“To survive, you must find yourself.” –Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Our packs were heavy and with each step, our feet sunk a few inches into the rain-soaked tundra. We were backpacking in Alaska’s Brooks Range. It had rained for the last two days, but now the sun was shining and we were excited to be in motion.
There were 10 of us, and we were part of a 14-day National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) expedition. The Brooks Range of Alaska is a 700-mile-long mountain range that stretches from West to East across the far north of Alaska and into Canada’s Yukon Territory. It is a vast wilderness.
During our time in the wilderness, we’d have no contact with our family and friends, or civilization for that matter, and all we’d have was the 50-55 pounds of food and gear we carried on our backs.
There were no roads or trails so each day, we’d chart our course through the arctic tundra and hopefully arrive at our final destination, which was marked on our map with a giant “X,” and was approximately 160 miles away.
On day two, after reviewing the maps, we charted our course. We estimated we had about
an 11-mile day ahead of us. After hiking for a couple of hours, my coursemates and I acknowledged that while we didn’t necessarily think we were lost, we weren’t feeling assured that we were on the right course. It was already going to be a long day; we didn’t want to make it any longer.
We decided to stop. We removed our hefty packs, unfolded the big topographical map on the ground, and began the process of trying to determine our location.
We did this by trying to match our physical surroundings to the features on our map and we struggled. At this point of the expedition, we were rookies, and still very much strangers. There were many tall mountains but they all looked the same.
My NOLS course in 2011 continues to positively inform my life.
After about 45 minutes of not figuring out where we were, a couple of us grew impatient, myself included. I stood up and put my backpack on. I was tired of not going anywhere and eager to get moving again.
But as I fidgeted, one of my coursemates said:
“With all due respect, I don’t think it’s a waste of time to figure out where we’re at, so we can figure out where we’re going.”
I never forgot his words, because first of all, if you’re in the wilderness, and you think youcould be off-course or lost, you should not keep going. Instead, you should S.T.O.P., which stands for Stop, Think, Observe, and Plan.
But mostly, I remembered his words because of how deeply they resonate with life. If we don’t know our location—who we are and how we want to be—it will be virtually impossible to achieve our goals, and to live a life that feels authentic.
I’ve learned that even when you don’t know the path forward, as long as you know your location–as long as you know who you are–you can never be lost.
If you’d like to read more stories like this one, I hope you’ll consider subscribing to my Substack, Epic Field Notes. (It’s free, and I’ll be sharing a variety of content there.)
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Next story: Pay Attention
(In April, I’m publishing my first book, Wayfinder: A Field Guide To Living Your Epic Life. The book is long overdue. As a writer, I’ve been toiling with it for years. But then last June, during a long solo hike in my beloved Wind Rivers, I had an epiphany: l had to become the person I wanted to be before I could write the book I wanted to write. And, well, it took a while! Going on 15 years to be exact. I hope you’ll consider reading the book when it comes out. But mostly, I thank you for being here.)
I learned something interesting and helpful from famous documentary filmmaker Ken Burns while listening to a SmartLess podcast episode some months back. I’m sharing it here, as a short video, or if you prefer, you can skip over it and read about it.
I listen to a lot of podcasts and subscribe to a wide range, given I’m interested in so many different things. One of the podcasts I often listen to with my husband and three sons whenever we’re on a roadtrip is SmartLess, with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.
In September of 2021, Burns explained to Bateman, Hayes, and Arnett, that while filmmaking is an architectural and additive process, producing the final version of the film, or any creative pursuit for that matter, it is more of a subtractive process. A critical part is knowing what to edit out, what to remove.
Burns lives in New Hampshire, and he likened the film editing process to making maple syrup. He said it takes 40 gallons of tree sap in order to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. I appreciated this perspective and and the reminder that to make something exceptional–to get the good stuff–requires a lot of effort, time, and raw material. For more inspiring messages like this, please check back here weekly, or subscribe to the blog (at right).
For coaching and leadership clients who are looking for something epic, and more unique than run-of-the-mill executive coaching, I offer guided Epic Adventures in the wilderness. In this video, I share about the first instruction I share with my Epic clients when our backpacks are on, we’re standing at the trailhead, about to embark on our expedition.
This message isn’t profound but its implementation can be. Do you have a pebble in your shoe? Is there an issue or harmful behavior that is making your life more difficult? Is there a secret you’re keeping? Is there a change you need to make that you’re not making? Is there a brutal truth about yourself that you’re not confronting? A difficult conversation you’re needing to have with someone you love or lead that you’re not having? An important change you’re not ready to make?
Whatever it is, I challenge you to tend to it. It is difficult work, but not nearly as difficult as the situation we may find ourselves in down the road, years later, perhaps even a lifetime later at which point it will be so much worse, and even hard. We will wished we would had taken the time and made the effort to tend to the pebble sooner, when we still had the chance. (By the way, I know–I shouldn’t be chewing gum while talking to a video camera. At least I won’t come across as more polished than I am. LOL.)
Thank you for watching. For more inspiring messages like this, please check back weekly.
In the last 6 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of people. I’ve coached them, presented to them, helped them facilitate leadership development, or guided them on an Epic Adventure. I have learned so much, and have been so inspired by these wonderful human beings – and by all of the wonderful people I am blessed to have in my life. This short video is about the most important thing I’ve learned in this work I do. I hope you’ll watch it, and if you do, I thank you so much for your time.
If you, or someone you know, could use some loving support, encouragement and daring, I’d love a chance to be your/their champion. Email me and we can schedule a call to see if I might be what you’re looking for.
Thank you so much for stopping by. And speaking of thanks, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
