In 2012, Lizzie decided to take a career break and she spent nine months eco-adventuring in remote locations all over the world. She hiked through the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of south west China before travelling to Mongolia! Shortly after returning to the UK in 2013 she was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer which re-defined her and, ultimately, gave her a new sense of purpose. Shownotes Growing up in Tenerife, being sporty and loving the outdoors from a young age Being surrounded by inspirational people at work and how it encouraged her to take a career break Spending time in Russia, China & Mongolia & the challenges she faced on a daily basis How plastic pollution first came to her attention  Travelling by train on the Trans-Siberian railway - being offered chicken feet & vodka! Dealing with vulnerability while travelling in Mongolia & learning how to take a step back from situations and assess them Heading back to the UK and dealing with the reality of being diagnosed with cancer at twenty five, and how it impacted the direction of her life How she learned to focus on the short term goals and milestones  What she said to herself while she was lying in the hospital bed Quitting her job, not having a plan and why you can never have a plan Friends, family, nature and how her values changed Why she started paddle boarding as a way of restoring her health and fitness How the #SuperSUPEngland challenge came about Why she decided to take matters into her own hand to help people understand the scale of plastic pollution in our waterways The challenges she faced on the waterways and how she kept on going during the tough days Having great adventures in the UK & working as an Ordnance Survey Champion! What she’s learnt from her paddle boarding experience   Learn more about Lizzie by visiting her website & following her on twitter @Lizzo010 Support - Water Aid & Water Trek   Help the Tough Girl Podcast get to 100,000 downloads by 4th August 2016! - Tell your friends about the Tough Girl Podcast!!! Share these inspirational stories!   A massive thank you to everyone who has become a patron! You too can support the Tough Girl Podcast from $2 to $5 per month!  CLICK HERE!   Events!   6th August - Tough Girl Tribe Trip to Snowdonia 10th August - Make it Happen - Networking Evening for Ambitious Women  12th - 14th August - Adventure Travel Film Festival, London 20th August - Tough Girl Tribe Trip to Snowdonia 1st - 4th September - Base Camp Festival, Peak District   Take a listen to these related podcast episodes… Emily Penn (Skipper, ocean advocate and artist dedicated to studying environmental challenges in the most remote parts of our planet) Lois Pryce (Adventure Travel Film Festival) Belinda Kirk (Base Camp Festival) Sarah Outen (One of the speakers at Base Camp Festival) Emma Timmis (My running companion for Hadrian's’ Wall)   ALL THE LINKS YOU NEED! Twitter - https://twitter.com/_tough_girl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/toughgirlchallenges/  Blog/Website - www.toughgirlchallenges.com/  FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/ToughGirlChallenges/  Tumblr - http://toughgirlchallenges.tumblr.com  Pinterest - https://uk.pinterest.com/Tough101/  Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/ToughGirlPodcast?ty=h