adventure
Fun in the Sunburnt Country
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- Downtown Melburne
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- Melborne Botanical Gardens
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- New Years in the Country
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- The road less traveled
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- A view from the top
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- Mckenzie Falls
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- Koala
My time in Oz was well spent. It gave me a much needed rest and allowed me to recharge the batteries, so to speak. I met some really cool people while I was over there and got to see some really amazing things. Most of the time time we stayed with friends and family but when we did book accommodation we went first class all the way right down to the jacuzzi tub. A while back I talked to a consultant. I expected him to hand me some stone tablet with the keys to success.He just gave one real simple piece of advice. Stay in a first class resort. Your brain will remember what its like and, if you enjoy it, your subconscious mind will want to take you back. Living in style will be a memory not just a dream.
It sounded like good advice to me! So I started doing it.
Making a Life or Death Decision in 30 seconds or less
Getting ready for my first jump
It was a beautiful day. Everything was fine when I jumped out of the airplane. I was not brand new to skydiving but I certainly was no seasoned pro. It was my 20th jump. I had about a minute of the free fall. If you have never experienced free fall it is one of those amazing intense experiences that no description can fully explain!
I deployed my parachute and noticed it had not opened fully. The slider was up and the line was twisted. I followed the procedure to try to clear it by bicycle kicking then pulling on the risers. It did not clear and I was losing altitude fast! I kept trying to clear. I had to make a decision. I could cut away from my main chute go back into free fall and hopefully my reserve would deploy correctly. If not I could try to land the halfway opened chute- maybe I would live. I probably would crush a lot of bones but I might live. The problem was I wasn’t sure if I knew how to open the reserve. I had practiced it over and over again but I had never done it for real. The procedure had actually been ingrained in my muscle memory. I was no longer even consciously aware I knew how to do it. And what if the reserve malfunctioned then I would certainly be dead.
As I approached the 2000ft mark I knew I had to make a decision. A calm quiet voice spoke in my mind ”It’s now or never.” Time slowed down, the world took, on a strange glow, I was now in a flow state. I pulled the quick release, arched my back. I re-entered freefall! I pulled the reserve cord without a problem. The next 4 seconds were clearer in my mind than entire months of my life. Time moved painfully slow as the reserve opened fully. With less than 900ft to spare I steered down and into the wind for a hard but safe landing.
The whole incident took less than 30 seconds yet it seemed like a lifetime and very well could have been.
Sometimes you have the luxury to hem and haw all you want. Sometimes you have to just make a decision and have faith in the execution!
Diving with Great Whites
Gansbaai South Africa.
It was late in the afternoon. I was sick I was tired and beginning to get that feeling I had failed. When I was a young kid my cousin had taken me to the movie JAWS. While most people having seen that movie decided they would never get in water deeper than the bathtub I decided I wanted to see a great white in person, up close. When I found out I would be in South Africa anyway I jumped on the chance.
I had gone through a logistical nightmare to try to arrange the shark dive. We would only be in Capetown two days so it was now or never. So while it was still dark out we set out on a grand adventure.
Six hours after setting anchor I had long since grown used to the smell of blood. We had been out on the water since early morning dumping blood overboard about every five minutes. The only problem was the worlds largest predatory fish was apparently shy. Finally about a half hour hour before we had to return to shore we spied a fin. Then abruptly in front of us a 16ft+ Great White materialized out of the shadows. Before I knew it I was in the water face to face with the Apex Predator! He passed by the cage several times. Amazingly for such a big animal they move so fluidly. A creature very comfortable in its own skin and at one with its environment. So confident, so powerful. It would disappear from one side then materialize from a completely different direction. After passing under the cage it turned toward me. We looked into each others eyes and then he charged the cage. I grabbed the handles so if he rammed the cage my arms would flail outside into a waiting maw. At the last second possible the shark turned and swam back into the shadows from where it came. This was the most exhilarating experience ever. It had all the marks of a good success story. I had beaten the odds just to get the chance to do this and just when it seamed all was lost it happened. To me the reward was very much worth the risk.
One of the reasons why we take risk is when you are in an extreme situation your Adrenalin kicks in and you go into what some people call a “flow state” and other people call “The zone” When you’re in this zone you are concentrating on what you are doing. You are not second guessing yourself. There is just the experience and then a sense of euphoria when its done.
I have interviewed dozens of successful Entrepreneurs. The one thing that they consistently say contributed to their success above all else is their ability to take risk. That is one of the reasons why so many people who do crazy things like skydive, mountain climb, and get in the water with sharks. The operative metaphor of: If I can do this I can do anything! There are entire personal development courses based around this. If you can walk across a bed of burning hot coals of course you can start your own business.
If you like me want have a more rich and rewarding life you are going to have to take risk. Now you don’t have get in the water with sharks, that’s my trip. Do things to get outside your comfort zone. Especially things that propel you toward your goals. Today is a great day to make an adventure!
Do you choose Adventure?
Prepping to cage dive
Life is meant to be an adventure. I meet so many people out there that are not living the adventure their lives deserve to be. They don’t even know that they deserve a life of adventure so to make up for an otherwise mundane existence they instead choose to create drama in their lives. Most of the time this isn’t even a conscious choice. I want you to live a life of adventure not a life of drama. We can all get caught up in boring routine day to day activities. If we don’t pay attention to this we can get caught in a rut. This blog is as much for me as everyone else, so I remember to make each day an adventure. Realize you can choose either direction. I choose fun and adventure. What do you choose?
Next post: What I learned from diving with Great White Sharks!
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