Contribyoution

26/11/2014

Thinking about Contribyoution Adventures 2015. If there was one place that you could explore next year, where would it be?

10/11/2014

This is the mindset that inspired us to start Contribyoution Adventures!

http://www.inc.com/leila-janah/what-low-budget-travel-has-to-do-with-starting-up.html?cid=sf01002

Sama group founder Leila Janah explains how years of low-budget travel helped her identify the businesses she wanted to start.

04/09/2014

From Adventure 2014.

12/08/2014

Where we learned about natural pharmacies, rugs, and souks!

11/08/2014

Here is a wrap from our 2014 Adventure! Check out some incredible, short thoughts from the team about their journey! http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/contribyoutionadventure1

01/08/2014

Beaches. Sunburns. Tapas.

31/07/2014

The blue city was the last new city on our round trip. We came together as a team and helped one another to reflect and refocus while we finished up the idea incubator.

30/07/2014

From climbing a ridiculously large rock to sleeping on a boat next to Steven Spielburg's close encounter cult.... we found good reason to be pleasantly confused by this British colony.

29/07/2014

YOU are not late!

No, the good ideas aren’t all taken. In fact, if you want to be a big-impact entrepreneur, there has never been a better time to get started than right now.

29/07/2014

"This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." -
George Bernard Shaw

26/07/2014

"I’m a perfectionist, and really letting that go in order to make messy, fun drawings for the kids was something I probably wouldn’t have done before." -- Darren Rocks

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/11/ybslbbli182pf1o62fa2avyxzclprc

Thoughts on TEACHING from Darren OH WOW. This was it. This was the biggest challenge I faced. The class only lasted for 2 hours and 30 minutes, but oh boy…these kids were FERAL. I’m talking boys fighting in class, a girl running around with a bin (TRASH CAN for you Americans) throwing its conten…

25/07/2014

"The whole way that I saw my future life was being thrown out the window. I suddenly had an infinite amount of options in front of me, and that was terrifying." -- Mary Sheehy

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/11/realizing-endless-opportunities

Thoughts from Mary Sheehy On our first morning in Rabat we all sat around a table in the hostel eating fruit and nuts and discussed my different project ideas. The assignment was to take various items from my dream life and create various projects by connecting them to create one big project. This a…

22/07/2014

"This was a moment when I realized that I had done it; I was actually living my dream. Along the trail we sat down every hour or so and pitched our incubator project ideas to each other. While sitting looking at that waterfall I realized that soon enough I would be back in Africa to pursue another dream. I had never been so satisfied with my life than I was in that moment." -- Mary Sheehy

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/10/cascade-of-dreams

A Top Moment from Mary Sheehy Growing up just an hour south of the White Mountains in New Hampshire I was no stranger to hiking. We would go camping as a family every summer and take multiple hiking adventures. Although the views of the lakes region were always lovely, I have never seen views like w…

21/07/2014

"I felt uneasy because I couldn’t make a well-timed joke with the kids due to not speaking their language. But I just wasn’t adapting it to the situation. They’re kids, they didn’t need to be impressed, they just needed my attention. I think that’s something we all forget sometimes." -- Darren

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/11/they-dont-need-to-be-impressed

Thoughts from Darren Not being able to communicate with people in a language they understand is something that’s not entirely new to me, and honestly, I am used to it. This is because before going on this adventure I was on a student exchange programme in Paris. My ability to speak in French is la…

19/07/2014

"These kids showed me what pure happiness looks like. They had so much fun, and in turn I also had a blast. It didn't matter that we couldn't communicate because of the language barrier, I knew that they were grateful and so happy." -- Mary Sheehy

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/10/pure-happiness

A Top Moment from Mary Sheehy A big part of our trip was volunteering in Rabat. In the mornings we taught English to 3, 4, and 5 year olds. In the afternoons we played with children and young adults with disabilities. We had no idea what to expect with either project, so going in the first day was a…

18/07/2014

"I had to really look at the way I was living and critique myself on things I could be doing better. It was really an eye opener to what my life could look like in the near future. Challenging to better myself through my personal mission was one of the hardest things to deal with on this two-week adventure." -- Mary Katherine Ward

Top challenges from Mary Ward One of the biggest challenges for me on this trip was being able to figure out how I wanted to live my life and in what way I could do this with the things I wanted to accomplish in the future. I had to really look at the way I was living and critique myself on things…

17/07/2014

Darren has awesome (and hilarious) thoughts in this two part blog series on his biggest struggle on our adventure: SUNBURN
http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/11/a-learning-curve-on-being-helped-a-scot-and-his-sunburn-part-deux

Thoughts on a learning cuve from Darren SUNBUUUUUUUURN. Totally self-inflicted. You’ve probably read the blog post, so we’ll just breeze past the details… I have this huge insecurity where I have to be liked. Even if I’m not the biggest fan of someone, I still want them to like me. Yes, I’m actu…

16/07/2014

Here is a top challenging moment from Mary Sheehy! Check out the blog to catch up on all of the fun stories from adventures! http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/10/veggie-struggles

A Top Challenge from Mary Sheehy I am an insanely picky eater, so food while traveling is always an issue for me. I can stomach most things that I don't like, however I really don't like to eat meat. I'll eat chicken and fish, but definitely not red meat. My host family in Ireland has been extremely…

15/07/2014

"I walked on steep mountain ranges, hopped across rivers, and slide down extremely steep hills. I concurred so many fears in that one day that I never thought would happen in my life. I embraced the adventure side in me and took charge over my body and mind." -- Mary (MK) Ward http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/11/pacgmrkcacj1gtsp6h4oyikxcsoh2o

Thoughts from Mary Ward. One of my top moments was when we climbed to the Akchour waterfall in Chefchaouen, Morocco. When we got to the waterfall after three hours of hiking, I felt this sense of accomplishment that only happens a few times in your life. Hiking in the Rif Mountains with the Contr…

14/07/2014

"If I had witnessed someone separating seeds by hand back home I just wouldn’t have appreciated it. I would be too busy considering what tools could be used to make the process easier, and I would be completely ignorant to just how soothing the whole thing was." -- Darren Rocks

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/11/separating-seeds

A top moment from Darren Miguel and I shared a host family together. We lived in a Riad with lots of different families. It was very cool, absolutely no privacy, but it was definitely an experience I won’t forget. Our host mum’s daughter was always round and she was studying for her exams, so she…

11/07/2014

"It was in this moment that I realized how awesome my life is, and that's it's heading in exactly the right direction." - Mary Sheehy

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/7/10/ds4zjekulzhj0biiljdhiutakmbakd

A Top Moment From Mary Sheehy Upon arrival in Gibraltar the first thing we saw was a massive mountain, The Rock of Gibraltar to be exact. The rock/mountain is quite hard to miss as it towers over the entire city. After setting down our bags, Meagan, MK, and I went to explore this rock (Darren was st…

10/07/2014

"Failure is just as normal as success. In fact, one helps to define the other." - Miguel Jimenez Jimenez

http://www.thecontribyoutionexperiment.com/blog/2014/6/26/failure-is-certain

Thoughts from Miguel- We are afraid of failure. But what is failure? Failure is just as normal as success. In fact, one helps to define the other. The difference is that failure teaches us and helps us grow. The key to ending the fear of failure is to view it as a way of learning and strengthening…

09/07/2014

Starting tomorrow, we will be posting a new blog every day with thoughts from a member of our adventure team. We are so excited to share what we have learned with you!

27/06/2014

The ContribYOUtion Adventure Team has just returned from 2 weeks of backpacking, continent hopping, hiking, volunteering, idea creating, strategizing, soul searching, mission statement developing, and dreaming. Now we are finally taking this weekend to BREATHE! Have you taken time to simply reflect on all that you are learning, making, and giving?

25/06/2014

http://mychannel957.com/this-one-minute-video-of-jim-carreys-commencement-speech-might-change-your-life-video/?trackback=fbshare

'All there will ever be is what's happening here.' Solid advice!

23/06/2014

Yesterday's hiking adventure in was 6 hours full of physical and mental challenges! We hiked hard- stopping only to listen to each member pitch an idea and provide feedback for his/her new project!

08/06/2014

Follow us on Instagram to be inspired by visual candy of what we are learning, making, and doing in Spain and Morocco during the next two weeks!

www.instagram.com/contribyoution

We are a collective of widely creative pioneers exploring the world with one question: What are we capable of?

07/05/2014

Anyone down for an Italian Riviera hiking retreat this summer? The next Contrib(YOU)tion Adventure is in the works!

03/05/2014

Our Adventure team will be learning this week about volunteering abroad. As short term volunteers, it is important to remember that our mission is not to save the world. It is to love people: One conversation, act of service, or expression of gratitude at a time.