Want More Adventure? Start here.
“Adventure readiness” is a mindset first and foremost — the idea that you’ve taken the time to prepare mentally, physically, emotionally, and technically for whatever adventures (or chaos!) life could throw at you. We need more people with that superpower; more adaptability and grit empowering the innate confidence that comes with preparation. For me, being “adventure-ready” has allowed me to say yes to uncommon adventure and create more “opportunity surface area” for wild and incredible things to happen. What’s most encouraging about the concept is that you can cultivate opportunity surface area through an adventure-ready mindset, and actually increase the amount of “adventure” in your life.
“Great Joel! But…How?”
Easy!
Well, not easy, but it does boil down to understanding what I mean by the concepts that make up “Adventure Readiness”. So let’s explore "Opportunity surface area" and a mindset and hope that transcends every circumstance.
Opportunity Surface Area — Your Job is to INCREASE it
To start, I believe the "generalist" is a dying breed we sorely need to resurrect -- i.e. someone who can effectively connect the dots between seemingly disparate problems, reduce things to fundamental principles and solve issues in a unique way outside of the siloes of "specialization" -- I've witnessed such a skillset be a huge differentiator in business and life. Almost by accident I've been able to carve out success in a variety of areas purely through boat-loads of curiosity, and my "universe of interests" are an ever-expanding reflection of this. But this becomes a superpower quickly, as seemingly disparate interests, skills, passions, and ideas have a habit of resulting in increased probability for interesting things to happen -- hence you increase your "opportunity surface area" for success, but it truly depends on your creativity and adaptability across all domains. Couple that with input variables that lead to success — getting your mindset right (more on that below), being physically conditioned, being technically prepared with the skills and know-how required, and having the right gear, plan, and community to support you — and you will instantly increase the opportunity surface area for adventure in your life.
Ultimately, the more experiences you have, the more disciplined your approach to preparation, the more dots you can connect, the more interesting, adaptable and innovative you can be, leading to more “opportunity surface area” for adventure — and nowhere is that more critical than in a survival setting. So don't just sit there, connect some random dots and see what happens...it got me dropped into the Alaskan wilderness, who knows what it could do for you!
Adventure-Readiness — it’s all in your head
The truth is, all the skills and preparation in the world are nothing without a mindset and foundation that you can count on regardless of your circumstances. And trust me, if you've ever been faced with adversity that shakes you to your core and have truly had to set your feet firmly on whatever foundation you've built your life upon, you find out VERY quickly what it's made of, who you are, and what you believe in. For me, it is unwavering hope through my faith that has proven to be the firmest foundation, and granted me a mental toughness and peace in the face of any challenge -- such a foundation was the only thing strong enough to withstand the loss of my mother to mental illness, the only thing that allows me to reframe all adversity from a perspective of gratitude and hope, and I can truly say it has made all the difference in my life. When you have mindset that transcends your circumstances, that hopes in things unseen, that empowers and strengthens you even at your weakest, you can endure more than you ever thought possible -- and not lose who you are in the process. That mindset, focus, and foundation represents the purest form of “Adventure Readiness” — essentially giving you a superpower in the face of ANY circumstance, because your hope and mindset is built on something deeper, truer, and transcendent. We have to get that right first, and only then do we unlock the doors to adventure as a lifestyle — and transition to start talking about gear, skills, logistics, and more (which we will do) — Stay tuned for more, and stay wild everyone.
