjoyed this episode, there are a few things we would be very grateful for if you would do right now:
Please share this episode with someone you think would be inspired by this episode.
Until next time, We truly appreciate you listening and look forward to continuing this journey together.