It’s uncharacteristic for me to claim to know a secret like this, but some times you stumble upon simple truths… I think I’ve been pretty lucky in life, here’s why.
When Keri and I ran our outdoor centre we had achieved a shared childhood dream.
It was challenging and wonderful for a while but in the end, the daily reality of running a centre was not making us happy. It didn’t feel right.
We left the centre a few weeks before Charlie was born.
For years we regretted that decision.
When we left we were beset with redundancies, debt and uncertainty.
It felt like the opportunity to live the way we wanted was diminishing every day.
It almost felt like punishment for not fully appreciating what we had.
We feared that life could only get worse.
We began to crave the satisfactory security of our old life.
That old life, however, was no longer an option for us.
We had burned that bridge and, deep down, we knew there was a good reason why.
I know that a big part of leaving our centre was a desire to do something more with our lives.
We just didn’t know WHAT or HOW. What was the secret?
I thought working with a bigger company for more money would give me the resources and mentorship I needed. In reality, it just took me further away from what was important to me.
By now you know that our solution was building alittlemoreoutdoor.com.
With the resources like the workshops we shared with you, you know WHAT an online business is and HOW to build one.
Like our outdoor centre, we know our online business IS NOT the “be all and end all”.
Alittlemoreoutdoor.com is a vehicle. A “WHAT” and “HOW” to allow us “WHERE” we want to go.
If the outdoor centre taught us anything, simply building a life around a WHAT, HOW and WHERE can leave you feeling lost when you get there.
So Secret No#1 for a life you love is…wait for it…
Knowing “WHY”
WHY are we trying to get WHERE we want to go.
WHY do you want to achieve your goals?
If you’ve spent some time with us and ALMO, you know WHERE we’re trying to get to.
We want a life that is focused on:
- Being there for the ones we love.
- Spending time outdoors in environments that inspire us.
- Being of value and our best selves
- Making the world a better place.
But who wouldn’t? They’re quite superficial platitudes.
Our secret is really knowing WHY we want these things:
- WHY do we want to spend time with loved ones?
- WHY do we want to be Outdoors?
- WHY do I need to feel of Value?
- WHY bother making the world a better place?
I, personally, can’t put it into words, it just FEELS right:
- I FEEL better with certain people.
- I FEEL better when I’m Outdoors,
- It FEELS right to be of Value.
- It FEELS right to try and make the world better.
- It FEELS wrong when I’m taken further away from these things.
It’s easy to say I want to work outdoors. I’ve done that with different jobs but it doesn’t always FEEL right. It FEELS right when I’m somewhere natural and new with my family, or meeting people who inspire me and helping them towards their goals that they FEEL are right for them.
Knowing that, FEELING that, that is WHY I would risk everything to work towards it.
Like the saying: “it’s about the journey, not the destination.”
Alittlemoreoutdoor.com didn’t feel right when it made money, admittedly it was a relief and it did help. It started to make money when it FELT RIGHT.
It FELT RIGHT when we were working towards what we loved in a way we enjoyed and felt proud of.
When it’s hard and challenging and we get knocked back, we can pick ourselves up and find new solutions to get WHERE we are heading.
We can enjoy the journey, appreciate arriving and start planning our next adventure with excitement and gratitude.
Knowing WHY doesn’t just give us the courage and persistence to take steps every day,
it makes those steps enjoyable and worth living for.
So, can I ask you:
- WHERE are you trying to go?
- WHY are you doing it?
- WHAT are you doing each day to get there?
- HOW are you trying to get there?
- Is it working?
- Are you enjoying it?
So here’s our bonus secret, secret No#2 for a good life, good relationships and business…this is what makes knowing your WHY so valuable.
“CONNECTION”
Let me explain. I think Keri and I’s marriage is so strong because we share such a strong WHY.
We connected over it.
We could have met anyone and talked about loving the outdoors and wanting to make the world a better place. I’ve met plenty of people who share those ideals.
But the reason Keri and I are together. The reason we’ve been able to keep taking hits and moving forward… It’s because when we really dig down past the superficial life goals and keep asking “WHY?”, WHY we keep pushing forwards towards physical or metaphysical mountain peaks, then go and find more to climb?
We can’t always explain it. It FEELS right.
We FEEL when life is passing by.
We can FEEL when life is moving in the right direction.
It FEELS the same for both of us.
I believe “CONNECTION” is also the secret to ALMO’s modest success. It’s WHY you clicked on our ad. Why people have trusted us to try something outside their comfort zone.
“CONNECTION”.
I think by being open and honest we connect with like minded people.
You and I share something.
It might not have been written down in an email or webpage. It might not have been said in a video. But, if you subscribed to these emails and opened this one, it’s because in some way
you resonated and connected with something. We care about the same things and our reasons WHY feel the same.
So invest in training to learn how to connect with others using the internet, or don’t.
It is not the be-all and end-all, it’s just the most effective WHAT and HOW we’ve found so far.
Enough people invest in the things we recommend to make putting our message out profitable.
What we really care about is exploring ways to get ourselves and others out, living life.
Not just surviving, but thriving and making the world better, each in our own unique ways.
HOW Keri and I do that is different, we enjoy working in different ways.
HOW you do it is yours to discover and explore. But I imagine WHY we all do it will all be a little more connected.
If you’re really going to build a life you love, you’re going to need to work at WHY.
You’re going to have to FEEL and KNOW it in your gut.
That takes trying new things, making mistakes.
When you’ve got a sense of WHY you can set a course for what FEELS right. You can have the courage to try different WHATs or HOWs and have the resilience to try again if you fail.
And each time you set a course that’s a little more right for you.
If that FEELS right, then YOU are the reason we love what we do.
Here for you
Nick
Explorer
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P.S. Remember Enjoy life. Figure out WHY you’re living, connect with others who FEEL the same. It’s easy to forget this simple truth.
