Adventurer Alastair Humphreys message was both inspiring – and sobering.

We all have a finite amount of life on earth so make the most of every precious moment.

And that means injecting some adventure into your life.

It doesn’t need to be on the scale of his most epic challenge, involving cycling 46,229 miles across five continents and 60 countries and taking four years.

Or even the adventure of playing – badly – a violin but, in his case, still managing to earn a crust from busking across Spain.

Instead, a series of what he describes as microadventures.

Defined as close to home, cheap, simple, short but guaranteed to refresh your life.

Effectively taking the spirit of a big adventure and squeezing it into a day or even a few hours.

It could be exploring nearby streets, sleeping on a hilltop, going for a wild swim or, perhaps, walking home for Christmas.

Alastair, who has written 13 books including one on microadventures, was opening the BCP Business Festival at Pavilion Dance South West in Bournemouth.

Funded by BCP Council’s Bounce Back Fund, the series of events are organised by Evolve, the Poole-based community for entrepreneurs and business leaders, in partnership with business and tax advisors, Inspire.

Named as one of National Geographic’s ‘Adventurers of the Year’ in 2012, Alastair has more recently:

• Walked across southern India
• Rowed across the Atlantic Ocean
• Run six marathons through the Sahara desert
• Taken part in an expedition in the Arctic
• Walked 120 miles around the M25, as one of his pioneering microadventures

To highlight the comparatively short time we have on earth, Alastair brought up on screen one of the internet’s ‘death clocks’.

It can supposedly predict a person’s death to the day, based on supplied information.

The father of two urged the business audience to take what the Scandinavians describe as ‘The Doorstep Mile’.

Effectively it means the first mile away from your front door which can be the hardest of all.

Alastair said: “Try and live a little adventurously every day.”

Warren Munson, Founder of both Evolve and also Inspire, described Alastair as “inspirational” and said he demonstrated how adventure can start on your doorstep.

‘An Evening with Alastair Humphreys’ was the first of a ten-day programme of free events for business leaders, designed to help them bounce back from the impact of the pandemic.

Festival highlights include:

• Inspiring the next generation with Bournemouth University (Thursday November 18)
• Going Green at The Green House Hotel (Friday November 19)
• The Future of BCP (Tuesday November 23)
• Evolve to Succeed: An evening with business leaders (Thursday November 25)
• The BCP Symposium (Friday November 26)

For more information on the BCP Business Festival and to book your place, visit Evolve.