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Doing Hard Things with Will Baumgardner
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If you’ve been craving an adventure or find yourself in the midst of navigating something hard and need some fresh perspective…this episode is for you.
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- Dig deep for something that is important to you
- Find the lesson in the struggle you are navigating
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Life is an Adventure - Go All In with Will Baumgardner
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Transformative Journey on the Appalachian Trail
Speaker 1Hey , Will welcome back to Differently .
Speaker 2Thank you , good to be back .
Speaker 1Yes , I'm so excited to have you back . So Will has taken a very unique journey since the last time he was here and we have this saying in our house . My husband used to always say like you never come back from a trip the same , and we find it so true like anytime we go on a vacation or anything , your perspective is shifted or things happen . You sometimes come back differently , more than others . But Will has taken a really , really unique journey and I talked to him a little bit about it and I was so excited to have him come on the podcast to really share his journey with you , and I'm going to be learning a lot more about it , I know because our conversation was kind of brief . So welcome back , and if you didn't hear Will's first episode on the show , you can go back . I don't know the date , but it's been quite a while , but it was titled Life is an Adventure Go All In , and I'm like Will , that's so perfect .
Speaker 2I love it .
Speaker 1You're living true to what you're up to . I love it . So yeah , say hello and just give people a sense of kind of who you are , in case they haven't met you before .
Speaker 2Absolutely so , so good to be back and so honored that you thought to have me on to talk about this adventure . And as you were introing , I was thinking back to when we first talked on the podcast and there was one big life change . And since I've had another and you know , still navigating that space , living in a little bit of the unknown , so to speak , but had this opportunity to listen and kind of heed a call , if you will , to go out into the woods for a while . And such an amazing journey . I truly believe , like you said , any trip it helps you shift your perspective , it helps you step outside of that routine that can be so beneficial in some areas of life but also can maybe hold you back from viewing things differently . And certainly this journey allowed that perspective and so excited to come back and , you know , experience life with this different lens as I move forward .
Speaker 1Yeah , and so professionally , just to give people a picture of kind of what you do . You've done a lot of things , but give them a sense of what you do . You're coaching and you're , yes , all your magic , all the magic , sure .
Speaker 2So really excited at the current moment , kind of in this reinventing phase , since I have come back from the hike in the trail but prior to that really developed an expertise in finance and operations and kind of blending those together for growth stage companies or companies that needed some coaching .
Speaker 2So started my career with Zappos in an analyst role and then that grew into where I got to spend about a decade of my life working with a company that I helped build called Venture First .
Speaker 2So there really got to .
Speaker 2I was the first person that the CEO hired and as the company grew I started sitting in the seat of all of these new roles that we needed to fill until we found somebody more qualified to sit in that seat .
Speaker 2So really ended up serving as the chief of staff and COO in that capacity of really owning all the different internal operations and processes to help grow the company . When I left there transitioned that into a consulting business where I sat in that COO seat for again some growth stage companies , companies that were looking to grow quickly , and throughout that time have spent time also as a swim coach working with youth and have recently come back into that world , so helping a dear friend of mine grow her swim school sitting in both that kind of coaching her as an operator , as a business owner that is amazing at teaching kids how to swim but needs some of that help on how to grow a company , how to scale , how to put processes in place , and also working on coaching not only some kids but then also experiencing or experimenting with coaching some individuals as well .
Speaker 1Awesome love that . That's kind of a . I feel like that's such a perfect place for you to be like , on both those , both those places , because you're a natural coach and you're also so , so effective and powerful on the business side of things .
Speaker 2So I can't wait to see what's next for you ?
Speaker 1Okay , so tell us about the trail and I want to ask a question about what really set you on that journey but also paint a picture of what the Appalachian Trail is , so people have a sense of that and you pick the order .
Speaker 2Sure , so first we'll talk about the the trail .
Journey on the Appalachian Trail
Speaker 2So the Appalachian Trail . There are three kind of long trails that are in the US , all over 2000 miles . So the Appalachian Trail is kind of the OG trail and it stretches from Springer Mountain in Georgia all the way up to Mount Katahdin in Maine .
Speaker 2So I hikers can go two different ways . They can either hike northbound , from Georgia to Maine , which is about 90% of the people that start out start northbound , or you can go southbound , starting in Maine and hiking to Georgia , which about 10% or so folks do , and naturally I chose that route because that's who I am as a person . But also timing . So the distance changes kind of every year , but last year , in 2023 , the official distance was 2198.4 miles and it it's incredible , it's this trail that follows the Appalachian Mountains through I think it's 13 different states , it's the equivalent of running 86 marathons , and I believe the stat I can't Google it right now is it's either 17 or 18 times you summit the elevation gain of Everest over the course of the trail . So wow , it's a beast , you're a nut .
Speaker 1I am a nut . That's what I love about you .
Speaker 2And . But it has this , this history , this lore of it's also a very social trail . There's a huge community of folks that come out to support hikers on their journey and only about 25% of people that start the trail end up hiking the whole thing . So it's a , it's a , it's a beast and it came to me . So why the AT ? How did this come into my life ? You , if you ever get the opportunity to hike the AT or section it or day hike it , you will meet people that have wanted to hike this trail their entire life . There's a lot of college recent college grads are a big percentage of the folks that hike it , as well as retirees . That probably makes up 75% of the people that are out there , and Most folks have this calling , this desire . They've been around it forever , they love it , they've read about it , they know the history of it . They can tell you way more facts than I can .
Speaker 2I was not one of those people . The trail just kind of popped into my ethos through two different acquaintances that I had , and it came to me at a point in life when I just couldn't say no to it . So it takes most folks the average is six months to hike the whole distance , and I was going through a divorce in early 2023 , as well as the consulting client that I was working with . That was just the right time to wind down that client . They had hired some other folks . They were bringing on somebody to do a lot of the administrative stuff that I was doing sitting in that COO seat , which made the most sense for the business .
Speaker 2So here I was , you know , recently divorced , no job . We were selling the house , so no mortgage , no bills , no responsibilities , trying to figure out where to go next . And just this little voice , little nudge , was pushing the AT . And so I talked to two friends that had through-hyped it and both of them were enthusiastically yes , go , do this thing , you can't ignore it . And so I started researching . I was a pretty athletic person to begin with , but not a lot of backpacking experience , certainly had never you know , never had camped alone in the woods and just started doing some research , started buying some gear and in June , june 21st , on the summer solstice , set off southbound from Maine .
Speaker 1All by yourself .
Speaker 2Started all by myself . Yeah , so there's definitely , like I said , there's a community of folks around the trail to support you . You end up meeting hikers along the way that kind of form a tramley if you will , your little trail family and met , ended up meeting two folks 10 days in and we ended up finishing together five months later . So they were at one point there was a group about 10 of us in our tramley . The first , certainly through the first quarter or so , that we grouped up and we hang out together . We would go off trail sometimes and , you know , get an Airbnb to celebrate those big milestones 500 miles in and recover , but ended up meeting the two people that I finished with day 10 and plus or minus some days . We pretty much stuck together the whole time .
Speaker 1Wow , five months , that's a long time . Five months Long time .
Speaker 2Living out of a backpack .
Speaker 1Wow , so you've done some pretty adventurous things before . I know you've done marathons , right , or races .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1Share a little because you've also . You also did a big summit of some kind .
Speaker 2I can't remember where I did yeah , so I , I love hard things , I love doing hard things , I love coaching people through hard things because I feel like that's where growth happens and and that's where life happens . You know , I think it's in the gritty and when it gets hard , you you find out who you are . I probably should , could do . My parents would love me to do less hard things , but I so I kind of got addicted with did a marathon , have done a couple of those that turned into doing a full Disney dopey challenge weekend where you run a 5k , a 10k , a half marathon and then a full marathon , all within a four day span , like back to back to back . That was fun .
Speaker 2Marathons turned into triathlons . I've always been a swimmer , so naturally kind of gravitated to that . Did a have completed a full Ironman triathlon , lots of halves and then in 2019 , great timing Got the opportunity with a couple of friends and John , the CEO from the company I worked with for 10 years , went over to Africa and got to summit Mount Kilimanjaro , which was an awesome experience and had done and completed like a six day journey on a trail out in California through kind of sponsored , but that was maybe a little intro into backpacking . But yeah , I've always , I've always loved hard things and tons of other hard things besides just physical hard things .
Speaker 1But it inspires me so much , like I've always had that inside of me too , like I went skydiving kind of for that reason , like not that I wanted to skydive , but I wanted to be on the other side of that experience .
Speaker 2Like .
Speaker 1I wanted to . I wanted to have done it . I wanted to . And same thing with my son and I his senior year . We hiked into the Grand Canyon and camped down at the falls and that was one of the hardest things I've ever done , but nothing like what you have done . But I love this idea , I love these . I love hard things Like that's so good , and I mean I coach people every day that they want to grow and they want to move in their life , but then when the hard thing hits , it's like , oh , but I , it's like I'm constantly reminding them this is it Like , this is it Like it's when we get uncomfortable that we grow , but then we resist it so much , so much .
Speaker 2It's so hard . Now , let's be clear I didn't wake up every day on the trail loving what I was doing , but Well , we're going to get to that , but no , yeah , it is . That's where you find out who you are as a person . I think is when you go through a hard thing and you , like you said , come out the other side of it Like the growth that happens is so important , so important yeah .
Speaker 1So what did you ? What did you or maybe you didn't have expectations , but what did you hope for when you set out ?
Speaker 2I hoped for that . I would figure out the rest of my life , and know exactly what I want to do heal from you know , a failed marriage and come out the other side ready to you know , ready to go tackle life with this great plan that I could go execute Didn't happen and I think the big thing was yeah , I expected the trail to solve all of life's problems .
Speaker 1Yeah , Gosh , I think we can all relate to that , like putting our hope in something that's going to solve everything , and this is a journey .
Speaker 2Absolutely .
Speaker 1So I want to come back to that because I do want to know kind of what you walked out on the other side . But what was the single greatest challenge of the whole thing ?
Speaker 2Hmm , so many challenges , I think it does yeah .
Speaker 2No , the , I think the the hardest is combating feelings of loneliness and , like being true , like pretty independent , competent , happy person , truly being homesick . And you know it's also one of the greatest things I learned is , you know , I didn't miss my things . I missed my tribe and I think having some nieces and nephews you know they're seeing milestones through the phone screen versus in real life was was a challenge , like it made me homesick . But then I had this great tramley that I met , that you know you could , you could rely on Tramley .
Speaker 2Is that what you call it ?
Speaker 1Trayle family , yeah your trail family .
Speaker 2But yeah , physically there are so many . There were lots of hard challenges , but I think the biggest challenge was was just , you know , the the woods can be , can be isolating , and that isolation can become deafening . The silence can become deafening . So being able to fight through that and continue on .
Speaker 1I feel like there . I mean I know there was like a specific moment . I don't know if you're willing to share it , but take us back to like that setting . Yeah you sort of hit that wall .
Speaker 2Um , it was . So I know the exact place in my mind like it is crystal clear . So there was a moment I think you know that I was ready to quit , that I I was in the process of quitting and the so I was hiking , I had kind of entered this stretch where I was alone , so solo , for about 20 days , and not solo . So there were other people on the trail , you know , there were hike day hikers and folks that I met along the way , but no other southbound through hiker that I could , you know , join up with their camp with and got very isolated and lonely . And it was a moment I was in New York , so I was about 1000 miles in , and that the day prior I had walked across the Hudson River on a bridge , but like had seen the Hudson many times as a Kentucky boy traveling to New York , but that was the first time . It was just such this euphoria , this high of like . Oh my gosh , I have walked here from Maine , sun was shining , it was towards the end of the day , it was glorious .
Journey of Self-Discovery and Overcoming
Speaker 2Then that next day , just these intense feelings of loneliness of what the hell am I doing in life , you know , and was at , was going into camp and that whole day . It was also my sister in malls 40th birthday and , as a great human being , was expressing gratitude and our family group text of just who would have thought that 40 would look like this ? You know I'm so thankful for husband and children and career that I love right and hit a little , hit me a little different . You know just like Well , that's what I should , I should be right , like you know , I should have all this and I want I had all this .
Speaker 2And so I was going into camp and just in a bad headspace and put down my pack to go hike around to figure out where I wanted to set up my tent and found a spot , came back to get my backpack and then go to the where the tit spot was , and this bear was standing right where I was going to set up my tent , right .
Speaker 1So I forgot about this .
Speaker 2So I'm like banging my hiking poles , throwing rocks , like trying to get the bear to move on . And you know , this bear was just like what you got in that pack you gonna feed me anything for dinner . So at that moment , like the it , just I was like , well , I'm not dying out here , this is stupid , like I haven't figured out my life , blah , blah . And just you know , went hit your wall , just hit my wall .
Speaker 2Yeah , just went to a dark place , done Done , ran , ran like four miles into town with my pack At the end of the day , got a hotel room . The next day , rented a car one way to Lexington , back to Kentucky , like I was done quitting , and I called my mom because it was I had not checked in and so she answered the phone . It was like a little later in the day , when it wasn't a normal time for me to be checking in or calling . It was like Are you okay ? Right away , right , like you know mom , mom's spidey sense . And when she asked that I , that was the first time that I said no and yeah , just you know , like no , no , I'm not okay , like I'm , I don't know what I'm doing in life . I don't , I don't have anything figured out . I've hiked all these miles and I haven't figured the next step out . You know , my marriage failed . I quit a career that I loved like and just laundry listed it right and .
Speaker 2But that was the first time that I allowed myself to say that I was not okay and it was . It was so freeing and just you know , just a moment , that I will not forget and so thankful for a little mama , mama wisdom , and you know , just kind of let me go . And then was like hey , you know I love you . Nothing makes me and your father more excited that you are coming home . You know like we want you home .
Speaker 2But it sounds like this whole journey you have been everywhere in your head except where you're two feet are and I challenge you . You know , one of her favorite things is be here now and that was her challenge and she was so right . And that that moment , that like giving myself the permission to not be okay , was huge and it changed my journey . I carried that burden , physically and mentally for like over a thousand miles and I think I've talked about the trail . It broke me because I needed to be rebuilt and it is such a great thing . It sounds so weird , right , like I'm so grateful to be broken , but we all are . And that , just that moment leading up to that , I wasn't ready to hear that , I wasn't ready to accept that until that moment , until I had been beaten down and worn out and had the time to reflect a lot and so thankful for that moment and for mama's words , wisdom .
Speaker 1That I mean as a mama boy , it's like that just strikes me so much because when you said , like nothing would make us happier than to have you come home and be safe , right , like as a mom , you just you want your kids to be happy and okay and safe . And what it took for her to say that and knowing you , right Like that , I mean I know a slice of you . Your mama knows a lot more , but what perfect advice for you and what a gift she gave you and she had to set aside whatever it was of herself to like , really stand for you in that moment , and that was so beautiful and it completely changed the trajectory I know from that moment and so 100% .
Speaker 2I have never thought of it that way . Karla , You're absolutely right . What a gift that my mom gave , Because it was like I didn't share the part that the bear made me come off the trail because then they really would have probably flown and removed me from the trail . But yeah , it was such a gift . Such a gift and so thankful , blessed , for incredible parents .
Speaker 1Yeah , so good . So what happened then ?
Speaker 2Yeah
Finding Joy Through the Journey
Speaker 2. So I went off trail and reached out so that we talk about trail magic on the AT . Trail magic is a big thing and that can come from a lot of forms from strangers giving you a ride I have now hitchhiked . That was something I had never done before From people giving you a beer at an intersection of the trail or feeding you dinner . I had multiple folks that would buy our dinner if we were in town at a restaurant or drop off pizzas at a hotel . Or we had somebody that insisted on buying one of our trailman members a new pair of shoes because his were busted out . People are just kind and that's trail magic .
Speaker 2The real trail magic is the stuff that's not tangible , like my mom knowing exactly what to say , like Tiva , one of the trailman members that I finished with same day . Mom hits me with big old mama wisdom and Tiva reaches out and sends a text of just hey , I know that we've gotten separated . Like I loved hiking with you , I would love to hike with you again . I can't imagine what you're going through . I know that the solo time can be great , but it can also be really hard , like if you wanna meet up again . Like I'd love to hike with you here , to talk with you if you ever need anybody , like such a great friend and just offering that support . And so I was like , yep , I wanted to quit , but I'm back on the trail , like where are you ? So if anybody is a purist out there on the AT , I did not hike the AT Pure , I did skip some miles but met up with Tiva that next day , our friend Crocstar so our trail names and he had a similar experience . He had lost his phone . His mom had come down to give him a phone . He texted like kind of a goodbye text , like hey , I think I'm out . My mom's here , like I'm just gonna ride back with her . It's been great knowing you guys . And I responded I was like , totally get where you are .
Speaker 2I was there yesterday , decided to skip a couple of miles to meet up with Tiva . We would love to hike with you again . And he was like , yep , that sounds good , I think I'll join you . So we had been separated for like 20 days Trail magic happens . And we met up . And so two days later I was walked into camp and the three of us met for the first time back at camp and my soul was happy , like that was , and I knew like , okay , this is my crew , like , these are my people that we're gonna go to the end with , and then we stayed pretty much together for the rest of the trail .
Speaker 2So , wow , yeah , and I think the big thing for me , what changed , how did it end , was the realization of like finding joy in the journey and not being so focused on the destination . But weirdly , that joy first presented itself as sadness and sitting with being sad , hiking sad , like grieving a little bit , if you will . But I think that the joy that I found through the journey was initially disguised as sadness and I had to sit there and feel it and let it wash over me and let it my heart ache and cry . Oh , I cried so much on the trail , but through that is where the joy came and I think that that's just life as a whole is being able to find joy and enjoyment in the journey and just , you know , yeah , the station's good , you wanna be focused and moving towards something , but don't let it consume you , cause it won't be fun .
Speaker 1It's so true , it's like a guy's so many thoughts , as you say that . But we want the joy . But in order to have the joy , like if we're suppressing all the other feelings , it also suppresses our joy . Right , and I just on my , I had a cup of tea the other night and on the little tea bag I looked down and it says you know , without the darkness we don't know the light .
Let Your Feelings Finish
Speaker 1Right , and the other thought I had was a client who recently just shared the statement of let your feelings finish .
Speaker 1And I've really been carrying that with me because I've not always been good at that . You know somebody who I mean I think you share this too is like an achiever type and tends to be really positive . I it's so comfortable for me to stay in the positive and sometimes not so comfortable to feel all the feelings . And as we just left our 25 year old home , I carried that , you know , let your feelings finish . And I just every time I felt the tears bubble up when normally I kind of like just be , like , cry a little bit and then sort of move on .
Speaker 1I just really let them finish , and it sounds like that's what you did , like you just let some of those feelings finish .
Speaker 2Such a great , great saying like absolutely , I think , you know , coming out of the trail and back into this , you know , quote unquote , real world . There is so much I honestly want to say , toxic positivity and I feel it a lot in looking at , like social media and what's being presented to you , and almost this drive of just not feeling , not letting the sadness , the grief , the whatever uncomfortable hard emotion that it is for you , not giving it space in this desire to be positive and to be this best version of yourself all the time , and that's just not . It is possible to be the best version of yourself all the time , but sometimes that best version of yourself needs to feel those hard feelings and sit with them and let them make you uncomfortable , because then you get to feel it and let them make you uncomfortable .
Speaker 1I think that's it . It's like a willingness to sit in the discomfort and know it's not going to kill you 100% .
Speaker 2I think it , you said it best right , it's not going to kill you . I think it's so important to to feel it . Let the feelings finish and absolutely I'm a huge believer of mindset and gratitude and all of the things that kind of roll into the positivity . But you have to , you can't ignore the hard stuff and I think that , yeah , that's hard . It's really uncomfortable to feel sad . At least for me it was so uncomfortable , very comfortable , very comfortable , feeling pain physically , like in grinding through it . But that was a hard lesson learned , was , you know , be feel the uncomfortable stuff . That's a hard thing . Let the feeling finish . I love that .
Speaker 1You know it's in just in the work I do in coaching , it's like I think it's it is . It's so normal for people to feel like they're just they're gonna eventually get to this point where they're . You know , they've mastered their mind so much or they're just gonna have it all handled . And I have to really remind people all the time this is the work , like this is the work . It's not that you're gonna have it all handled . I mean , yes , we can have tools and things that sort of help us walk through it right , but there's no . I mean , I think what you said is like just this eye on the destination , always right when really everything's right here . So I wanna go back to what your mom said about being on the trail two feet on the trail , what started to shift there ? Like just actually being in the experience . Because this I have to remind myself every day be in the minute , be in this minute right now .
Speaker 2It was almost . It was two different trails . It really was Pre and post that moment . And the part before was beautiful . There's so much fun moments and joy and beautiful scenery , and that was all of New England , oh my gosh , strikingly gorgeous .
Speaker 2But I was constantly focused , you know , as I would hike along on okay , what am I gonna do ? Well , I could go . Okay , I could continue consulting . I could go do life coaching . I could do . I could be a swim coach . I could maybe help build the swim team , like all these .
Speaker 2I was trying to figure out professionally . What am I gonna do right ? Mind constantly going Okay , my , you know , no longer married . Like , okay , at some point , oh God , I'm gonna have to start dating . What's that gonna look like ? How am I gonna do that ? Am I comfortable with online dating ? Do I like constantly going right ? And I never let the mind stop right . I was constantly planning , figuring out where I was gonna camp , trying to keep the family together .
Speaker 2And after that moment I started doing things like sitting for lunch and napping in the sun after I ate lunch for an hour , because it felt great , or they're , you know , sitting getting to the top of a viewpoint and instead of being so focused on getting to camp at a certain time to make a certain distance , like yes , that was still there , but like , enjoy the view , take , you know , take 10 deep breaths and just marvel at what is in front of you .
Speaker 2There was a moment where that I think beforehand it wouldn't have happened , and I was at a there's a memorial on the trail for a fallen soldier , and it was , I don't know . Just , it's just one of those moments where I felt called to sit and reflect and reflect on a life . And what do I want my tribe to feel like , you know , if I'm gone , you know , and there I was , sitting there and I was just . It turned into like a longer moment and I was thinking of , like man , you know sounds really corny , but I was like it's almost like you know . And then here I am , pumping myself up in my head because I'm also that person , but I'm it's like you know , I'm like a phoenix , like I'm rising from the ashes on this trail . You know , I had to get broken , I had to burn down to like rise again .
Speaker 1Build up .
Speaker 2And as my mind is thinking phoenix , a leaf falls , hits me in the lap and it is in the shape of a phoenix .
Speaker 2Oh , wow , like slow down , enjoy the moments , right . And if I wouldn't have , like it was just a calling a nudge of oh , let's just like sit down for a second and reflect on this . And that was after , you know , my mom said what she said and I was in the second half , but it was just it's one of those moments I was like I mean , this leaf looks like a phoenix and it fell in my lap as the two of us , as the time that I was thinking about that and it just was a reaffirming of like you were on the right path , you know , keep going . And moments like that that just made the second half so much better , cause I was , I was hiking more miles . Actually , we were doing , you know , first half , like 13 to 15 miles a day . The second half we were bumping up closer to 20 on a daily basis . I was hiking more miles , but I was enjoying more memories , I mean , and it was just such a different perspective .
Speaker 1Wow , so much , so much , in that I just gotta like let it missed over me . Yeah , so much .
Speaker 1I think it was so amazing what you said , that like it was two different trails , because I think that's what we have access to every day , like I know just I can come into my office and I can have a work day where I'm just like in my head and there's some urgency and , you know , like a good amount of stress to just like get everything done , I need to get done . Or I can come up here and I can say a prayer and I can just be super present and I can trust in , like my inner guidance to focus on what I need to focus on today and take breaks throughout the day and I don't get any less done . I feel entirely different and there are two completely different experiences of the exact same thing 100% and I think it for me I am , you know , I'm a spiritual person .
Speaker 2I'm not so much religious at the moment , but to me it is just . It's humbling yourself to a higher power and understanding the trail . I'm laughing because the trail also helps you realize that a lot of the stuff that you think matters doesn't matter , like , oh , how is this company gonna survive if I'm not doing what I'm doing ? Guess what ? They survived , just fine , you know . How is this gonna like , you know , I mean , and it just it doesn't matter . And I think being humble and humble enough to realize that like and to let that sink in and just know that , know that you're where you need to be , you know and just listen to that , I think was so impactful from the trail .
Speaker 1Amazing
Navigating Life's Accelerated Pace
Speaker 1. So what was the hardest thing about coming back ?
Speaker 2The pace of this life that we live is so accelerated , wow , wow , so accelerated . What are we doing with all this extra time ? You know , like all of these , you know you can order your groceries online and they can be delivered , and you can- .
Speaker 1Anything online and have it delivered .
Speaker 2Anything right , like in all of these time saving services and stuff that's out there , and it's like , what are we doing with all this extra time ? And I think , at the pace of this life is so fast . In many times that's great , like it's fun , I enjoy it , right , but there's other times where I've had to really be mindful and think is this good for me ? You know , am I ? Am I falling into this accelerated pace of life ? Because , because it's making the hard thing easier . Sometimes that's good , sometimes you just need to do the hard thing and I think that's been the biggest difference , you know , is , again , the pace just is so fast .
Speaker 2Like I went from the trail finished actually four months ago today , on top of Springer Mountain in Georgia to the Atlanta Airport in less than 24 hours to fly home . And so much respect for service men and women that actually got shot at that were gone , that were deployed , because even my little five month journey and I was in a town every day or not every day , every five days or so just that culture shift from trail to the airport was jarring . I mean , I'm a pretty strong person resilient guy yeah jarring , and it is .
Speaker 2It's just a matter of it's a different lens . You know , we talked . You talked about travel early on and you come back differently . It's now looking at things . Is this good for me or is that letting me avoid the hard thing ?
Speaker 1Wow . Well , I think I only have one more question , and I mean I have more than that , probably for the sake of our time , because I don't want to . I don't think this is all . It's not a buttoned up kind of thing and a before and after kind of thing , like I get that you're still in process and this is still a journey . But what I'm curious about is what ? Like you , you mentioned that question right like is this good for me ? But what questions are you sitting with now that are going to probably guide whatever is next ?
Speaker 2The biggest question is you know where , where do I want to spend my time ? How can I , where can I do the most good ? And I think it's . The trail was great . In a sense , I was also running away from a hard thing , if you will , of having to reinvent a life post career shift , post divorce , post selling a home . So now it's now . My hard thing is is building that life again . And so I think the biggest question is , yeah , where , how do I want to spend my time ? Because it that's the one thing we all have a limited supply of and where , I think , still still trying to listen to , to those nudges and to , as I've gotten back , and working with the new client and talking to friends . And but where ? Where am I being called to to spend my time and being being brave enough to answer that honestly ?
Speaker 1So good I can feel just your whole experience behind all of that . Really kind of you have a new lens right that you're looking through to answer those questions and totally a different , different lens and different perspective .
Speaker 2For sure , and I think those some of the periphery noise has been eliminated . You know , like I now know , I don't need a lot . I live for five months out of a backpack , so there's things that have been eliminated , but it is just sharpening that focus on . You know . Yeah , where am I gonna spend my time ? Where can I make an impact and best serve others with the gifts that I have been given ?
Speaker 1So good . Is there anything that we didn't touch on that you want to share before we close ?
Speaker 2Nerd gummy clusters are the preferred fuel for long distance through hikes .
Speaker 1So it's like the nerds the candy .
Speaker 2Yes , so good . I love that . I don't know , that's just where I'm at , that's awesome .
Speaker 1I love it .
Speaker 2It's perfect so good , I wish I had a link . Where do you ?
Speaker 1Maybe I'll find one and put it in the show you can get them at most gas stations .
Speaker 27-11 Circle case Random back country . Your only option for the next food for three days is convenient stores food oh my gosh .
Journey of Gratitude and Connection
Speaker 1Thank you for taking us on a journey today . You're gonna make me cry , but you did . You took me on a journey and I know people listening too and thank you for sharing yours . Thank you for being an amazing light and I just I treasure you . I'm so grateful for for that . Our paths have crossed and that you could be here today to pass this along .
Speaker 2Thank you , it was . I have learned that it is a privilege to be able to to share this journey and it was hopefully something out there made you know , made a connection with somebody where the road ahead just is a little bit easier , because that that's what's all about .
Speaker 1Yeah , so good . Have an amazing day everybody . Thank you so much Will .
Speaker 2My pleasure .