Two months back, I had a “fuck it” moment.
It’s not every day you get the chance to go on a ski mountaineering trip of this kind.
I no longer live 45 minutes away from the best skiing in the world. I live at least 5 hours, a plane journey, and multiple countries away.
Because of this, big trips:
Cost a lot more money
Take a lot more time
Are a big interruption to my family and my business
For many, this is a dead end.
But if you cut open my soul, it still bleeds adventure.
So there’s no way I’m turning down a trip like this.
I’ve helped clients plan trips like this, and I’ve made it happen for myself before. But this trip will be a whole new beast.
Today, I’m going to show you exactly what I’m going to do to ensure I have the trip of a lifetime, but - and this is an important but - ensure my family life and my business thrive whilst doing so.
Define The Purpose
Originally, we were heading to the wilds of Kyrgyzstan, an ex soviet country wedged between Kazakhstan, China, and Tajikistan.
It definitely seemed like an adventure: sleeping in yurts, untouched 5000m peaks, and questionable snow conditions.
Yet all the guides we found out there lacked the excitement for the kind of experience we wanted and we were forced to pull the pin on that objective.
We had all put a tonne of work into that trip until this point, and it felt like a massive setback.
Here’s the thing about these kind of adventures. Setbacks are going to happen, and you’ll quit unless you know the purpose of your trip ahead of time.
For us, that’s to go on an adventure which will be filled with stories, to ski some fun lines, to come back alive, and go up high.
You’ve got to define your purpose of the objective before you start.
Because of this, we settled on skiing some BIG lines in remote Pakistan.
Bulletproof The Business
When I used to go on trips, they would come at a cost.
My business would completely stall.
I was the central pivot in everything.
This trip is going to be different.
I will go away for 2 and a half weeks without internet connection, and the business will continue to grow.
How? I’m building the team and creating essential systems.
Whilst ensuring that all my clients get more contact with me.
If you’re a adventurepreneur and you want to go on trips like this, you have to ensure you’re not the constraint on your business.
Put the groundwork into your relationships
I have a wonderful wife who is incredibly understanding and supportive.
Still, it’s incredibly important to me that my business success and my adventures don’t come at the cost of my marriage.
Of course, it won’t be easy, but through working with my clients, it’s been clear that to maintain your relationship you’ve got to put in the groundwork on either side of these trips.
Date nights.
Quality time.
Know their love language.
Be present.
It’s these kinds of things which build a buffer for the expedition.
Stop doing everything yourself
One way to ensure I ruin this trip is to ensure I do everything myself in building up to it.
Sure, I could create my physical training program.
Sure, I could do all the research on rural Pakistan and the routes we’ll aim for.
Sure, I could organise the porters and the logistics.
And honestly, I would love to. But the cost is too high.
Time and money are big costs.
So, I’ve hired the best coach I know to create my training program, Ed Norman of Calibre Athlete.
And we’ve hired a guide to help us with the other two pieces, Tom Grant (you can listen to his episode of The Freedom Project here).
This is why it’s so important to know the purpose of the trip before you start acting.
Summary
You can have it all: the adventures, the business, and the family.
To make your adventures happen, do 4 things:
Outsource to people who are better than you
Build a buffer of effort in your relationships
Bulletproof your business
And most importantly, know the purpose of your trip
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