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# Starting with a clean plate
- URL: https://vaughan.ai/blog/starting-with-a-clean-plate/
- Published: 2009-06-09T02:59:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-07T23:20:34.000Z
- Author: Vaughan Fergusson
- Tags: Getting Things Done, Life, #medium-import

Well I have just cycled the length of New Zealand. Cool! Now what?

I did the cycle to prove a point, that nothing is impossible. Somethings are improbable but there is a big difference between improbable and impossible. I never thought I would be able to do something like ride a bike from one end of the country to the other, very improbable. So I broke it down, figured out what I needed to do, I came up with a plan and I did it. I took the improbable, removed as much of the risk and uncertainties as possible and boiled it down to a bunch of smaller things I could achieve:

- Ride a bike? check.
- Ride a bike up a hill (without vomiting)? check.
- Ride a bike for a whole day? check.
- Ride a bike for a day then be able to get up the next day and do it again? check.

That was it. I found a replicable formula and then kept doing it until I got to the end. It is often too easy to put up barriers in front of goals, some fickle and no more substantial than a sheet of rice paper, and for you to use these as excuses as to why you can not achieve your goals. Along the way I lost 20kg, met a heap of interesting people, and had plenty of time to just think, something we all deprive ourselves of in our busy lives. The trip was a journey of discovery for myself, and I learnt a lot. Okay, I will get off of my horse now.

So, now that adventure is complete, I have this bubbling enthusiasm running through my veins and I now found myself at the next start line ready for the next adventure, which is pretty exciting. No I am not looking to roller-skate around the Antarctic, or pogo Route 66\. As a part of preparing myself for the ride, I cleared all of my commitments from my plate, and now I have one of those rare and exhilarating opportunities in front of me. The opportunity to load my plate up as high as I like with new and exciting things.

So if you have any ideas, or you think I might be able to help you out with something let me know. There are some brief details on my background [here](http://www.8degrees.co.nz/about-vaughan/?ref=vaughan.ai). If you know me you will know I also posses boundless enthusiasm and optimism, something I am not afraid of offering about myself. I can’t offer my time free, I have bills to pay. But get in touch I would love to hear from you, before my plate fills up again.