I am going to Antarctica!

Well, hello! I know, it's been a minute. I just reopened my inbox to see it has been almost 2 months since I last sent out a newsletter... So it's time for some updates. Yes, I am alive. And, yes, I am doing well. The past two months have been some of the busiest of my entire life. There have been some rapid developments that required my full attention. As you know, leading a coaching business is just one of the many things I do. I also do a full-time PhD at Cambridge University, and during the past two months, I have been preparing myself to take on an entirely new profession... Polar guiding!

My new career

As you may know, my PhD is in Polar Studies, and researches polar acoustic ecologies, and the conservation of soundscapes in Antarctica. That's right, I am bringing my love for sound and music together with my interest in the polar regions here. (To all my fellow multi-potentialites: do you see what I am doing here? I am combining art, academia and adventure all at once!) I have successfully completed my 1st year of the PhD, and the second year will be all about fieldwork and data collection. During my entire 1st year, I had been trying to find ways to go to Antarctica as a researcher, but all options seemed to strand. I did so much networking, reached out to Antarctic station leaders, approached not only the British stations but also the Chilean and Argentinian ones, and even tried the New Zealand Antarctic Program... But all my attempts led me nowhere. This really started to stress me out as time progressed, because going to Antarctica takes lots of preparation, and usually, you should aim to have a plan together at least a year in advance. But come early June, I still did not have any plan at all. I had only received 'no's' so far. I was desperate for a 'yes'. Now, can you guess why you stopped hearing from me after the first week of June? It's because things suddenly started to change! It all began on June 9th, to be precise, when I changed strategy and posted on a particular platform that I was looking for a job as a polar guide aboard a ship that could support my research. Now, at some point I'll actually do a masterclass on my exact strategy, because finding my way into the polar tourism industry was anything but straight-forward, and required a lot of strategic communication and clever positioning. It's the stuff I love to teach, and I use it in my own life as well. With much success! Thanks to my adapted strategy, I suddenly went from only NO's to receiving 'YESes' left, right, and center. I woke up the next day to an inbox filled with emails from polar tourism companies inviting me to job interviews and inquiring about my availability. So, I literally went from having zero options to having an abundance of options overnight. I have even had to turn down amazing offers from dream companies. Which felt unbelievably strange when, just a week earlier, I would have killed for an opportunity to work with them (metaphorically, of course).

Making dreams come true

I am going to skip ahead to tell you the good news: I will be going to Antarctica for 3 months in total, combining work as a polar guide with my work as a researcher! I will be out at sea for a 100 days non-stop, from mid-October 2023 all the way through to the end of January 2024. More so even, before that time, I will be making several trips to the Arctic as a guide as well! In fact, I am leaving in just 3 days from now, to my first destination: Svalbard. This is an archipelago located above mainland Norway, in the high Arctic. It's famous for its abundant wildlife, from polar bears to whales, seals, walruses and reindeer. Then, in September, I will be visiting Iceland and Greenland as part of this new job as a polar guide as well. All these trips are ship-based voyages. I have signed contracts with 3 different polar companies for my upcoming adventures in the Arctic and Antarctic. And all this happened within the span of just a few weeks. Since then, I have been mad busy getting all the qualifications I need in order to be able to work as a guide. Which means, my to-do list has been endless. And that's why you haven't heard from me in a while ;) Basically, I have been too busy making my biggest dreams come true! And boy, has that led to an avalanche of emotions and insights. I will be dedicating a separate newsletter to just that theme soon. But for now, I just want to share this cool new fact about me: besides being a professional academic, coach, speaker and podcaster, I am now also a polar guide! Some very lucky private clients will soon be able to say they are being coached by someone who works in Antarctica. Now if that isn't unique, I don't know what is!

What does all this mean for The Smart Rebel?

Current clients: you have already been informed about all of this by me personally. If you are already working with me right now, we are continuing our coaching. New clients: right now, I am not accepting new clients unfortunately. If you've been wanting to work with me 1-1, I advise you to get on the waiting list for new spots opening up in February 2024. You can get on the waiting list here. Newsletter: I am preparing a series of articles for you, which will be sent out automatically (even when I am in the remotest regions of our planet). So you will still be hearing from me.

Podcast: The Smart Rebel Podcast is currently on a break for the summer. From early September, new episodes will automatically be published again every two weeks (I have a lot of content ready for you!). There are currently 10 episodes waiting for you to be explored. Want to follow my polar adventures? Follow my personal instagram account @simone_Eringfeld to learn about what becoming a polar guide entails...