So, what’s up with the Global Hug Tour? I think the most honest answer to that question is to explain that we’re going through the same things in life that you are. In other words, while enthusiasm and belief are strong, time and money are limited. It’s a big project with a lot of moving pieces.

Imagine the planning that would go into a two-week vacation to Europe. Now make that a 5-month trip with 50 events worldwide and you have the picture of the task we’ve been facing. The logistics alone are staggering, let alone adding in things like weather patterns and safety issues.

Did we bite off more than we can chew? Maybe. Are we going to let that stop us? Never!

We’ve talked with sponsors who are enthusiastic to support us because this kind of project has never been done before, but are also leery because, you guessed it, this has never been done before. We’ve tried to wrap our heads around this project like we already have with our hearts, and the massive amount of work seems overwhelming at times.

I’m reminded of when we launched our website, InspireMeToday.com. We were in the process of gathering inspiration from Luminaries to feature each day. I didn’t want to launch until we had 120 days- 4 months of daily content in the can. However after waiting and waiting until everything was perfect, we decided to launch with just 20 Luminaries and trust that we would figure it out as we went. You know what?

Everything lined up, one Luminary referred another and we’ve had a waiting list ever since. And it all happened because we took the first step, with faith.

We’ve been waiting to launch the Global Hug Tour until we can afford the perfect airplane, until we can find the perfect sponsor, until, until, until. In the meantime, the world needs the inspiration, tangible donation dollars and love, not to mention the hugs.

Take the 1st step!

So, with little more than a great deal of faith, we’re launching the Global Hug Tour. As many things in life can appear overwhelming, we all know the best technique is to break it down into smaller, more manageable portions and then start on the first one now.

I mentor others on how to take an idea and bring it to reality. My number one piece of advice is to take the first step, even if you don’t know what the second step will be- just take the first step! You can climb the biggest mountain, one baby step at a time.

Our team has an expression- “If you’re going to eat an elephant, you have to do it one bite at a time. While I’m not advocating that anyone actually eat an elephant, the concept remains the same. Take the first bite. Take the first step. Yet here I am, waiting until everything is perfect to start. That’s just silly!

A natural consequence of getting started is that the pieces of the rest of the puzzle will suddenly appear obvious and easily align, once we’ve placed the first ones on the table.

So, our preliminary plan is this: YES, we’re still going the whole way around the world, but it will take much longer to do so under the new plan. We’ve had an overwhelming amount of requests for us to visit South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand- none of which were on the original tour. We’ve had requests for many more cities in North America too. We asked, you answered and we’re listening.

We’ll start with the North American Global Hug Tour first, followed by the European tour, the Middle East and Africa tour, then the Pacific/Asia tour, followed by the South American tour after we return back to the US.

This new tour schedule will be spread out in two to five-month chunks through the next few years, but will allow us to focus on one region at a time and make a greater impact. Details are coming soon!

Our entire reason for doing this is to make a positive difference in the world, to highlight the wisdom from all corners of the globe and to celebrate our commonalities. To do that properly we need to spend more time than a day or so in each city. If you’re going to do it, do it right!

We’re planning to begin the North American Global Hug Tour this fall, with stops along the west coast. Stay tuned for the exact dates to be announced very soon! Depending upon the amount of buzz generated and the reception locally, we’ll then take the tour to the rest of North America and then to the world, one region at a time.

Because of the scope of the project, we need your help even to take these first baby steps. Please check out the top ten ways you can help. Also, feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions or any offers of assistance. Your recommendations, advice and support are greatly appreciated- thank you!

And so with this transparent email, I’m sharing with you what’s been stopping us so far, and also explaining the leap of faith we’re now taking to make this happen. I know you understand, because chances are, you’re going through something similar in your own life.

I’m writing to ask you to jump off the ledge with me with your own project. What baby step could you take that would open the door for you? What bite of your own elephant could you take today? What one action could you take that would move you closer to your dream? Go do it!

I encourage you to step off the ledge with me, in faith, and together let’s go make our dreams happen. The world not only needs our dreams too, but it has been waiting long enough. Let’s go make it happen together!

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 at 11:03 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.