About fulfilling A dream

Last year, 2025, was a big year for me, I fulfilled my dream of crossing Africa on a motorbike.

I'm still processing the journey, but one thing is for sure, I feel realised.

Crossing Africa on a motorbike is a dream that initially popped in my mind when I was 16 years old working for a small NGO with my Dad in Ivory Coast, we borrowed a bike from a local and used it to get around the villages. I thought that it would be a cool idea to link all the countries we had worked at with the NGO with a motorbike, but it was just an idea. Fast forward a few years later, when I was 19, I did my first proper motorcycle journey, buying a motorbike in Bolivia and riding across the whole country - I was hooked. Since then, the idea of crossing Africa on a motorbike became a goal, a top priority item on my bucket list.

Fast forward again to 2019 when I was 23, it was supposed to be the year for the trip, I even went to live in Bordeaux for a few months in 2018 to learn French so that I could do this trip properly, but I couldn't find a team for the Africa project so I ended up doing the Pamir Highway with my cousin Alex. I put my dream on standby, but never abandoned it. I had all my notes saved up.

It was in 2021 when the idea popped up again when I met Pablo and Lucas at an enduro race that Lucas was hosting, it was our dream. Years went by, the topic came up now and then, but it was finally in 2024 when Pablo and I decided to go ahead and do it, it didn't take long to convince Lucas. We started our planning in mid 2024 and we set off in September 2025. I'll write about the trip some other time, this post is about chasing dreams.

People tell me, "You are so lucky that you have the time to do this trip", and my answer is YES and NO.

YES, I don't have to take care of a family right now, I am young, healthy and have the energy. But mostly NO, I am not lucky because I planned for it, I put myself in a position so that when the time was right, I was prepared. Two and a half years ago I quit my full time job as a sales director to start my own projects, time is an incredibly scare resource and I wanted to optimise my life around time. I am conscious that I am young and relatively free, so I want to make the most out if it right now. I built two businesses with great people that provided me with the resources and time to afford this trip. Planning took years, I had to plan my work absence, sponsors, the trip itself...

A goal without a plan is just a wish; this was a goal, so I planned.

I've realised that with passion and a plan, you can get very far.

After having finished my trip, I feel grateful for having done it, older Alex will be proud of me for having taken the leap and the proper time to plan. I've never felt this realised before, it's a deep warm feeling, I'm at peace with myself. This has got me thinking...

Life's too short, we need to make the most out of it. I'm not talking about living it up "carpe diem" style, ignoring the future and just living in the moment care free, not at all. I'm talking about living with purpose, be that in personal life, relationships, work or other projects. It's about finding a purpose and chasing it. Life is beautiful, and we're in a privileged situation where we can chase our dreams. We have a home, food, access to resources and people that can help us. In most places that I've travelled along this journey, these things were not a certainty, people live with what they have, and it's far less than what we have; so we owe it to them. We have to live sharing our happiness with others, chasing our goals and inspiring others to do so, motivating and becoming an example for those who might not have someone to look up to.