Kim Slade - Licking the Lid of Life

We talked to Kim about

• Studying the stoner's degree that is music technology
• Not feeling he could focus enough to become a professional singer-songwriter
• Swapping music tours for travelling
• Enjoying the creative process
• Going to the Happy Startup School Summercamp five years previously when first looking to leave employment
• On the travelling bug and finding the places that other people don't
• Having a Mum and Dad who encouraged adventure
• The importance of a 'Buddy' (Nicola in Kim's case) when stepping outside a comfort zone 
• Wanting to be a pioneer
• Travelling to Central America not understanding that no one speaks English
• Almost leaving Central America because it was too daunting
• On the words of Warren who becomes Kim's Central American Mentor "don't be soft"
• The kindness of strangers
• The fine line between trusting and being wary of strangers  
• The adventure of moving from Bognor Regis to Brighton
• Being a confident version of himself and getting his first career job in social media 
• Becoming bored and selling everything to go on another adventure when life was perfectly comfortable
• His obsession with islands
• Finding the edge's of the territory in which he's just arrived
• Not wanting to miss out on an experience 
• The moment he realised he wasn't going to get another job again
• Arriving back in the UK with no money
• Living on a leaky boat with nappies on the ceiling to collect the drips 
• The need for resilience when making a transition (for Kim, from employment to self-employment) 
• Starting the adventure company 'Unknown Epic'
• The importance of direction / a goal when trying to make decisions
• Becoming a coach to friends who struggle to step outside their comfort zone
• The extent to which we all grow is in direct proportion to the uncomfortableness we experience
• Getting married one day and losing his father-in-law the following morning 
• Losing confidence, depression and letting his wife down    
• The importance of noticing rock-bottom
• The importance of asking for help, talking and therapy
• How Barry the Van became Kim's therapist and allowed him to focus on something other than his depression 
• The benefits of living on a shoestring
• Setting up Touch Video Academy and learning about business
• The difficulty of balancing adventure and the environment
• Founding Unlost  
• The constant challenge of balancing the need for money with the need for adventure  

Derek Sivers Ted Talk covering the Leaders & Followers
Unknown Epic - Forgotten Valleys
Touch Video Academy
Unlost