To Adventure or Not…

I didn’t submit a post last week because I was on an adventure. Do you ever experience times when you need to remove yourself from the mundane to gain perspective? I was at this point last week, so I pointed my wheels west toward Gunnison, Colorado.

As I drove, I listened to Love Does by Bob Goeff and Thirst by Scott Harrison. Each of these men live life with a sense of adventure. They are take action and ask for permission later type of people. They think outside of the box and challenge the status quo all while having an infectious desire to inspire and help people.

Three takeaways from my adventure:

One. Why do I take life so seriously? For much of my life I have put way too much stock in what people think. As a result of this, I have hesitated to approach situations where I may fail. This has prevented me from truly adventuring. The satisfaction of victory is enhanced by the potential of defeat.

Two. In order to adventure well, preparation is key. From Blue Mesa Reservoir to the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery, the Gunnison River is home to Colorado’s largest Salmon run. My fly rod was rigged with light leader, tippets, weights and nymphs for catching trout. I don’t know if you’ve ever re-rigged a line, leader and tippet, but for me this is a 15-minute time commitment, so I decided to use my current setup. The first salmon I hooked broke me off 3 seconds into our struggle. If only I had prepared.

Three. Advancement requires action. The very premise of Love Does is that love requires action. There are many actions we can take but sitting on the sideline does nothing to impact the world around us. Thirst is about Scott Harrison’s journey from rebellious teenager to New York City night club promoter to the founder of Charity Water. Scott wanted giving to be fun. He didn’t want people to donate to clean drinking water because they were guilted into it. Charity Water went to great lengths to connect the power of action to impact in the mind donors. This connection made giving a blast!

I want to adventure, so what if I fail. Without the possibility of failure life isn’t exhilarating. I get one life. With it, I am going to prepare, take action, and strive to inspire and help people. I choose adventure.