The Explorer’s Compass
A Framework that Takes you Beyond
The Explorer’s Compass is a tested practice that guides you through the unknown (where most people get stuck),
It identifies which way you are facing and helps you shift your focus back into action. It consists of 4 outer points, the places you find yourself stuck, the direction you are facing now, with the centre point being about Acts, getting moving.
- Acts is doing it – Step in!
- Further is where you are going, it is the bridge you are building from here to there – Build Step by Step
- Present is here, it is your starting point – Use it!
- Peace is a stuck point, resisting what is – Allow it!
- Possibilities is a stuck point, doing what isn’t work – What now ?
What Makes This Approach Different
This isn’t just another goal-setting framework. It fundamentally transforms your relationship with what you perceive as possible or impossible:
- Practical Exploration: Developed through real-world challenges, not theoretical concepts
- Systematic Framework: Each point addresses specific obstacles that cause most people to get stuck
- Transformative Perspective: Changes how you relate to uncertainty, complexity, and challenges
- Immediate Application: Works for both everyday obstacles and extraordinary ambitions
- Proven Results: The same approach that led to a world record diving achievement
In Verna’s words:
“Exploration isn’t something that is out there, reserved for once in a life time events. It is something I get to do everyday because everyday is filled with moments that are new and where I don’t know how… yet.
I have always been fascinated by exploration, because I wanted to know what it is that explorers do that allows them to accomplish seemingly impossible things with ease so that I can push beyond what I know how to do.
Without the power of exploration I would not have been able to experienced deep cave diving, change careers, immigrate, buy a sailboat or learn how to sail solo, oh and launching this website and the podcast – they all felt beyond my reach.
This is where the Explorer’s Compass comes from. It is what I use to create spaces where I can keep going, past what I know how to do, into the discomfort and learn how. And this is the power of exploration that I want to share with as many people as I can so that you can experience how amazing you are and can fill your life with as many impossible experiences as you wish.”
From Record Depths to Everyday Breakthroughs
What allowed me to journey from recreational diver to record holder wasn’t just talent—it was a systematic approach to exploration that anyone can learn.
Whilst the Explorer’s Compass emerged from this journey to 221 meters underwater, its applications extend far beyond diving. This is a practical framework that helps you navigate uncertainty, overcome obstacles in any area of your life, especially the day to day one
Why Traditional Approaches to Challenges Often Fail
Most of us are taught to:
- Wait for certainty before taking action
- Stick to established paths and proven methods
- Avoid discomfort and uncertainty
- Focus on the gap between where we are and where we want to be
These approaches work well in familiar territory. But when facing uncharted waters—whether a career transition, personal challenge, or ambitious goal—they often leave us stuck, paralyzed, or defeated