Rebel, Sober and Proud by Dawn Bates

REBEL, SOBER AND PROUD.

Wet and Wild is only just part of it.

B Y D A W N B A T E S

Staring out into the freezing cold night, bracing myself for the next 10-metre wave to crash over the bow, I couldn't help but giggle to myself. I knew I was going to get drenched by these ice-cold waves for at least another 4 hours, and I did not care one bit!

My giggles were drowned out by the roar of the 4.4*C winds. Any fears I had about anything in my life were blown away with the 28kph winds. This, to me, was the ultimate in any sailing I had done so far.

Putting on my still damp wet weather gear over layers of clothing, after having been woken for the watch at 3:30 am, getting ready to face the waves of the 'rolling fifties', just a week's sail away from Antarctica, wasn't a hardship.

In fact, standing on the bow, harnessed to the ship to make sure I didn't go overboard into the ocean, which barely made 7*c, was a lot more fun than any other waves I have experienced around the world. Even the waves I surfed at 54kph on deck, at the helm in just a pair of shorts and bikini top in the Pacific, were not as fun as this.

There was no chance of having a cup of coffee. There was no chance of going back to bed because it was too cold, and there was absolutely no chance I would miss this for this world.

I stood there singing and dancing into the wind, even trying to squat and lunge the best I could, all whilst declaring my intention of writing more powerful books on the various subjects close to my heart: social justice, culture and human rights.

On the maelstrom of the wild and very wet ocean, I told the Universe I wanted to impact the lives of millions, so I put my order in for all my books to sell at least a million copies each.

My fellow crew member stood on the starboard side and saluted me every time I turned to look at him. He was an elusive one. I knew he had navy experience in Denmark; he knew too much about sailing and was too military not to be. Flemming was his name, and he was a perfect gentleman the whole three months we were at sea together.

Drinking at sea is a perilously foolish pastime. Anything can go wrong in a split second. I have seen far too many mistakes on board boats due to people's reflexes being just one second slower because of being what is called 'a little bit merry'.

It had taken five weeks of the journey to Montevideo to even converse with him because, unlike others on that boat, I kept myself to myself, watching, learning, processing, studying and reflecting, and avoiding alcohol consumption.

I wasn't interested in the shallow conversations of the mainstream traveller. Neither was I planning on crossing the world sleeping with just anyone on board the ship (as you will have read in my article last month!)

I don't desire to fit into anything. I wasn't born to fit in. I was born to lead and create powerful change in this world, which I intend to keep doing. Anything that interferes with that is out.

Drinking alcohol was a no-no on board, even just 'to fit in'.

Alcohol messes with my manifestation process. It messes with my sleep. It messes with my intuition and my abilities to tap into higher energy sources. I bet I'm not the only one!

What I am about to say will challenge many, if not all, of you to varying degrees, but then again, I would not be me if I didn't challenge people and the status quo.

Let's face it. Being different - even anti-social - isn't popular. As a society, we have all been brainwashed to celebrate, drown our sorrows and finish off the week with a beer, a glass of wine, gin or bubbles. We call ourselves 'free thinkers', insist that we are not alcoholics, but go for a month without your chosen tipple and see how you feel… and watch your manifestation abilities improve with each new day.

Many of us are owners of cheeky plaques which say "It's wine o'clock somewhere" or "Save water, drink wine", and our societies are so dependent on these liquids that we actually normalise our addiction to them. We make jokes about it. Those of us who don't drink are made to feel shame, guilt, and even ostracised by not drinking alcohol.

When I look back at my life, the times I have drunk alcohol have been the worst formanifesting everything I truly want, and I have ended up in situations I would notwish on my worst enemy.

Being a non-drinker in the sailing world isn't the easiest of character traits. I am theanti-sailor in many ways, and so many of the opportunities to sail with teamsaround the world have been denied to me simply because I will not drink 'just one'.

Being surrounded by people who say they eat healthily and do not have sugar but then polish off a bottle of bubbly over the weekend used to make me want to raise the hypocrisy in their narrative. Still, I have learnt to hold my tongue over the years because so many people are attached to the story of 'having made it through the week' or been brainwashed so much they 'need a drink to celebrate' it is just not worth the effort until it is. I will say something or remove myself from the environment.

Now don't roll your eyes - this article isn't about how bad alcohol is for you, or an article about how you must give up drinking. However, it is about being totally free, on the ball and manifesting all you have ever desired whilst harnessing your inner power to live a life on your own terms.

As a digital nomad, I know I would have been able to connect with so many more people around the world, been able to take part in many more activities if I had shared their company with alcohol. However, I chose to remain true to myself, choosing myself, my goals and my abilities over and above fitting in, every single time. That's true freedom right there.

Ordering a meal without wine in almost every country I have lived in has raisedmore than a few eyebrows, especially in some of the 5-star restaurants I have beento.

In many locations, wine is part of the total price of the 'Carte de jour' or the A la carte offering. Watching the waiting and bar staff look confused on what to do when there is no alcohol on order is amusing, to say the least, but it is increasingly worrying that the number of places that will still want to charge you for alcohol even if you do not have it. Needless to say, they lose my business before the bottle of water is even opened.

Pretty much every hotel minibar is stocked with alcoholic drinks showing a blatant disregard for any guests who actually need to stay in a hotel but deal with an alcohol addiction. These individuals either forgo the company conference altogether or choose to get up early and travel to the location, tired and haggard upon arrival and when they arrive home. Missing the company conference may cost them their jobs, but at least they are not going back down a spiral the moment they arrive in the hotel.

The truth is, I don't enjoy social media, haven't done for a very long time, and although coming off social media could be deemed as a radical thing to do, the truth is, businesses have succeeded for centuries without it, and will always continue to thrive without it.

We have been conditioned to think we need it. Conditioned to believe we will fail without it. Who made those beliefs for us? And why would we want to keep them if they do not resonate with us?

In a world that is becoming more and

more dependent on the mind-numbing,

spirit-crushing content of social media,

Netflix,

processed

food

and

alcohol,

choosing freedom of speech, freedom to

think and freedom to be different is fast

becoming

something

that

has

you

labelled

a

rebel,

an

outsider

or

a

disruptor.

And according to a recent business study SME's spend approximately 80% of their time thinking about, creating content and responding to messages for only 20% of their overall income. Compare that to the 47% ROI of building a strong and focused email listing and social media behind, to lose it's appeal.

I recently deleted all my social media platforms. For a digital nomad who runs her businesses totally online, this could be seen as business suicide, but sailing around the world was also thought of as a suicidal journey for me and my businesses.

I am not mainstream, never have been, never will be. Instead of creating content for social media, I am choosing to create content for my growing number of clients who want to know how they too can produce high quality books as fast and easily as I do. It also gives space to get involved in social justice, act for human rights, and of course, BE who I need to be in order to lead other ladies on the journey of owning their ovaries!

Burning my life and business to the ground has also been an act of rebellion. To rise up stronger from the ashes excites me a lot. Reinventing and restructuring the path to even greater success allows me to get creative in a whole new way and has called me forward significantly.

What's the cliché saying? Entrepreneurs jump and then build the plane on the way down?

Well, this Mermaid jumped ship and is now having a lot more fun diving deeper than ever before, having just been through the depths of the soul abyss with some Indigenous Andean Healers here in Colombia.

Reconstructing my business without social media allows me to get my geek on and free up more time to create content for you all, as well as discovering new ways to run my business so that I can reach millions more people; so that I can serve from a higher space of alignment and soul well being.

I'm all for freedom of speech and full selfexpression, so frequenting platforms that censor, delete and continually change algorithms to keep you hooked and codependent really just doesn't sit well with me.

Why is this all connected with not drinking on a ship?

Well, my books highlight social issues and the root causes of why humanity is really addicted to alcohol, drugs, sugar, Netflix, and many other disastrous, so-called developments in our modern world. We avoid life by scrolling Facebook and Instagram for hours.

That's why I understood why spending my precious life on those platforms prevented me from scaling further.

People who genuinely want to heal, those who wish to be informed, and seek true freedom won't be looking on Facebook or Instagram for the solution, just like an addict won't be going for her next hit of crack from the luxury apothecary on the other side of town.

That night on the deck under the wild, wet sky, in my wild, wet state, I declared to the ocean my shopping list for life, verbally journalling my wants and desires, choosing my highest self every single time. I have choices to make, and they depend on how much I value myself and the work I do, how in alignment everything is and who I BE.

My desire to positively heal 1 million families with my books requires me to do something radical, and I know how to do radical. I don't know how to exist in the mainstream. Truth be told, I don't really know how to exist in this world, but I do, and I have to make it work for me.

Selling 1 million copies of each of my books to impact the lives of millionsaround the world excites me.

Knowing that the individuals who read my books will be inspired to get help, take a different course of action, start choosing themselves above everyone else, and feel less alone in this world; knowing that someone else gets it gives me the warm fuzzies. Why? Because that changes the course of history and generational healing in individuals, families and communities for centuries to come.

To achieve all this, I have to think differently to the masses. I have to be focusedon my end goal, not allow anything or anyone to get in my way, not even me.

My books are the answer millions of people are looking for. My readers are those who want to be woken up, healed, inspired, motivated and who are prepared to read more than a funny meme or the latest Jack Reacher novel and "How to…" business book.

My readers are a discerning group of people, ones who want to lead and be part of positive change. They are the ones who know there's a lot more to learn about the world we live in, and they are the ones who will stop at nothing to change the way they live their lives. They are the readers who want to be a voice for the voiceless, because often times they know what it's like to not have a voice.

And whilst some may be found on 'Fakebook'and InstaFake, the majority won't be. Nor will the authors who choose to work with me to create positive change in the world. We are a new breed of entrepreneurs, a new breed of authors, and we came to earth to change the world; and change the world we will.

Changing the world always starts with changing ourselves first.And embracing the wet and wild adventure of it.

To get your hands on copies of my books, head on over tohttps://dawnbates.com/books, joining the movement to create themillion copies sold ripple effect.

Remember to sign up to be included in my regular email updateshttps://dawnbates.com/dive-in because you won’t find me on socialmedia.

And remember ladies, a lighthouse doesn’t need to sell itself, she juststands there shining her light for all who need to see it, helping guidethem to safety.

With love, as always, your resident radiant rebel, Dawn x

Join me...

In today’s connected world, social justice and human rights need to be at the core of every organisation which chooses to grow and expand into the future. With recent global events unfolding in a variety of ways, social activism is more important than ever before. With 20 plus years working with high level business executives, board members and leaders in the public sector, as well as being a social activist, and studying for her PhD in International Law and Social Justice, there really is no better person to bring the AUTHORity MasterMind Collection to fruition. During the MasterMind, you will get to dive deep into: Leadership models past, present and future and what no longer applies in this modern world Natural Born Leadership and the Ethics and Morals of what it takes to be a new world leader Cultural Diversity and Community Cohesion as a the bridge to excellence and harmony Social Justice and Human Rights as a way of life in the heart of every organisation Understanding who you are and your worth in creating global change on a much deeper level How to expand your brand and use your story for greater impact around the world Mastering the Art of Media, PR and Networking with the voices that matter without being silenced Author coaching and accountability to get your game changing book written and published Launching and publishing an evergreen book with Dawn Publishing, the Social Justice Publisher of Choice

AUTHORity MasterMind Collectionhttps://dawnbates.com/authoritymasterminds/

For those ready and willing to go all-in on their next level vision, your final task is to book a call with me to discuss how I can help you create a vision that includes elevating you as an authority in the world. Not just in your genre or your nation, but globally in the area of social justice, which calls you forward into the human you were put on this earth to become, so you could truly serve others at the highest level possible.

DAWN BATES

Ms Mermaid

To get your hands on the first books in The Sacral Series head on overto https://dawnbates.com/sacralseries where you can also listen tothe podcasts which accompany each book.

If you are wanting to get your own game-changing book written and published then PLEASE CONTACT ME so we can discuss the very best options available to you, your vision and your legacy. https://dawnbates.com/

Dawn Bates' riveting autobiographical, best-selling books are available here https://dawnbates.com/

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