The Explorer’s Compass
A Framework that Takes you Beyond
From Record Depths to Everyday Breakthroughs
What allowed me to journey from recreational diver to record holder wasn’t talent—it was a systematic approach to exploration that anyone can learn.
The Explorer’s Compass emerged from my journey to 221 meters underwater, but its applications extend far beyond diving. This powerful framework helps you navigate uncertainty, overcome obstacles, and transform perceived limitations into new possibilities.
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
The Five Points of Transformation
The Explorer’s Compass guides you through the territory where most people get stuck by transforming how you relate to challenges:
PEACE: Instead of fighting against fear and uncertainty, learn to navigate with them as companions rather than obstacles. Like my first solo cave dive, you’ll discover that courage isn’t about feeling fearless—it’s about moving forward alongside your fears.
PRESENT: Rather than focusing on what you lack or future problems that might arise, ground yourself in what’s actually here. When I was stuck at 152 meters underwater, success came from addressing my immediate reality rather than catastrophizing about future consequences.
FURTHER: Transform overwhelming goals into manageable steps that maintain momentum. My breakthrough to 146 meters didn’t happen in one giant leap but through a series of moments where each small success made the next step possible.
POSSIBILITIES: Discover alternative paths when conventional approaches fail. When I couldn’t get team support for deeper dives, questioning the “never dive alone” rule opened a door where I previously only saw a wall.
ACT: Move from passive observer to active co-creator of your reality. My world record remained impossible until the moment I took action—when I did, I didn’t just achieve within reality but helped reshape what was possible for women divers everywhere.
What Makes This Approach Different
The Explorer’s Compass 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.
