The Concept of Adventure

"Money comes and money goes, but time can never be replaced. To waste someone's money is a slap on the wrist, but to waste someone's time is the biggest crime you can commit."

Adventure is a simple concept. Everything new and worthwhile has come from adventure. From classic adventurers like Christopher Columbus to the common adventurer, you, we all seek and thirst for the road less traveled. Almost like pioneers, adventure fills a void in our thrill seeking lives and puts us at ease. It makes a restless soul calm. 

Adventure is extremely important to me and it keeps the gears in my mind/body constantly turning. The most important advice I can give to having a good adventure is to control what you can, but don't worry about the extraneous factors. Weather always changes, and every adventurer knows that once a journey starts, it never goes as planned. Instead of trying to control variables like this, control factors that can directly affect or influence an adventure. 

Don't plan an adventure by deciding who to go with. If you're like me then you have a secret bucket-list stored away of adventures that you want to go on before you die. Open up that list and pick an adventure. Work towards making it real, and once it is established throw out an invite to friends and family. Those who truly want to go on that adventure will reach out to you and make it happen. There is no need to work around the schedule or adapt the venture to their liking if they truly want to be a part of it. Don't miss out on adventure because a friend backs out, or changes the dates on you so you can no longer do what you set out to accomplish. I understand that this can come across as being selfish, and it honestly is. If the person can't enjoy your adventure than leave them at home and bring them back a souvenir.

Just go! Adventure now is better than adventure later as I like to say. The truth is that life never makes a "best" time for you to go do something. The "best" time is here and now so take advantage of it and #GetOutside. Time is something we have a very limited amount of on this Earth, so use your time wisely and make a drastic decision every once-in-a-while. Leave the second guessing and trip planning for your elderly years. You'll have more time to sit around then then you do now.

Enjoy the little things. There are many factors of an adventure that can make it good or bad. Don't get bogged down on the bad moments. Seek happiness in the little accomplishments, and truly reward yourself after big accomplishments. In the end you're still outside, so that in my book still counts as a good adventure!

The Dusty Camel - As it Happens Trailer!

Around 3 months ago, Venturepax had a new user join the site, Ian Mangiardi. Back in 2009, Ian was solo hiking the Appalachian Trail where he met Andy Laub. After a successful AT thru-hike, the 2 set off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail back in 2011. Their thirst for adventure and endless months on the trail led them to what is now known as The Dusty Camel. Ian and Andy started The Dusty Camel in order to protect America's wild spaces. Here is a blurb from their website, "The Dusty Camel will do as their ancestors did thousands of years ago - take advantage of man’s freedom to roam. Using their knowledge and passion for the outdoors, they assist in planning and executing, trips and excursions of all sorts with one concept in mind - the more people that enjoy the outdoors, means more people to protect it."

After months of anticipation, The Dusty Camel released the trailer for As it Happens on Monday and it did NOT disappoint. For all of you adventures junkies out there... proceed with caution before viewing because it WILL inspire you! The full documentary is set to release Winter of 2013, and it couldn't come soon enough.

For more information or to contact The Dusty Camel click here. You can also check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Keep Moving Forward!

"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must first set yourself on fire." - Fred Shero

Planning is a safe zone for people. The unknown can be so scary for some people that they try to plan out every scenario in their lives to minimize the unknown. In the life of a start-up, you have to be spontaneous! Being spontaneous to me is not lacking a plan or resources, but it does mean being adaptable. Life is an oncoming storm, and you can only stay dry for so long.

I don't think this is a pessimistic way to view life, but rather a realistic or more practical way. One of the most inspirational people of our time, Steve Jobs, said in his commencement speech to Stanford in 2005, "I wake up every day and ask myself if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." This to me is a very healthy way to view life if you truly understand what Steve Jobs said. He is not referring to going skydiving every day, or climbing Mount Everest, but rather surrounding yourself with what makes you happy. No matter how small or how simple, happiness comes in many different forms and everyone knows what makes himself or herself happy. The problem with this is that people often surround themselves with friends or activities that don't truly make them happy. Far too often we settle. I'm here saying don't settle!

Some recent moments in my life have led me to write this blog post. These moments have really made me think and open my eyes to what makes me truly happy. No matter what happens, life goes on. Don't be afraid to truly give yourself to someone else, or to a job that makes you happy, or a hobby that engages not only your body but also your mind. It is okay to be rejected. It is okay to be upset. Being upset is what makes us grow. If there wasn't rejection then there would be no innovation. Whether this is personal innovation or innovation from a company, societies and people grow from being turned away.

Making a plan is essentially creating an outline of possibilities. Nothing is certain in this world, and to hold yourself back from fear of the uncertain will only hold you back from life. Someone once said to me that instead of pivoting, you should try tacking. Pivoting means you stop, switch directions, and keep going. Tacking (Which is a sailing term) means going different directions but never stopping or going backwards. Let life take you forward! No many how many different paths you choose, don't stop. Life is to short to stop.

Mother Nature Gets a Bad Rap

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." - Helen Keller

When telling someone about your future outdoor excursions or adventures, far too often you hear over-the-top negative responses. Here are a few things that I have come across from discussions with people: "If you don't have cell phone service you'll most likely fall off a cliff and die or get eaten by a bear. Millions of people die camping every year from not going out in groups." My all time favorite, "If it is raining, you'll most likely catch pneumonia and die." It is safe to assume that every self proclaimed adventurer has heard something along these lines from those who do not understand or fear the outdoors.

The honest truth is that anything can happen. No matter where you are or what you're doing, anything is possible and sometimes the consequences are severe. The point of this blog is to take what people say with a grain of salt. One extreme side of the spectrum is people who believe that exploring nature is only meant for the animals, while the other side retaliates that society is more dangerous than mother nature could ever be. There is a happy medium. If you respect mother nature, and educate yourself on responsible practices then you can minimize risk just like anything else you do.

Sadly there are people who think they are above nature and #GetOutside with little regard to weather conditions or of other extraneous factors. They don't wear or bring the necessary equipment and accidents happen that push more and more people into subdivisions and big cities. These lackadaisical people are essentially ruining the outdoors for others. Scaring people about the outdoors doesn't get more people outside and definitely doesn't teach people how to be safe while they are getting outside. Instead, we should educate people by promoting safety and encouraging others to enjoy and respect the world we live in. 

I, for one, will never stop getting outside! No matter what happens you'll always hear about me going on adventures. If someone tells you that you can't do something or that something is too dangerous, educate yourself! Most things in life are dangerous if you do them blind. Open your eyes to adventure.