Sam Billingham

How I cycled the coast of California by myself with no experience

Sat, 05 Mar 2016 18:00:00 +0000

If I had told you a year ago that on this day next year I’d be sat on a state beach two weeks into a cycle down the California coastline would you have believed me?

I know some of you would. Here’s the thing, there will always be doubters. I was told I live in a dreamland of positivity. Told that life doesn’t work like that.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll cycle into San Diego after traveling over 700 miles by myself. It’s all downhill from here would be an understatement. With almost no cycling experience how did I manage it and why did I even think I should attempt it?

When things got tough and believe me it certainly got tough this is what I told myself.

If you wrote down everything about this trip. The lack of cycling experience. The budget equipment. The less than perfect bike. The terrain profile. The excess baggage. The dangerous roads. The doubters would say, no way, no way! It’s not possible. The bikes not good enough. You won’t make it up the hills. It’s too dangerous. You’ve never done anything like this. You can’t do it Sam. What they don’t know and what the stats on paper could never show is that with an un-ending supply of passion it doesn’t matter how bad the odds are stacked against you, anything is possible. Sam Billingham is the one riding this bike. Sam Billingham is going to ride this bike up this hill and thats all there is to it. Sam Billingham is just like everyone else except for one tiny thing. Everyone has the ability but not everyone is realising it. Sam Billingham has realised it and he’s using it right now. I repeated this or something like it for as long as it took.

The part in any equation that can never be calculated on paper is the amount of passion you have. If you want something go and do it. I believe you can achieve anything. You can if you really want to. The problem is not your ability, circumstances or finances it’s you drive, tenacity and passion.

I’ve said it before and i’ll keep saying it. Gotta get that mindset.

Maybe it’s because while I was growing up I was told “you can do anything you put your mind to”. Thanks Mom and Dad. Perhaps it’s the 1000s of hours I spent reinforcing it.

If you tell yourself every morning you’re unstoppable, after two years what do you think your first thought upon waking is? Now I’ve not done this and I wouldn’t suggest you do either but how you frame yourself and your situation is critically important.

I believe if you think you’ll never have six figures in the bank, you never will. If you want to travel the world but don’t think it’s possible for you, then it’s not. Please don’t mistake me, I’m not saying you can magically believe yourself into things but if you don’t believe in possibilities you won’t see the opportunities.

Start creating. Start saying yes. Start believing. Most of all, know it’s possible. Soon you’ll see all the walls in-front of you now have doors.

If Life Were A Sci-Fi Movie

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 21:50:00 +0000

I love Sci-Fi Movies. For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated with spaceships, stories from a galaxy far far away and by explorers who travel to distant planets.

I asked myself, which character would I be in an epic Sci-Fi story?

Sam Billingham would be the main character of course. The one who’s stranded on a far away planet and survives. The one who travels light years to find a lost artifact that saves the galaxy. You know the one i’m talking about.

What I realised was, if real life were a Sci-Fi movie my part in the story wouldn’t even make the screen. I’d be tucked away in one of those shimmering towers. Perhaps caught in view as the camera pans the skyline before continuing with the main plot.

If life were indeed a Sci-Fi I would want to be the protagonist explorer not the technician working in the space station. Nobody wants to watch a movie about the programmer in London, so why was I living that story? With that in mind I set out to re-write my story and become that explorer.

It’s not all sunshine and warp drives. The explorer exposes themselves to the full dangerous extent of the universe. As a reward you get to meet friendly aliens, share stories of adventures, and maybe just maybe see a few sunsets in far away places.

90 days ago I quit my full-time job in London in search of adventure, freedom of location and freedom of time. I don’t know how the rest of this story is going to pan out. What I do know is that I’m one step closer to that spaceship.

How To Survive A Cold Shower

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 18:15:00 +0000

After 311 days of cold showers here’s how to make it through your first and why it might be worth it.

I’m not going to lie to you it’s hard.

It’s going to take your breath away.

You’ll want to quit.

You’ll question if it’s healthy and convince yourself it must be dangerous.

Do it anyway.

I told a friend “If you can take a cold shower every day you can do anything” he laughed. My friend dismissed my comment as stupidity without any further analyses. I still believe this statement to be true, perhaps now more than ever.

The act of taking a cold shower is not about the water, it’s about doing battle with yourself and winning. If you’re able to beat that inner voice. The voice that tells you, “you’re not fast enough, not strong enough, not smart enough and not good enough.” If you can shut that voice down and shout back I’ve got this, I believe you have everything you need to get everything you want out of life.

Cold Shower Number One

Don’t try to ease yourself into the temperature, make it as cold as it goes and step under. For the first 30-60 seconds, It’s all about breathing. Get your breathing under control. Long deep breaths. No you are not going to die.

Controlling your breathing is powerful.

If you’re controlling your breathing it’s not going to feel that bad. Move around so the water hits everywhere, chest, back of the neck and under those arms. If you’re struggling, just keep moving. After two minutes, it starts to get easier and won’t feel that cold(promise). Stick it out until at least the five-minute mark. Joel Runyon utilises the battle cry. I’ve never used that technique for fear of my housemates calling an ambulance or the police. Another tick is to play music, the rocky sound track type of stuff.

In the last 311 days, I’ve had zero warm showers they’ve all been as cold as it goes. Here are some ideas I picked up along the way.

1. We can deal with more than we think we can.

If you had told me a year ago that I’d now only take cold showers, I would have been the first to laugh. I imagine most people think they can’t take cold showers, they can. Step into the fear and watch as it melts away. It’s just never as bad as you thought it would be.

2. Anything can be a habit

It’s been months since I’ve mentioned anything about cold showers. My friends and family thought I had stopped. My new housemates didn’t know at all. It has become such a part of my daily life that I didn’t even think about it. Over time conciseness behaviour transforms into default actions

3. Shortcuts only decrease the value for ourselves.

For awhile I started to cut showers short. I would try to jump in and out as quick as possible. It’s not like anybody is keeping track of how long I stay in the shower. This was pointless. The benefits (for me) come from breaking through mental barriers not from getting cold. People won’t always know the shortcuts you take, but you will. Make sure you’re happy with the person who looks back at you in the mirror.

4. People don’t care if you’re crazy

I get a few of these comments -

“You’re crazy.”

“that’s insane.”

“Do you still do it?”

“that’s stupid.”

“I don’t get it, what’s the point?”

No matter how much somebody kicks up a fuss about what you’re doing, within 24 hours they’ll completely forget about you. They will be back to thinking about themselves. You are the only person who lives 100% of your life.

5. We can think about things too much

Talking yourself out of cold showers is super easy. Don’t think just do.

6. It’s about finding what works for you.

If cold showers are not your thing find something else that works.

One of the first things people tend to ask when they have read my blog is, do you still take cold showers? The answer is YES. Cold showers help me. They’re probably not for everyone but If you don’t try it for at-least ten days, I am going to say you still don’t know if they are or not.

Although most people would love to improve themselves, few are willing to sacrifice what they already have to make it happen.

That voice that pushes you towards comfort ignore it. Comfort kills ambition.

Say Yes More

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:00:00 +0000

If you’re willing to strive hard enough to live your life differently it’s likely you’ll actually do it. - Tim Meek

You’ve heard this before but it’s worth repeating until it really sinks in. The people who you surround yourself with will become who you are. The people at Yestival are the people I want to surround myself with.

I’ve always felt I’ve been surrounded by people who don’t get it.

At Yestival, not once did I hear anybody complain. Zero negativity. Every single person I spoke to was encouraging, open minded, willing to share and willing to listen. I’ve not encountered that before and it was wonderful. People get it. People understand the value of time, that life is not guaranteed, that we should strive for purpose.

People asked different questions. I’m not a fan of the ‘what do you do’ question when you meet new people, well really i’m not a fan of the default ‘my day job is X answer’ the question at Yestival was ‘what brought you here?’, I love this question. We’re all on a journey and all at different points on that journey. What brought you here is a question about your story and the path you’re on.

People want to know ‘the plan’ but not in a judgemental way, it is okay to say I don’t know what I am doing. You don’t need to pretend you have it figured out. I don’t have it figured out.

Everybody was equal. At most conferences people line up to chat with speakers, at Yestival the speakers were incredible but the person next to you had an equally amazing story to share. You might not be an arctic explorer or ultra distance cyclist but everybody faces challenges and we all have a unique experience that can offer insight and encouragement to others.

Maybe it’s just me but stories of adventures, long distance human powered travels and the open road hit deep in the feels. So much of life seems to be about working to maintain what you have and not enough about double checking if what you have even matters. I can only imagine that there’s a certain meaning in life that you can only understand by getting knee deep into an epic journey.

The yes tribe is going places, I’m going too. Join Us.

The 100kg Deadlift

Sat, 17 Oct 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Today the 100kg deadlift was crossed off the list. ~~Deadlift 100kg~~.

The weight is not important, what matters was that not so long ago lifting 30kg was a struggle, with practise the weight increased to 50 then 60, 70, 80, 90. Walking into the gym this morning the thought of lifting 100kg off the ground had not crossed my mind, In fact this week my eating has been a bit shoddy and my sleep pretty average there was nothing special about today it was just Saturday. That’s how progress works. Progress doesn’t happen over night, it’s not some special occasion or random occurrence, it happens in the days weeks months years… yes years of taking consistent action. I’ve got more to give was my only though while looking at the 90kg on the ground - with the weights switched out I smashed 3 reps on 100kg. Sometimes you need to go to the edge and give it your best shot even if you’re not sure it will work.

Before starting to workout, picking heavy things up and putting them down used to amuse me, it’s pretty weird right? Now it has become far more than that, for me it has two benefits. Just like cold showers working out can help you harness your mind, not only do you train your muscles and CNS but you train willpower, determination and pure grit. Working out is a way to respect myself. We should all look after ourselves - unfortunately so often we make a distinction between ourself and our body, it’s unfortunate because there is no difference. You are your body. Whenever you’re doing right by your body, it’s all you.

17/10/2015 - 100kg deadlift crossed off the list and replaced by two more challenges.

150kg Deadlift
Compete in a Triathlon

Yeah thats right, competing in a triathlon scares the hell out of me, so that makes it sound like it’s worth doing.

The highlight of this day was walking home from the gym. Often while thinking about my next adventure or challenge my face is visibly excited. Today was no different my face beaming with happiness thinking of this next chapter I’m embarking on. A cyclist coming down the road shouted toward me ”stop giggling”, obviously my excitement was struggling to be contained. He received the biggest smile I’ve got. Because a big smile is a great gift :)

Have fun out there and If can ever help with anything just shout @sam_billingham

Mind The Gap

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 09:00:00 +0000

Please mind the gap between the train and the platform edge.

I find vision easy. I’m sure sometimes my friends must think I am deluded. I can imagine my life at the next level and can see the path to get there. The problem, I get frustrated when things are not great and they don’t live up to the vision I have in my head. When it is possible for a situation to be better but it’s not, I struggle. I call this ‘the gap between good and great’.

The situation I talk about might be anything, most common for me right now is time. I really struggle with how my time is used. Some others. Work if often stressful when I don’t think it needs to be. Most of my friends now live out of town and realistically my schedule doesn’t fit well bouncing between places. Money, when it comes to ‘disposable income’ I sacrifice experiences to save money, when I feel I shouldn’t need to. Okay so maybe you’ve realised what’s going on - this all sounds like a lot of complaining! You’re right. This mess above is ‘The Gap’.

The problem is I forget to focus on what I have. I do have free time. Work could be boring or menial but it’s not. My friendships are solid. I am able to save money each month. These are all good things. Honestly I have it good, so good in-fact that I am sure many would love to live the life I have.

Does that mean it is selfish to want more? Should I be content with exactly what I have or am I allowed to strive for greatness?

A very timely episode of the school of greatness landed in my ears yesterday morning (episode 229 if interested). The School of Greatness is a podcast from Lewis Howes a former pro-athlete, he interviews people to dig into how to get to the next level in Life. I’d recommend giving it a listen if you like this post.

While not really the same topic Lewis talked about making the jump from good to great. How does Lewis say you make the jump? Belief. Belief is what makes the difference. You need to believe in yourself achieve greatest. I wrote about belief in It’s all in the state of mind, probably the most important factor in success.

Lewis acknowledges the idea that we should keep a sense gratitude for our current situation but doesn’t seem to dwell on it as much as I do. I forget that there is the other gap - ‘the gap between bad and good’ maybe if I thought more about how bad things could be I would be more content? Is that negative? I’m not sure.

It seems like a complex balancing act. On one hand I want to strive for a life of greatness. On the other hand I need to remember I am already in the top 1%(probably a lot more).

I don’t really have an answer, all I can do is try to add a little gratitude to each day while heading forward into my vision.

Three words that make a story worth sharing

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 22:00:00 +0000

What is the best use of our time and how do we create a story worth sharing?

Time is a limited resource. Almost everyday I end up questioning “what is the best way to spend my time”? I am not sure I have an answer for this one yet. There is one thing I think I do know. That time passes wether you choose to use it or not, either way it’s gone.

Already it feels like “where did the time go” I can only imagine what it feels like nearing the end of your days when that feeling is stronger. I believe that having a direction is key to regaining some control. If there is no focus or direction things tend to drift.

To stop the drifting of my days I’ve decided to add a little extra focus to me life. I like to think that everybody needs a code, a motto, something simple to help them remember what they’re trying to accomplish. My daily reminder is simple. To learn more, explore more and create more. Three words that I think will lead to a life well lived.

Learn. Explore. Create.

I wanted some success criteria. How do you know when things are going well? I created a list. This list is not intended to be finite, I hope this will grow and morph as my ideas and goals change. I’ve separated them out into my three key ideas. There is a lot of room for overlap but thats a good thing.

Learning is powerful. The lightbulb moment is very possibly unmatched. When you feel yourself starting to make connections, you brain or muscle memory finally able to recall the correct pattern it is an incredible feeling. Seeing improvements is so exciting. My learn list is pretty long. So many things I want to be able to do. One of the most exciting things about learning is the possibility to pass the knowledge on in the future. Learning requires so much investment so I can only imagine many of these will be a long time coming but thats okay.

Exploration is necessary(for me). There is so much out there in the world. We live in a time where the world has become small, everything is assessable. It seems crazy to me not to explore. If life were a Sci Fi I would want to be the explorer not the technician.

Creation is a game changer. The power to create is the power to change lives. Imagination is our greatest tool and creating allows us the opportunity to have a lasting impact. Imagine a world full of creators.

These adventures should be shared and are always made more exciting with like minded humans. So if anybody wants to learn with me, create things with me or explore with me then let me know, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.

Read my starting list here - Learn. Explore. Create. - The List.

The Content Roadblock

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 06:30:00 +0000

I’ve been a little slack with posting on my blog over the past month. Plenty of writing is happening, but nothing is making its way out of the drafts folder. That sucks.

Whats going on?

This problem is not unique to me and it is not unique to writing. I’ve experienced the same problem when coding. I know photographers and artists recognise the exact same issue. Let’s just say everybody does. If a piece of work does not reach an internal standard of quality, then nobody gets to see it. I call this “The Content Roadblock”.

The Content Roadblock

a barrier or barricade on a road, especially one set up by the authorities to stop and examine traffic.

The roadblock is that barrier you setup that is somewhere along you content production highway. It’s a space between creation and sharing, and everybody’s roadblock sits somewhere slightly different.

The idea behind the roadblock is good, it stops you throwing anything and everything in front of people. The problem, however, is it becomes an insurmountable barricade that stops you producing and sharing anything at all. Many people, including me, end up asking “If it won’t pass the roadblock then why should I start to begin with?”

Often all of your ideas end up in a lay-by just before hitting the roadblock never to be heard from again. I have plenty of projects that are still sat in this imaginary lay-by.

Passing The Roadblock

How do we pass the roadblock?

Don’t wait. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can wait until your content is “good enough” your roadblock can move too.

It is a mindset shift and not a skills gap.

Launch at 90%. When something is almost there, just get it out of the door early. This might mean some of your content is not perfect or “as good as it could be” but everything is a learning process and over time this will change. Remember you can never really know how much one piece of content may help somebody, something you were going to leave behind. Share more, worry less.

I know some of my content is not perfect and could likely be improved, but this is about learning. I don’t expect to be an incredible writer from day one. The same goes for photography, videography, programming and anything else I am involved in.

This is not about me knowing how everything works, it’s about figuring it out along the way.

Two Things I am launching past the roadblock

I have a few upcoming posts that have successfully made their way from draft town past the barrier. Yes.

I am using my Instagram account to create a collection of memories and stories.

I have so many incredible experiences documented through photography, but nobody gets to see them. I will be uploading some of my older photos that really only live on Facebook or my computer.

Like the time, I went kayaking in Australia.

2012 kayaking Sunshine Coast. So ready for another #adventure #kayak #freedom #travel

A photo posted by Sam Billingham (@sam_billingham) on Jun 20, 2015 at 1:15am PDT

The surprise trip to Dubai.

Take a frisbee everywhere you go. #sambillie28 #ultimate #dubai

A photo posted by Sam Billingham (@sam_billingham) on Jul 5, 2015 at 12:35am PDT

That incredible sunrise for my 25th Birthday.

What a morning with @pete_veale @jimmyjamz1990 @jakegarbett #sunrise #snowdon #adventure

A photo posted by Sam Billingham (@sam_billingham) on Apr 6, 2015 at 1:47pm PDT

Or long boarding at Camp Chen Wanda.

Longboarding. Camp Chen A Wanda Pennsylvania #18465. Way back in 2010. #longboard #summer

A photo posted by Sam Billingham (@sam_billingham) on Jul 11, 2015 at 1:40am PDT

Smash through the roadblock, start producing and sharing, you never know who you might help along the way.

What’s your perfect day?

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 06:30:00 +0000

Have you ever thought about it?

I like asking thought provoking questions? Two in particular are my favourite and allow you to shortcut a conversation pretty quickly into a meaningful discussion about goals and ambitions.

What does your ideal day look like?
What would you do if money wasn’t an issue?

To many these seem to be the same question. They’re not. Some may freak out when hearing ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ and struggle with the barrier of money - you can throw the second question in to keep digging for an answer. I find people have not given any thought to the idea of their ‘perfect’ day, and this always bewilders me a little. If you don’t know what your are aiming for how do you know when you’ve got it? This ideas reminds me of this popular quote -

“If you don’t build your dream someone will hire you to help build theirs.” - Tony A. Gaskins Jr.

Ask yourself and ask someone else

I regularly find myself asking these questions to make sure I still know where I am going.

I ask other people too, just this week I asked these questions to some friends and unfortunately got the usual response. The classic “I don’t know”. Astonishing. I like the ideal day question becuase it is not about having things it is about living. Don’t leave yourself not knowing, spend sometime thinking about what you really want. Inevitabley people will want to hear your answers to the same questions. So what is it?

For me it’s - freedom of time, freedom of location, going on adventures and a whole lot of frisbee.

On ultimate frisbee and team sports

Fri, 22 May 2015 08:30:00 +0000

Playing ultimate frisbee is some of the most fun I have ever had. There is something special about team sports.

Before I discovered ultimate I was pretty uninterested in sport. I played a bit of badminton and loved cross country, more than happy to run around. I like to joke my dad never showed me a football until I was 15 (probably not true) but it seems growing up in the UK not liking football and not liking sport are one and the same. Meeting a British person, “what team do you support?” Is usually a safe question but I never felt I had a good answer.

Years later at 19 I joined the ultimate frisbee club at Plymouth University (Picnic). Frisbee players are the nicest group of strangers you will ever meet. I’ve experienced the same feeling in UK, Australia and the U.S. and everybody says it is friendly everywhere you go. You can use pickupultimate.com to find games almost anywhere in the world. One memorable time I did this was after a 9 hour bus ride from Buffalo NY down to Manhattan I found a game in Prospect park using McDonald’s WiFi and headed over for hours of frisbee fun.

Ultimate is a fast-paced game combining throwing, catching, sprinting and man on man defence. If you have never seen ultimate played watch this Ultimate from a GoPro to get a feel for it.

I joined multiple clubs starting university including basketball, American football, badminton, ultimate, mountaineering and all terrain Boarding. Frisbee was different there is little expectation that you should already be good, everybody is looking to constantly learn and improve and much less of a feeling that you have to be good enough to get selected. I’m possibly still in the “over-sharing” phase for ultimate I just think everybody should give it a try and if you start me off I won’t hesitate to tell you about how much I love frisbee. If you’ve never played a team sport give Ultimate a try.

Playing a team sport has given me a respect for all sports I never had before. I can watch any sport and appreciate the time and practise that’s needed to attain a high level of play. There is years of preparation that goes into every single pass. I think sport poses interesting ideas about winning.

Everybody likes to win. I like to win. Winning is exciting. In a game of Ultimate the goal is clear, maintain possession and score, force a turnover and repeat. You need to score more points that the other team. If you score more you win. Simple. You’re all working towards the same goal and the sense of camaraderie on a team is incredible.

Life is a little harder to win, the objectives are less clear and the goals need to be set by you. If winning is hard to define its no wonder the game is hard to play. How do you get that same sense of camaraderie when everybody sets their own goals? My winning criteria aren’t really set yet - I’m working on it. The game I’m playing right now is learning - writing, podcasting, teaching, creating products, health and fitness. I want to spend my time learning and improving next up snowboarding, surfing, guitar, travel, foreign languages. If you’re not quite sure how to win yet just start playing. I’m hopping my strategy will push me closer to winning, only time will tell.