Want to go on an adventure with Me?
If we're going to be going on an adventure of building community together, let's start hanging out with the strong men that will create good times in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Story Time
I’m deathly afraid of heights and I have no idea why.
I don’t even have a traumatic experience around it.
To the contrary,
my parents built the house we lived in debt free,
so I remember being 8-9 years old,
helping haul tools for framing contractors my dad would piecemeal together to build the house… while we lived in it.
I remember at age 11, helping hold up siding 20 feet in the air so dad could nail it into place the already weathered plywood sheeting around the second floor of the house.
In fact, I think it was probably after 2 years of living without a staircase before dad finally built one… but I was running up the ladder hands-free and sliding down like a firefighter at 12 years old.
Something happened. I don’t know what it was, or where it occurred.
Somewhere along the line, I became terrified of ladders.
If you asked me to use a six-foot step ladder to change lightbulbs in rooms with 10ft ceilings. I’d do it, sure… but I can guarantee you, I would feel terror just thinking about taking both hands off the ladder.
So this summer, when I went to Nordegg for a climbing adventure,
I was scared shitless.
You can ask anyone that was there.
I looked like a complete fool, clinging to the side of this perfectly stable rock, shaking like a leaf when other people are having the time of their lives, clipping carabiners, cheering, and giving each other high-fives as they navigated the cliff-face.
But here’s the thing:
I knew I had to do it. I had to face this fear.
Amongst the most ridiculous of fears I’ve succumbed to,
not being allowed into heaven
destitution and pain from both economic and currency collapse
fear that our government is oppressing us
I have others that feel far more immediate and keep me awake at night:
My new boss
Feeling distant from God
Fearing success as a freedom fighter (people tear you down fast when you make money as a revolutionist)
Feeling like as long as I can prove people wrong about me, I’ll be ok
So I treated my climbing adventure like an exercise.
I voluntarily put on all the climbing gear, looked up from the bottom of this 10-12m boulder and shaking like a leaf, I climbed up the side.
I got 3 meters off the ground, and that was it.
I suddenly felt like a trapped cat… frozen in a tree, waiting for rescue.
Even if I just so happened to fall,
I might slide down 6-10 inches, because
all the redundant safety protocols in place
make it almost impossible to fall.
Two important lessons about life finally clicked for me in the weeks after that experience:
If you’re making a choice to do something out of fear,
you will always end up looking like a fool.Inauthentic fears limit the possibilities available to you in any given moment.
You see, when you have a fear - any fear at all, your brain goes into fright or flight, and all reason goes out the window.
You cannot reason in a state of fear.
Some fear is good.
Like if you’re running from a lion in the Savanna.
That fear just might save your life.
BUT…. If there’s a fear you’re experiencing
and it’s not present in this moment,
[imagine you’re running from an imaginary lion]
then you’re experiencing what’s known as an inauthentic fear.
It’s not a real fear.
It’s imagined.
Fictional.
Kinda like the monetary system we fear is collapsing.
Now you can see why I have the appeal to go climbing.
Would you like to come with me?
I’d love to go with you.
One of the companies I contract with is hosting a retreat for men who are seeking to be more masculine in their relationship.
The object lesson they’re using:
An ice-climbing adventure.
Rental for the climbing gear,
World-class climbing guides,
Base camp yurt with wood stove,
Charcuterie lunch
Is $347
It’s on December 10th, and registration deadline is December 7th at midnight.
here’s a link to learn more:
The lifeblood of our economy
Husbands,
Brothers,
Fathers,
Who provide
for their families,
step up as leaders
in their communities,
Are now forming bonds that stretch across the land to heal our nation.
Let’s form community in this guided adventure!