(waves crashing)
- I see the distant shore and every moment leading up to it.
I know a rock is just a rock until I fill it with meaning.
Sticky notes on the fridge,
naked white walls,
and everywhere in between.
Past Dana had future Dana's back.
I'm gonna be a wolf for Halloween.
- You'd make a good one.
- Most lessons I don't just learn once.
Remember to enjoy the rain, the tires stuck in the mud,
on Hills in North Macedonia in Southern Spain.
What you think, you become.
What you feel, you attract.
What you imagine, you create.
The ancient knowledge has an age.
There is a narrow path through the mountains.
I will sail across oceans.
Tuesdays aren't intrinsically different from Fridays.
The story doesn't end with the van
on the magical beach in Greece.
How could I ever forget the mountain
where we fixed up the rusty old thing?
Where it rained for a month without stopping,
and we ran out of firewood to heat our cottage.
Where we learned what it meant to live by the seasons,
at the mercy of the wind,
the scorching summer sun and clouds of mosquitoes,
the day we got our kitchen sink to work,
the day our exhaust pipe broke in half,
these are all just days like that day in Elafonisos
when we swam through turquoise water.
And grit is a part of what makes it all possible.
- Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.
- Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out,
not just for the week, not just for the month,
but for years,
and working really hard to make that future reality.
And I can go like this and then I can go anywhere I want.
I've always had big dreams and loved planning.
Before we even bought the van,
I knew we'd buy a sailboat next.
But the problem with big dreams
is they come with big fears.
It creeps in little by little
until you're lost on top of a mountain
in the foothills of the Alps, wondering which decision
of the thousands that came before got you here.
(upbeat music)
Lou picked up the very first grit rock on that hike
and every day I wore it to remind me that I had grit,
that I couldn't be stopped by some ice cold rain,
that the mountain lodge
was always just around the next corner.
When we hiked through the Scottish Hills
in a torrential downpour,
I laughed at how easy it felt and how far I'd come.
The second grit rock came from the donkey pen
where we built our van, Ody.
Not one part of that van build with easy.
What?
- Yeah.
- But the worst part was leaving the dog
that lived on the property behind.
He belonged to the mountains with his owner,
but the grit rock I took with me was a reminder that
I could let go,
knowing one day I'd get my very own wild one.
I've worn it almost every single day since.
There are jagged tough rocks
from that mountain where Ody was built.
Smooth beach stones from the cliffs of Peniche, Portugal,
worn down by wave upon wave.
That was the moment when our van adventure started
to feel wild and free.
A few stones from Cinque Terre, Italy,
where we hiked through villages built into cliffs
and found moments of bliss under the blue sky.
Then there's the Tinos collection,
from that Island in Greece
where we drove down dusty deserted roads
and swam alone on hidden beaches.
Working out on mountain tops
and cutting hair by the side of the road.
I'll never forget the rocks from Iceland,
pitch-black, like the volcanic ground
we drove across for hundreds of miles
without ever seeing another soul.
The contrasts were intense.
- Go live.
- As I put on my third Grit rock,
I'm embarking on the greatest journey of all.
And I need this reminder that grit is a skill I've practiced
over the years, on early mornings
before the sunrise and late evenings under giant moons.
Angela Duckworth likes to say
that as much as talent counts, effort counts twice.
So we will read every book, fix every leak,
prepare as if our life depended on it,
and then we will cast off the dock lines and let go.
There is no doubt in my mind that I will sail across oceans.
(ambient music)
Lou has created a limited selection
of great rock necklaces for sale on our website,
starting March 16th at 11:00 AM Eastern standard time.
There's a beautiful range of collections to pick from
but he's not planning on making any more in the future
once our nomadic life resumes.
So get there early for the most options.
Thanks so much for watching
and supporting our channel,
and see you next week for a very funny look
at the making of this campaign video.