I crossed the 200 hours outside for 2022 last week.  I am beginning to notice how much we can do outside, sometimes just sitting outside and reading is even a great refresher from life.  We will be camping this weekend as we do every memorial day weekend to kick off summer, so I’m finding it easier to get my hours in now that we have been practicing getting hours outside, and the nicer weather certainly helps.  

Thank you!Amazon Book Review from Jenya Lindstrom: Inspiring for adventurous parents!  Beyond Normal is a motivating read that inspires me to incorporate adventures into parenting.  It’s so easy to join the masses pressuring us to “settle down” once our kids arrive.  Thank you Heidi for providing a roadmap for how to create adventures WITH kids.  Heidi also shares many personal experiences that are so relatable as a mom.  I’ve ordered extra copies to share with mom friends and my sisters! Great family inspirational reading and/or gift for new parents.  I encourage you to be like Jenya; read the book, share the book, leave an amazon written review

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/076 Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa

These practices all contribute to the following benefits

• Support better sleep.
• Uplift your mood: Reduce anxiety/depression
• Increase energy.
• Improve symptoms of mental health conditions.
• Lower blood pressure.
• Lower risk of metabolic syndrome.
• reduce/Heal inflammation.
• Better Memory
• Strengthens the immune system

Grounding practices in AdventureNeuroscience- Mindfulness (What does that mean) value in Noticing.

Fresh Air 

No screens one hour before bed (no screens after 8 is my intention) 

Sensory experiencesAuditory Walk - listen to natural sounds around you.  

Tactical:  Barefoot in the grass, or even on the concrete.  Grounding feeling of connection

Natural light exposure before noon

Sense of Smell is connected to the most vivid memories.  Fresh blooms of lilacs or the lilies of the valley, smell after it rains.  

A slightly different perspectiveThere is significant research that encourages “risky movements” in particular getting outside of the upright position.  With kids this helps develop their inner ear, balance and coordination that leads to many other development.  Quote from my book (Balanced & Barefoot) While it’s easy to consider this as a critical aspect for children I also encourage adults to get out of the upright position.  I know when practicing yoga there is a preference for inverted positions.  

Another form of grounding is to get all the way to the floor.  Play superman with the kids, or just yesterday I pulled out the puzzle board and picked up a puzzle we hadn’t touched in weeks.  When we all can get to the same level there is a grounding feeling in addition to deeper connection.

I want to talk a bit more about connection.  In my w2 job, which I don’t know that I have talked much about, I oversee a foundation’s giving strategy and in the past 18 months we have been studying the research related to connection.  I will link a research study in the show notes and as a society we have been reducing the number of deep connections we share with others since the 1980s.  In 1986 we averaged 4 deep connections with other people, now the average is less than 1.  Yet we have more tools to connect than ever.  The piece of this research that was most defining for me was that we only need 1 solid connection to exponentially increase the benefits listed above.  We approach health from an exercise and nutrition perspective, but human connection offers much greater results.  It has been interesting to me is that at work with our focus on mental health we have been focus on access to treatment and quality care and we knew there was more behind the curve. 

 

I go into detail that I knew that adventure had healing properties back in my twenties which was why I resisted the settling down narrative.  The research continues to emerge about how beneficial time in nature, practicing discomfort, and grounding practices can offer a new path- or perhaps return us to a native pathway that has been hushed.  

 

To Register for the Everyday Adventure Challenge:  If you would like a little help, and outside nudge to practice simple adventures such as this the Everyday Adventure Challenge is open and will run June 5-August 5th.  You can register by heading to ordinarysherpa.com/challenge

 

Key Takeaways:

1. How are you getting fresh air everyday?
2. What are all the things you can do at 8 PM without a screen?  You might be surprised what you come up with. Look at the list and decide What do I WANT to do tonight?
3. When you remove one of the senses it amplifies the others.  Which sensory adventure would you like to try?  Remember an adventure is a new, uncomfortable, potentially risky experience.  
4. Kids innately move in risky ways that make parents gasp.  These are developmentally important.  In fact I would challenge any adult listener to explore getting out of an upright position and explore a “risky” position for you. This does not mean you have to grab the rings and do a flip.  
5. All of the practices today are accessible to you by simply taking off your shoes, putting down your phone, laying on the floor, or stepping outside and inhaling the fresh air.  They might not seem normal- but when was normal ever the benchmark for a thriving life?

 

Resources mentioned in this episode1000 Outdoor Trackers: https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/trackers

Research on Natural Light:

Balanced and Barefoot Book: Order a book on Amazon

Research on the Human Connection: http://ccare.stanford.edu/uncategorized/connectedness-health-the-science-of-social-connection-infographic/ 

 

As you may or may not know, yesterday I became a published author.  On May 17th Beyond Normal: a field guide to embrace adventure, explore the wilderness, and design an extraordinary life with kids was publicly available. While it is easy to think this is a summit experience, and I certainly am taking time to celebrate this accomplishment, I also know this is the beginning of a journey. Publishing a book in some ways is just the beginning. I didn’t write the book for me.  This isn’t about me writing a book, it’s because I wanted to share what I have learned to support others in designing an adventurous life with kids.  Before I get into the episode today on becoming a writer, I wanted to share 3 tips on how to help authors spread their message.  Most of them do not cost you a dime.  Whether you do this for my book, Kent Sander’s book, or other authors I have on the show.  The call to action will be to choose one of these 10 generous option to take action on this week.  

Generous Calls to Action to support your favorite authors:

1. Request a copy of the book at your local library. All you have to do is google "suggest a purchase (city you live in) library". Usually there is a form to fill out requiring your library card number and info about the book: ​​Name: Beyond Normal: A field guide to embrace adventure, explore the wilderness and design an extraordinary life with kids​ ​​Author: Heidi Dusek ​​Publisher: Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing ​​ISBN: 978-1-950721-21-4
2. Purchase a copy as a gift or even to place in the Free Little Library near you!
3. Share any social media posts related to the book. While many only think about the launch date, social media posts will be happening for months after the book is published. Take a picture and post on your own social media and tag the author or the book in your post.  

All of these options are listed in the show notes for today and will also be shared in social media over the next 10 days.  

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/075 To purchase a signed copy of Beyond Normal Book: https://ordinarysherpa.com/Follow on Instagram: @ordinarysherpa

I would describe our guest as one of the most humble and generous entrepreneurs I know.  You will hear in this episode how we met and in many ways you could say we are almost complete opposites, which is why I knew I needed to be a part of his Daily Writer Community to get my book to the published finish line.  Along the way he has been more than a supporter.  He has designed content based on what I asked, he has put me in the hot seat to prioritize where to focus my time, and yesterday he purchased 5 print copies of my book to give away.  

Kent Sanders is the founder of Inkwell Ghostwriting, which helps leaders grow their business through books and other content. He is also the author and co-author of numerous books, including 18 Words to Live By: A Father’s Wisdom on What Matters Most and co-author of The Faith of Elvis: A Story Only a Brother Can Tell with Billy Stanley, Elvis Presley’s stepbrother.

In addition to writing books for himself and his clients, Kent loves to help other writers. He is the host of the Daily Writer podcast, which helps writers cultivate the habits for creative success, and the founder of the Daily Writer membership community. He lives just outside of St. Louis and enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and teenage son.

Key Takeaways

1. Books are one of the few forms of magic left in the world because many people want to do, but seldom actually do.  Books are inherently respected and offer a level of impact and credibility that are hard to attain through other means.  
2. Kent’s wife was the impetus for him taking action to write his first book.  “You have talked about book ideas for years and you’ve never done anything about it, so I don’t want to hear about any more book ideas.” A healthy challenge from those we love can change the trajectory of our lives.  
3. It’s hard to quantify a “good writer.” Kent’s definition of a good writer is if the writing does what it’s intended to.  Whatever the purpose is, if writing accomplishes the goal that is good writing.  Writing is not really about good communication skills.  
4. Will you accept the fact that you are already a write and what are you going to do about it?
5. A book is the product of a team of people sharing their skills to improve the outcome.  Between the designer, editor, formatter all are critical to having a great final product of which the author tells the story.
6. Writing a book does not require to have to have all the answers, you just need to determine what questions to ask and compile other people’s answers.  
7. Kent uses questions on social media to help determine what struggles people have related to writing.  People will put you in a box anyway so define the box for them.  Rather than positioning himself as the guru or expert, Kent refers to himself as the crash test dummy. 
8. Being immersed in community with people who will ask you questions and challenge you in a thoughtful way.  If you think you can help people and you don’t do it you are really doing them a disservice.  The Daily Writer Community is designed to support aspiring writers and support writing accountability.  The fundamental premise is human connection with the intent and interest in writing.  
9. Human connection is the antidote of doubt.  Community is a two-way street. Community through human connection is designed to contribute and to receive others contributions.  
10. If you are simply absorbing knowledge and not taking action it is likely you will stay stuck living life in the status quo. If you feel stuck then perhaps the first question towards taking action is “Why not you?”
11. I am purchasing his book 18 words to live by to give to my husband for Father’s Day (husband if you are listening, act surprised in a few weeks).  A generous act is to do something to help an author connect with their audience by sharing their message.  

 

I hope this episode inspires you to explore the stories others have pour their time and talents into.  To support some of your favorite authors in new ways.  If you have ever had a yearning to write a book, then reach out to me or Kent.  Be curious and ask questions.  Perhaps you will add published author to your resume and inspire others with your writing.   

To Connect with or Follow Kent SandersPodcast: Daily Writer Podcast

Website/Community: https://dailywriterlife.com/ 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailywriterlife/

It’s May (when I am recording this episode) which might mean many things.  For us it means cramming in our school and spring kid activities, it means busting out the camping gear and preparing for the kickoff to summer, it means many more hours outside it also means budding blooms (ie pollen), and bugs emerge from who knows where.  For me it also means publishing my first book.  Beyond Normal: A field guide to embrace adventure, implore the wilderness and design an extraordinary life with kids launches on May 17, 2022.  

Book Description:

With big trips and everyday joys, a life of adventure awaits you. Whether you enjoy traveling or staying close to home, you'll love this book. Soak up everyday adventures exploring new places, trying new experiences, finding fun in everything, and making play more prevalent than screens. 

You do not need to go back to normal. Beyond Normal is a field guide to help your family navigate an adventurous life filled with authentic experiences. Throughout this guide, you will find ways to assess your risk tolerance, stretch beyond your comfort zone, and find community. Venture forth!

If you head to my website  Ordinarysherpa.com (beginning May 17th) you can purchase, download the free ebook (for limited time), or request a copy of the book Beyond Normal for your local library.  

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/074Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Authori Bio:  Heidi Dusek is an adventurous working mom. She helps families connect through simple and authentic adventures on her podcast (Ordinary Sherpa), Instagram feed, and through speaking and community-building events. 

In all seriousness, I wanted to take you behind the scenes to share the development of this book from idea to publication and the addition of a published author as a part of my identity.  It began last year about this time a friend posted on social media, “If you were to write a book, what would the title be and what would it be about?”  I rattled off 3 titles and a sentence description.  The initial description was something like “create everyday adventures and live life on purpose.”  I received a couple comments from friends that said “please write this book”  and that was how it began.  

I knew the concept, but I struggled with figuring out what to write. I'm just an ordinary mom.  I didn’t really know what people would want to read about or what exactly I would write about.  I knew the topic of adventure parenting was likely the topic but I didn’t really have the concept.  Through a series of requests in the Ordinary Sherpa FB group, Everyday Adventure Challenge meet ups, and individuals who would buy me a coffee  I’d meet with listeners who connected with the Ordinary Sherpa mission to help families connect through simple and authentic adventures.  

It was through these conversations that I was able to dive deeper into who the book was for and why they were struggling with adventurous parenting.  I came up with 12 different reasons based on our conversations

1. Think it costs a lot of money to adventure
2. Not enough time
3. Perceptions of success and constraints of work
4. Mindset of “what adventure is” “I’m not adventurous” “I’m not outdoorsy” “I live in a city, I can’t adventure here”
5. Fear, Adventure is risky, I am a parent and need to be stable
6. Discomfort with uncertainty: Kids who adventure make parents nervous, unsafe
7. Feelings of Joy: immediately followed by guilt, fear of losing the thing that led to joy
8. Society norms of “settling down” you have to choose 
9. Working against marketing and media (influencers, big brands)
10. Activities send family members in different directions (sports, school, work, music, etc) 
11. Need ideas of what to do, don’t know how to do it themselves so not comfortable being the leader
12. Tired/exhausted/overwhelmed,  adventure seems hard

From here I explored other books in this genre to see what else already existed to support parents with answers to these questions.  I’ll be honest, I found a lot related to family travel or an adventurous lifestyle without kids, but not many for family adventures specifically.  I bought or checked out anything remotely related to the concept and read the books throughout the writing process to have a sense of what those books offered and how or if my content would be different.  The entire time I was doing research I also began my writing without any expectation, but thoughts or stories that I would think of while reading or listening to other stories.  

I organized the questions or reasons why parents struggle to adventure into core themes which later became the three parts of the book.  

Part 1: Live Deeply focuses on the adventure mindset and the foundations of adventure as a value proposition to a fulfilling life. 

Part 2: Explore Bravely begins to put all the limiting beliefs and perceptions of safe and stable lifestyle into question.  I share research, walk through exercises as a guide to work through the process, and offer my own stories of adventure and parenting to offer context throughout the book as a guide to work through the process.  

Part 3: Play Wildly are examples of actionable steps to make adventure more accessible.  It is my belief that if we can build a life where everyday adventures create the foundation for a thriving life.  Even if we choose to travel to see new places and new people, we have the foundation of adventure built into our ethos so we are not continually using vacation as an escape.  

With the key themes established, the challenges readers face I began the writing process. I will say the first chapter was the hardest to write and the one that required the most edits.  I went into the writing process with the idea that I didn't have to have it figured out, I was just going to sit down and write.  I had heard that an average non-fiction business book is 40,000-60,000 words.  So I turned on the word count and sat down regularly to write.  I celebrated word count milestones by sharing a story in instagram or having a mini party of 1.  

I realized I wanted data, scientific evidence and sources to back up or validate my experiences.  This is just part of who I am.  I personally appreciate when a book is more than stories.  When I had a question or wanted to look into something I would use parentheses to indicate I wanted to come back to an idea.  This allowed me to write without the question to derail my progress.  For example:  I knew there was neuroscience data behind the power of pause, to create space but I needed to dive deeper into what was the source and was that relevant to the topics we were leading.  I knew there was child development data around risky play; I knew there was a conditioning process to dampen our curiosity.  These were concepts, but I made sure to come back to these topics and dig into the research.

I proofread my manuscript twice before I sent it to my editor.  There is a point when you get sick of your own writing.  After sending it to the editor I was a little burned out and took a break from it.  In fact, even after it was returned to me I didn’t look at my manuscript for almost a month.  I did start to garner interest along the way.  I invited friends and listeners to be members of the advanced reader team to pre-read the book.  In late January after almost 6 weeks of not looking at my manuscript I sat down and binged a few weekends through the edits.  I began to share bits and pieces of the book with my advanced reader team.  In mid-March I shared the entire manuscript with my advanced reader team and received an abundance of feedback.  I took 2 weeks sifting through comments, edits and questions.  I viewed each piece of feedback as a detailed gift they shared with me.  

Throughout the writing and editing process there were many times when my progress was stalled by my own limiting belief and desire for perfection.  I would compare myself to established authors.  However reading comments from listeners, or friends asking about the book helped push me through.  In mid-March I made a detailed list of all the things I needed to do to get the book into the world.  The list included

1. Finalize the title
2. Create Cover design
3. Write the back of the book description
4. Determine which Amazon categories to publish under
5. Reach out for endorsements
6. Write my acknowledgements page
7. Complete internal formatting
8. Get an ISBN number
9. Design the graphics for inside the book
10. Set up Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
11. Create the sales page on my website
12. Establish a book marketing plan
13. Write an Amazon Book Review Tutorial

After another round of scrubbing I sent the manuscript and some detailed market research to my designer and publishing assistant.  In full transparency, the book releases in 6 days and a few items on that list are still not crossed off. 

This entire process has felt like a daring adventure.  While I have always been intrigued in writing a book, I didn’t really have a dream or vision of being a published author.  There is something special about the first and while I have given myself permission to update if need be I can be happy with the product I am sharing with the world and that it reflect the season of life we are in while hopefully encouraging and supporting other parents on this adventurous journey.  

I thought I’d end this episode by sharing some of the endorsements and feedback from advanced readers. 

“I love that you offer a glimpse of an alternative and adventurous parenting path. I think this concept is missing from many of the books I've read about nature parenting, minimalist parenting and Scandinavian parenting philosophies.  So many of our peers feel like they lose themselves when they become parents and your book shows how rich life can indeed be. Your concept of "a window closing" also resonated with me.“ – Tracy Phillippi 

“Great content and experiential examples from your personal life. As you told your story I got pulled into the big moments you share with us as readers. What an overcomer you are. You have used the trials and triumphs in each stage of life to build on, and add to, the qualities that make you no Ordinary Sherpa.” – Perry Gabbard

“It’s so easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day grind of life with kids that you lose sight of what it feels like to be adventurous and genuinely have fun. Heidi Dusek’s wonderful field guide on designing an extraordinary life does the remarkable: it brings this life within reach and gives you practical ways to build a little more fun and adventure into your family’s life.” – Brad Barrett, cohost and cofounder of the ChooseFI podcast

“Through vulnerability, insightful questions, and actionable steps, Heidi shares practical wisdom to generate adventure and joy for

your family and most of all, for you. With clarity, honesty, and humor, she brings the reader so many gifts at once using stories from her life and learnings by experience. You won’t wonder how to integrate the many unwrapped lessons into your own life, but rather enthusiastically try to figure out how many you might take on! And best of all, the path will be uniquely yours as it was for her and fueled with intention and courage. A must-read for anyone looking for permission to thrive and a foundational guide to getting there.” — Laurie E. Oswald, CEO of InteraWorks and founder of The Best Year Yet Foundation

If you would like to support me  through this you can purchase, download the free ebook (limited time), or request a copy of the book Beyond Normal for your local library.  All of the steps to do these things will be included in the show notes on the website.  

Key Takeaways

1. Writing a book is a shared experience that was shaped through many interactions with listeners, followers and friends.  
2. The content of the book was based on questions from the Ordinary Sherpa community.  I strongly encourage you to reach out to me with any questions or challenges you are facing in the world of family adventures.  While I’m not the expert I have been fortunate that the sherpas in this community have many insights to share.  
3. While the content of the book will likely support anyone seeking an adventurous lifestyle, I wanted to give special focus to parents to question the narratives we hear about being adventurous with kids.  
4. The energy flow from jubilation to burn out was experienced throughout writing the book.  Part of the benefit of self-publishing my first book was that I could establish my own timeline and be curious about the process.  
5. Authors share years of experience for the value price of $15.  The book culminates key takeaways from this podcast, lessons from the Everyday Adventure Challenge and many other experiences into one easy to digest location.  While you probably could find this content by scouring the internet or binging every episode the book is nicely compiled all in one place.  The ROI on your time for someone interested in an adventurous lifestyle may be worth the investment.  

If you head to my website  Ordinarysherpa.com (beginning May 17th) you can purchase, download the free ebook (for limited time), or request a copy of the book Beyond Normal for your local library.  AND leave a written book review on Amazon.  Much like written reviews for podcast it offers new readers or listeners social proof of the contents value.  

I am coming down from an intense and yet completely fulfilling weekend at Travel Con.  It was my first conference for travel based creators and all I can say is it was nourishing for my soul.  The 80 degree weather and Memphis gems added to my delight as well.  The keynote from Pico Iyer was truly the most prophetic thing I have ever heard.  But others such as break outs on monetizing a travel website, Being a successful digital Nomad, how to pitch to brands, and keynotes from Pauline Frommer (her dad was the grandfather of travel guides) and Jeff Goins, author of Artists Don’t Starve.  They are offering a virtual pass for $99.  I am an affiliate and if you use my link you will also be supporting Ordinary Sherpa in the process.  Ordinarysherpa.com/travelcon

All that to say, I was up to late, I was over energized and I got home REALLY early on Monday morning and went to work.  I am tired.  If anyone wants to help kickstart me into May which is a huge month with over a dozen podcast recordings, a book launch (Beyond Normal Luanches May 17, 2022) and the final leg of spring activities before we embark on our summer trek we are calling Northern RV Exposure into Canada and Alaska.  I will accept your coffee donations! I really enjoy podcasting and having conversation without all the ads and interruptions many podcasters use.  If you enjoy the ideas, find joy or inspiration from my work, you can buy me a coffee to say thanks and support the show.  If you want to go deeper with the content and/or get more engaged you can find additional ways to support the show through the links below.  

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/073 Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa

As read on Linked In: Today marks 2 years without alcohol.  While I know that LinkedIn is supposed to be a *~professional~* place, I won't stop talking about sobriety here. The more we see it out in the open, the more it is normalized, the more we elevate our compassion and empathy for others, the more others who are struggling can feel seen. This past year was all about living. The first year seemed to be about thinking, about therapy, looking inward, and in the second year, I've been trying to actually live the values and beliefs I've reclaimed as my own. Giving up alcohol is still the best decision that I've ever made. I don't think I would have quit my job and started my own business with alcohol still in my life. I don't think I would be actively trying new things, like skiing or Ukulele. I don't think I would be as STOKED as I am. So here's to keeping this thing going and to year three and all the lessons it will bring. If you look at Linked In, You might find that our guest is a podcast Coach, consultant and strategist, copywriter and Editor from Boulder Colorado.  But we are more than the titles on Linked In and the public profiles we share with the world. In recent years Emily is uncovering stories in herself and others that have been hushed or overlooked to favor the normal life trajectory.  As the host and producer of the Nature Untold Podcast, she tells stories of sobriety, addiction, and recovery within the outdoor community and industry I am so honored to have Emily Holland as a guest today.

 

 

Name: Emily Holland she/her/hers Podcast: Nature Untold  https://www.natureuntoldcollective.com/  Website:emilyholland.coEmail: [email protected] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/podcastnerdery/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/emilylaurelholland

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/072Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa

Brown signs: defines a local attraction, used universally around the world as I have a listener @amyrunskncoffee on IG who has shared brown signs in South Korea.  (Referenced in Episode 041 | Adventure Potential of Brown Signs https://ordinarysherpa.com/041/

My daughter is 10 and has a goal to visit all the national parks before she graduates high school. Here is the list of the parks she has visited and highlights from each. Even though National Park week has past I imagine many are still planning summer park visits so I thought I’d dedicate this episode to “best of national parks” ten year old edition.  

Below are the parks my daughter visited, when we visited, and her favorite memory from that visit. 

1. Gateway Arch, St. Louis (July 2013): she was asleep for the views from the top, but fireworks under the arch was a highlight

2. Yosemite, California (June 2016) all the waterfalls and climbing on the rocks

3. Cuyahoga, Ohio (June 2018) biking the towpath

4. Smoky Mountains (August 2019) the “llamas” at Roaring Forks 

5. Mammoth Caves (August 2019) the squirrel that fell from the tree after our cave tour

6. Saguaro, AZ (Nov 2019) horse camp but was a little scary too when her horse took off

7. Lassen Volcanic, CA (June 2020) hike to boiling lake

8. Crater Lake, OR (June 2020) our June snowball fight

9. Red Woods, CA (June 2020) hiking fern canyon and Lady Bird woods at sunset

10. Kenai Fjords, AK (August 2020) climbing the bluffs and memorable was the massive shift in weather…soaked!

11. Grand Tetons, Wy (Dec 2020) Seeing the moose fighting 

12. Congaree, SC (March 2021) the junior ranger scavenger hunt on the boardwalks

13. Hawai’i Volcanoes (June 2021) climbing on lava beds

14. Haleakala, Maui (June 2021) walking in the clouds 

15. Channel Islands (June 2021) playing tag in the Eucalyptus grove, seeing dolphins on the boat ride

16. Theodore Roosevelt NP (August 2021) the prairie dogs and sliding down the rocks

17. Wind Cave (August 2021) didn’t tour, the buffalo

18. Badlands National Park (August 2021) climbing up and down the cable ladder on the hike 

19. Rocky Mountain National Park (Sept 2021) The baby moose who kept running after us, and all the elk

20. White Sands National Park (Dec 2021) jumping/sliding down the dunes at sunset. The sand was really cold!

Key Takeaways

1. While National Parks are well-known brown signs, a brown sign is a locally designated attraction worth checking out.  

1. The 4th grade pass is a great excuse to let you children determine your national park trip.  Since it provides free entrance for the entire car for any one with the Every Kid Every Park pass from September 1- August 31st, you can even make an entire year of it. There are other National Park pass benefits for veterans, and seniors, in addition to the yearlong America the Beautiful Pass.

1. How do you or your kids document their adventures?  As mentioned my daughter has a tradition of taking a picture with the entrance sign, has a postcard of all of the national parks (Link on Amazon to the pack) and writes a point in time memory from her experience. 

1. Not all of her highlights were planned.  Make sure during an experience you take time to allow things to develop.   

1. Don’t overlook the simple things.  The highlight of Yosemite for Heidi’s daughter was climbing on the rocks.  

1. Consider more than checking the box.  What are some lesser known aspects to the park?  What makes this park unique?

1. No need to correct their memories.  They experience things through their own filter, let that memory be theirs.  If my daughter wants to remember the llamas. Let them “Walk in Clouds” 

1. Wildlife in the winter is a very different experience.  Consider off-season to discover elements of the park that shine during different seasons.

1. Slow down and smell the eucalyptus trees.  Memories are not always based on what you are “doing” all of your senses contribute to the overall experience.  

1. Nature is a built in playground, but kids don’t see it that way unless you nurture it.  Wild animals are still wild animals and all safety considerations are there for a reason.  Moose are not ho-hum animals.  

Feel free to join the conversation in the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to learn from others or share some of your favorite National Park experiences.  

I want to close this episode by saying thank you and highlighting a written review.  I have not read a written review in a while and thought this was a great example of what to write.  If you have not left a written review, please do.  I have an entire tutorial on how to leave a written review on apple podcasts at ordinarysherpa.com/review

This review comes from Hitix006 and it states 

“Inspirational, down to earth and energizing

Love the focus on adventure big and small. Heidi is sooo authentic and energizing as she shares her families adventure journey and brings great guests to her passionate community.”

Thank you for those kind words, for tuning in each week and sharing these episodes.  It’s what makes this work so energizing.  I can’t wait to read your written review next week!

Ordinary Sherpa utilizes the term untourism to define a different type of travel experience.  It reveals locations that might be unconscious to the general public. We unearth hidden gems, support the local flavors and activities that benefit the local people, small businesses and communities.

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/071Beginners Guide to Untourism:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/untourism/ Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Join the Beyond Normal Book Launch team: http://ordinarysherpa.com/read

Today I bring you a Little Local Flavor. Our guest has lived in Nashville for over a decade, and recognized how special the local food scene was she designed an experience to share with you!  With the major growth that Nashville has recently experienced,  she feared large chains and celebrity-themed honky tonks would overshadow the great local establishments. To expose people to the real Nashville experience, she founded A Little Local Flavor. Now she spends each day showing off the strengths, stories, history, and people that built Nashville, Tennessee to be a wonderful community! A Little Local Flavor has received many awards over the years, including the 2021 TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Best of the Best Award indicating they are in the top 1% of attractions worldwide!  

 

Key Takeaways

1. If visiting Nashville the recommendations of Christine’s Best Friend test would include:
   1. The Nashville Arcade which is inside the oldest indoor shopping center built in 1902.  The restaurants on the first floor are not open very long and are the least expensive. The owner of the Nashville Arcade keeps rent low to allow small businesses who provide local amenities that couldn’t compete with bars and music venues.
   2. Printer’s Alley has great live music and great food (including Jane’s Hideaway one of her favorites)
   3. Alley Taps have a ton of local brews on tap and live music
   4. Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar host amazing artists from all over the world.  
2. A tour takes all the work out of it and offers an insider guide.  Christine created a tour that she wanted to take based on local foods and the stories behind them. Her intention was to invest money back into the local community.  
3. A food tour will visit multiple restaurants with pre-selected menu items to allow guests to try local foods they may not try otherwise that also includes historical landmarks and local stories.  
4. A great tour includes: A great tour guide who can customize the tour based on the guests interests, Criteria for picking restaurants: locally-owned with food made from scratch and are a pinnacle part of moving the community forward.  
5. Go to a great restaurant when they are not busy and talk to the bartender, ask “What would you do today/tonight to get insider tips to reveal hidden gems” Bartenders know great food and beverages or may not have made the travel list.  
6. Humans have been bonding over food since the beginning of time.  There are a few questions to help nurture the group camaraderie, but the small group casual experience is like seeing Nashville with a friend.   
7. Shared experiences in a short period of time can compress relationships.
8. A Little Local Flavor has over 900 5-star reviews.  Leaving a review is an absolutely free way to show your support to small businesses to trick the algorithm to get greater exposure.  
9. Start your visit in Nashville with Christine at A Little Local Flavor!  As many travelers have shared the thing the learned on the tour are best to kick off your time in Nashville given all the insights and other resources shared.  

To Connect with or FollowName: Christine WheatleyWebsite:https://www.alittlelocalflavor.com/ Instagram: @littlelocalflavorFacebook: @alittlelocalflavor 

Resources from this episode: Family-Friendly Activities for your next trip to Nashville: https://www.alittlelocalflavor.com/blog-posts/2020/3/6/family-friendly-activities-for-your-next-trip-to-nashville

Locations referenced in this epsiode are linked on the episode website: https://ordinarysherpa.com/071

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/070Free Family Travel Rewards Strategy Download: Ordinarysherpa.com/rewards Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa

I know many have come back or about to head off on spring break adventure, and if you are anything like me you are planning the next trip before you get home.  It’s my coping strategy.  Given that we are less than 2 months away from many summer vacations I thought I’d dedicate an episode focused on a framework I use planning vacation with a specific intention in mind, and the ways I optimize the process to create the greatest value. 

Key Takeaways:

1. What is the purpose for this travel experience?  Asking this question first allows for intentional planning and a check point throughout the process to design an experience that suits your goals.
2. Focus on 1-2 high priority items and plan for those items first, the rest of the travel necessities will be based on these first critical items
3. What resources do you already have that you can optimize?  Consider things like memberships, equipment, or travel rewards.
4. What are things each member of your family likes to do?  One way Heidi creates a high joy - low investment swimming experiences is to utilize community swimming pools or county parks.  
5. Consider different forms of capital that create value for your experience.  For example social capital and health & well-being capital might get overlooked because of money and time.  
6. Transportation and Accommodations can be included in the overall experience.  Does the accommodation offer things that will be high value in comparison to the cost?  When considering accommodations, Heidi recognized social capital is really important to her family and the ideal accommodation is to stay with friends or family for 1-2 days to allow for deeper connection.  
7. How can you leverage your network?  Who else has been there/done that?  How are they similar or different from you.  Heidi doesn’t suggest taking advice from those who don’t know you or align with your values, but their insights narrow down your options and  direct you where to look more deeply.
8. Family Travel Rewards Strategies are tricky due to peak travel times, the number of people traveling and many strategies are based on a specific destination.  Heidi offers a free family travel rewards strategy download https://ordinarysherpa.com/rewards/ She uses this strategy to travel 4-5 times per year as a family of 5 for $5000.  

Call to Action: I know it can be complicated and overwhelming so I also offer family travel rewards strategy coaching.  You can get this started by filling out the contact form on my website: https://ordinarysherpa.com/contact/ 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:Free Family Travel Rewards StrategyEpisode 051: Tips for Gifting Experiences Episode 059: Becoming a Ski Mom with Nicole Feliciano Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group This article by The Points Guy sharing ski passport programs

Hiking with kids is something we are talking about in the membership.  Currently the membership isn’t open for new members as we are in the beta phase, however you can buy me a coffee to say thanks and support the show and get a 15 minute 1:1 to discuss topics like hiking with kids or anything else that has you stuck.

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/069Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa

I was first introduced to our guest through another podcast and was intrigued with her approach to life and adventure as a parent.  One of the things on my dream list is a thru-hike with the kids, maybe not quite the PCT or AT but something that requires us to live off what we carry on our backs.  Our guest did just that as newbie backpacker and mom of littles.  

Stephanie is a mom of 3 kids ages 14, ,10 and 17 months old. Her family values experiences over things, and you can usually find them outside any free chance they get. Stephanie’s passion is getting into the mountains through backpacking and climbing, and she usually has her  kids along. Their family goal is to raise kids who protect the environment, live sustainably, and value conservation. Stephanie, also known as thebackpackingmom, it is such a joy to have you with us today.

Key Takeaways

1. When Stephanie started backpacking it was a thirst to go into the mountains that she saw around her.  It was messy and hard but it was worth it.
2. Her first trip to Shi Shi Beach on the Olympic Penninsula is one she recommends for backpacking trip, and a place she goes back to regularly.  She started with a mis-matched tent and non-backpacking gear.  The haggard hike was hard, but despite all of this they still had a magical experience and are still going over 10 years later.
3. There will be twists and turn that you can’t account for.  A natural disaster struck the Nepali coast in Kauai leaving them stranded on the beach eventually being airlifted out.  While it was definitely scary, having the background with enough extra supplies to stay safe and the community of others helped them through.  
4. Start small with a shake out trip.  Somewhere nearby with no more than a 2-5 mile hike.  They still do these every year to test the gear, and get back in the habit of hiking.  It also makes it easy enough to bail if it’s not working for your family.  
5. Even with a love of the outdoors, she still leverages bribery as a tool to get her kids on trails.  The bribery changes as the kids get older.  For her teenager bringing a friend, extra screen time or staying out later have worked thus far. She is not beneath even paying them if it comes to that :)
6. Hiking with kits are great fun and very light to pack.  When morale is low they use trick like th bear song, snacks, or fun activities to help them through. 
7. A couple of go-to meals are oatmeal, PB&J on tortillas or tuna packets.  Carrying enough food to feed a family of 5 requires them to get creative and stretch meals.  Some of their favorites are Mountain House breakfast skillet and some taco sauce and tortillas for breakfast burritos or Mountain House Pad Thai with Ramen for dinner.  
8. As Stephanie states, “We aren’t going to inspire a generation of kids who care about the outdoors if they don’t see it.  By fostering a love for these places, hopefully  it inspires them to take action to protect the places for years to come.” The family memories are a lovely bi-product of her why.  
9. Given the high altitude with baby they took precautions to know their limits in Peru.  At the worst part of the trip her mindset was just 10 more steps.  Eventually in 10 step increments they made it to the top.
10. The outdoor community has demonstrated they will cheer on my kids when I can’t.  As a hiking mom it’s helpful to know I don’t have to be everything today. 

You can follow Stephanie on Instagram: @thebackpackingmom

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/068Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/

 

At the time of this recording we have 49,392 downloads.  Which means we will be celebrating 50,000 downloads with this episode!  While I don’t get caught up in numbers and follows and all the metrics I do want to add some levity to what this number means.  Ordinary Sherpa has been putting out weekly podcasts since November 2020.  In May of 2021 we crossed 10,000 downloads.  In 2022, I had 10,916 downloads since January.   We average 1,100 downloads.  These metric place us in the top 20% of all podcasts.  But even bigger than that is Ordinary Sherpa currently has 91 written reviews.  90% of podcasts have less than 10 written reviews.  It might sound like I’m gloating here, but actually the only thing I have done is consistently publish new episodes, everything else - you did that.  As a listener who downloads my show. The listener who shared it with a friend or family member.  To the 91 who left a written review, you are all contributing to this show continuing to grow and reach new people.  Congratulations to all of you who continue to come back week after week.  This is a milestone worth celebrating. 

Email from Listener Susie (I asked if I could share with you for this episode)I just wanted to give you some positive feedback. I have been listening to your podcast along with Choose FI and Everyday courage. I love your ideas validating small adventures such as eating with chopsticks or cooking a meal using a recipe from another country etc.

I wanted to share some accidental adventures we have had. My husband grew up near Boston but never really explored the area he grew up in. Unfortunately,  his mom is not doing well so we have been flying up from Florida once a month and visiting. Because more than an hour of visiting time exhausts her, we go on adventures after our visit.  This helps us destress and stay positive. Boston offers so much history and culture as well as a couple of casinos, and state parks ( Walden Pond) unusual off-the-beaten path rock formations. I always dreamed of visiting the big stuff (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon) of course I still want to visit these places  but for now, we are having a great time figuring out which pub really does have the best clam chowder. Eating dumplings in Chinatown and visiting the many historical buildings, parks, and graveyards Boston has to offer.

“Thank you for giving me a new perspective on an adventure. I used to think I was missing out on all these huge time and expensive travels and now I get to explore beyond the next tourist trap.”

Susie’s email demonstrated to me the essence of untourism.  If you hadn’t heard my story I was working on some lifestyle goals of what I wanted my life to look like as I was aiming for Financial Independence and the phrase that stocks was “Everyday feels like a vacation”  When I double click on that thought it could mean so many different things.  Initially I thought it meant I wanted to travel the world, which I also want to do.  But more importantly that What I wanted to do, I looked more closely about how I wanted to feel.  Vacation has a way of calming my brain, being more present with my kids and husband, doing things together and creating new experiences and lasting memories.  That’s  how I wanted to FEEL.  That spark led me to an adventure lifestyle which may or may not include travel.  I realized I don’t need to travel 360 days a year to feel this way.  It led us to explore new locations within our own state and even in the far edges of our own property.  

FOMO: Fear of Missing Out founded by Patrick McGinnis in 2004.  I learned more about FOMO and FOBO on this episode of All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins: https://www.allthehacks.com/fomo-patrick-mcginnis/ FOMO has become a commonplace in our language and officially became a word in the dictionary in 2014.  The origin came from Patrick’s simple life in Maine to being thrust into the social setting as a business student at Harvard.  His definition of FOMO is anxiety, often fueled by social media, based on a perception that others are having more beneficial experiences than you.  The fear of being excluded from a beneficial collective experience.  We see things that aren’t even real that provoke feelings of anxiety.  The attention economy is designed to steal our attention. When you use social media, how does it make you feel?  FOBO: Fear of a Better Option, analysis paralysis

 

JOMO: was a haphazard term that I heard Paula Pant refer to in this Afford Anything episode.https://affordanything.com/356-ask-paula-fire-vs-fomo-how-do-you-balance-between-these/

Around 2:03 there is a listener question that leads her to talk about FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).  To summarize she states when you make a choice you aren’t really missing anything, you are replacing that time with something else. Unless you are in a Coma, the time you are spent in envy of the thing you could be doing is spent doing something else, whether it be reading, etc. Really it’s JOMO: Joy of Missing Out

 

Wanting to do something else but feeling you have internal scripts that are telling you that you can’t or you shouldn’t“Let the heart lead and the mind execute” - Paula Pant  Begin with your values (Joe Saul-Sehy) if you don’t value it, then the thing you are missing is not an opportunity anyway.  

 

To come back to the idea of Untourism.  One thing I began to feel was when traveling.  When I would follow FOMO and let social media and the destination guide my travel planning, the experience almost ALWAYS fell short of my expectations.  Which is why I have not embraced a bucket list.  A bucket list to me is a FOMO list.  Of some perceived place that I want to visit before I die.  How do you know, based on something you saw on social media or fueled by someone else’s experiences.  There are literally billions of places on this planet that I could visit - how do I know which ones I want to visit before I die? The only thing I think is helpful about a bucket list is reflective practice. Asking yourself “what do I want out of this life?  How am I advancing that goal today?”  Creating a list of locations you’ve heard about or saw in social media is often rooted in envy.  When we show up curious,  allowing space in our schedule to accept recommendations from locals, to check in with ourselves and everyone in our group to determine how we are feeling as opposed to powering through because the itinerary says so…we say yes to JOMO; to authentic, untourism path that allows you to slow down and be present in the moment. The greatest experiences we have experienced as a family are the places I never heard of, where things turned out better than we expected.  Usually we discovered them from a local or a connection met along the way.  

 

I would imagine the Grand Canyon is on many people’s bucket list. Do you know that 4.51 million people visited the Grand Canyon last year.  According to an article “The typical visitor takes a brief look into the Grand Canyon and departs. The typical stay lasts from five to seven hours, according to park surveys, and the average time spent looking at the canyon is 17 minutes.” https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-981213onpgrandcanyonguide-story.html

 

I’m not saying don’t go to the Grand Canyon. What I am saying is the idea of spending countless hours planning, driving the South Rim with 3 kids to get out of the car and stare at this magical wonder of 17 minutes along with several hundreds of thousands each day, does not sound like a vacation to me.  I want to create experiences that do more than check the box on a bucket list.  I don’t want to be fueled by FOMO so that I can get to the instagram worthy location and fight to get the perfect shot and make others jealous.  It’s why I have also resisted the label as a travel writer or influencer, because to me it’s not about the location.  It’s about creating experiences for connection through adventure.  It’s JOMO- the Joy of Missing out on what everyone else is doing.  I don’t want to be fueled by the perception of being excluded from a collective experience.  Instead I want to be in control of my thoughts and experiences.  If you download my Beginner’s Guide to Untourism (Ordinarysherpa.com/untourism) you will see how traditional travel and bucket lists fuel the hive mind of FOMO and the difference in JOMO and untourism principles.  

 

This past week was spring break in our house.  As many of you know my daughter kicked off 2022 with a severe biking accident and spring break landed 12 weeks post op.  The plan for spring break was to make full use of the kids Colorado Pass and ski several different mountains in Colorado.  But my daughter didn’t think she was ready for that level of skiing, so my husband and boys went and my daughter and I stayed home.  Full transparency, I had FOMO.  I don’t think I have ever stayed home on spring break.  I really needed to step into and practice JOMO this week.  Instead of feeling like I was missing out on something I asked myself, what do I get to do this week?   I needed to step back into the 9YO version of myself and remember that version of Joy.  We ended up taking a 2 hour hike to an enchanted forest to create a fort; We put on mud boots and walked through the hybrid stream and ice.  We rode on the 4-wheeler, she sat behind me with her eyes closed and her hands raised imagining she was riding a roller coaster. We met up with a group of friends and went indoor rock climbing.  We made ice cream from scratch.  She slept in my bed at night and we read silently next to each other.  JOMO was a blessing.  At the end of the week I was so grateful for the 1:1 ways we spent time together throughout the week.  

 

My challenge for you this week is to do something that brings you Joy (or JOMO).  That helps you to reframe the FOMO, envy and the desire to escape your life.  What is something that you can do today that brings you joy?  Adventures are accessible everywhere.  We just have to be willing to stop looking everywhere else for inspiration and instead listen deeply and reflect on what you want this day, this week, or this year of your life to look like.  You don’t have to plan it, or search the internet.  You just need to be ready to receive it.  

 

Worth noting, I have found that I really enjoy podcasting and having conversation without all the ads and interruptions many podcasters use.  If you enjoy the ideas, find joy or inspiration from my work, you can buy me a coffee to say thanks and support the show.  If you want to go deeper with the content and/or get more engaged you can find additional ways to support the show through the links below.  

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/068Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa

 

CTA: Leave a Written Review: Ordinarysherpa.com/review

Email from Listener Susie (I asked if I could share with you for this episode)I just wanted to give you some positive feedback. I have been listening to your podcast along with Choose FI and Everyday courage. I love your ideas validating small adventures such as eating with chopsticks or cooking a meal using a recipe from another country etc.

I wanted to share some accidental adventures we have had. My husband grew up near Boston but never really explored the area he grew up in. Unfortunately,  his mom is not doing well so we have been flying up from Florida once a month and visiting. Because more than an hour of visiting time exhausts her, we go on adventures after our visit.  This helps us destress and stay positive. Boston offers so much history and culture as well as a couple of casinos, and state parks ( Walden Pond) unusual off-the-beaten path rock formations. I always dreamed of visiting the big stuff (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon) of course I still want to visit these places  but for now, we are having a great time figuring out which pub really does have the best clam chowder. Eating dumplings in Chinatown and visiting the many historical buildings, parks, and graveyards Boston has to offer.

 

Thank you for giving me a new perspective on an adventure. I used to think I was missing out on all these huge time and expensive travels and now I get to explore the most from any area we visit without just skimming through seeing what everyone sees and going on to the next tourist trap.

Thank you and keep up the positive podcasts.

 

Susie’s email demonstrated to me the essence of untourism.  If you hadn’t heard my story I was working on some lifestyle goals of what I wanted my life to look like as I was aiming for Financial Independence and the phrase that stocks was “Everyday feels like a vacation”  When I double click on that thought it could mean so many different things.  Initially I thought it meant I wanted to travel the world, which I also want to do.  But more importantly that What I wanted to do, I looked more closely about how I wanted to feel.  Vacation has a way of calming my brain, being more present with my kids and husband, doing things together and creating new experiences and lasting memories.  That’s  how I wanted to FEEL.  That spark led me to an adventure lifestyle which may or may not include travel.  I realized I don’t need to travel 360 days a year to feel this way.  It led us to explore new locations within our own state and even in the far edges of our own property.  

FOMO: Fear of Missing Out founded by Patrick McGinnis in 2004.  I learned more about FOMO and FOBO on this episode of All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins: https://www.allthehacks.com/fomo-patrick-mcginnis/ FOMO has become a commonplace in our language and officially became a word in the dictionary in 2014.  The origin came from Patrick’s simple life in Maine to being thrust into the social setting as a business student at Harvard.  His definition of FOMO is anxiety, often fueled by social media, based on a perception that others are having more beneficial experiences than you.  The fear of being excluded from a beneficial collective experience.  We see things that aren’t even real that provoke feelings of anxiety.  The attention economy is designed to steal our attention. When you use social media, how does it make you feel?  FOBO: Fear of a Better Option, analysis paralysis

 

JOMO: was a haphazard term that I heard Paula Pant refer to in this Afford Anything episode.https://affordanything.com/356-ask-paula-fire-vs-fomo-how-do-you-balance-between-these/

Around 2:03 there is a listener question that leads her to talk about FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).  To summarize she states when you make a choice you aren’t really missing anything, you are replacing that time with something else. Unless you are in a Coma, the time you are spent in envy of the thing you could be doing is spent doing something else, whether it be reading, etc. Really it’s JOMO: Joy of Missing Out

 

Wanting to do something else but feeling you have internal scripts that are telling you that you can’t or you shouldn’t“Let the heart lead and the mind execute” - Paula Pant

 

Begin with your values (Joe Saul-Sehy) if you don’t value it, then the thing you are missing is not an opportunity anyway.  David Allen (Getting Things Done) at its heart it’s like being like water, go where the river is running.  Be quiet and listening- can’t do that when my life is a mess.  It’s about removing the things from your life that don’t bring value and then quiet.

 

Paula references an Email:  I really want to travel, can’t stop calculating the missed opportunity of compound interest.  If I only considered decisions from the compound interest you would never do anything.  What is the purpose- what do you enjoy?  Money is a tool to help you accomplish the things you enjoy. Biggest mistakes came from making the logical decision.  

 

To come back to the idea of Untourism.  One thing I began to feel was when traveling.  When I would follow FOMO and let social media and the destination guide my travel planning, the experience almost ALWAYS fell short of my expectations.  Which is why I have not embraced a bucket list.  A bucket list to me is a FOMO list.  Of some perceived place that I want to visit before I die.  How do you know, based on something you saw on social media or fueled by someone else’s experiences.  There are literally billions of places on this planet that I could visit - how do I know which ones I want to visit before I die? The only thing I think is helpful about a bucket list is reflective practice. Asking yourself “what do I want out of this life?  How am I advancing that goal today?”  Creating a list of locations you’ve heard about or saw in social media is often rooted in envy.  When we show up curious,  allowing space in our schedule to accept recommendations from locals, to check in with ourselves and everyone in our group to determine how we are feeling as opposed to powering through because the itinerary says so…we say yes to JOMO; to authentic, untourism path that allows you to slow down and be present in the moment. The greatest experiences we have experienced as a family are the places I never heard of, where things turned out better than we expected.  Usually we discovered them from a local or a connection met along the way.  

 

I would imagine the Grand Canyon is on many people’s bucket list. Do you know that 4.51 million people visited the Grand Canyon last year.  According to an article “The typical visitor takes a brief look into the Grand Canyon and departs pumped full of wonder. The typical stay lasts from five to seven hours, according to park surveys, and the average time spent looking at the canyon is 17 minutes.” https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-981213onpgrandcanyonguide-story.html

 

I’m not saying don’t go to the Grand Canyon. What I am saying is the idea of spending countless hours planning, driving the South Rim with 3 kids to get out of the car and stare at this magical wonder of 17 minutes along with several hundreds of thousands each day, does not sound like a vacation to me.  I want to create experiences that do more than check the box on a bucket list.  I don’t want to be fueled by FOMO so that I can get to the instagram worthy location and fight to get the perfect shot and make others jealous.  It’s why I have also resisted the label as a travel writer or influencer, because to me it’s not about the location.  It’s about creating experiences for connection through adventure.  It’s JOMO- the Joy of Missing out on what everyone else is doing.  I don’t want to be fueled by the perception of being excluded from a collective experience.  Instead I want to be in control of my thoughts and experiences.  If you download my Beginner’s Guide to Untourism (Ordinarysherpa.com/untourism) you will see how traditional travel and bucket lists fuel the hive mind of FOMO and the difference in JOMO and untourism principles.  

 

This past week was spring break in our house.  As many of you know my daughter kicked off 2022 with a severe biking accident and spring break landed 12 weeks post op.  The plan for spring break was to make full use of the kids Colorado Pass and ski several different mountains in Colorado.  But my daughter didn’t think she was ready for that level of skiing, so my husband and boys went and my daughter and I stayed home.  Full transparency, I had FOMO.  I don’t think I have ever stayed home on spring break.  I really needed to step into and practice JOMO this week.  Instead of feeling like I was missing out on something I asked myself, what do I get to do this week?   I needed to step back into the 9YO version of myself and remember that version of Joy.  We ended up taking a 2 hour hike to an enchanted forest to create a fort; We put on mud boots and walked through the hybrid stream and ice.  We rode on the 4-wheeler, she sat behind me with her eyes closed and her hands raised imagining she was riding a roller coaster. We met up with a group of friends and went indoor rock climbing.  We made ice cream from scratch.  She slept in my bed at night and we read silently next to each other.  JOMO was a blessing.  At the end of the week I was so grateful for the 1:1 ways we spent time together throughout the week.  

 

My challenge for you this week is to do something that brings you Joy (or JOMO).  That helps you to reframe the FOMO, envy and the desire to escape your life.  What is something that you can do today that brings you joy?  Adventures are accessible everywhere.  We just have to be willing to stop looking everywhere else for inspiration and instead listen deeply and reflect on what you want this day, this week, or this year of your life to look like.  You don’t have to plan it, or search the internet.  You just need to be ready to receive it.  

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/067Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa First and foremost this episode is dropping on my birthday.  2 years ago I felt like I got robbed of a 40th birthday when the world literally shut down on my birthday.  I decided I wanted to do something to celebrate in a very different way.  On February 1st, I kicked off the 42 days hoping that on my birthday I would have something to celebrate.  The thing I wanted to celebrate was 42 days to 42 hours outside (as part of my 1000 hours outside challenge).  I am happy to report that thanks in large part to my igloo building project I have spent over 60 hours outside for the past 42 days and am 4 hours away from my 100 hour mark for 2022.  This birthday is less about indulging in something to escape and more for me to celebrate something I am getting better at and that is better for me.  There is significant research that shows countless benefits of spending time outdoors.  Today’s episode is yet another example.

In 2016 Amy left behind life as she knew it and moved with her husband and two sons to Alaska, looking for a fresh start and more time in the great outdoors. While Amy had a background as  a reporter, editor, runner, and  Army wife she was not an expert in designing a life in all things outdoorsy.  She created the Humans Outside podcast to help people like her get outside and love it. But just talking about getting outside wasn’t enough. Since September 2017 she has spent at least 20 consecutive minutes outside every single day. She also hosts the Humans Outside Podcast where she talks with outdoor-minded guests; When she’s not busy getting outside or hosting the Human’s Outside podcast she is Executive Editor of Military.com. 

Key Takeaways

1. Alaska is full of people looking to get away from something and experience a fresh start.  While there were many reasons that led to Amy’s family moving to Alaska you don’t need to move to Alaska to experience the transformation of spending time outside. A change in mindset can be experienced anywhere.  Sometimes that is easier to do with a change in scenery.  
2. We are conditioned to do things as humans that make us feel good.  It is a great day when the things that feels good is also good for you.  
3. There is therapeutic adventure and there is adventure therapy. Going outside makes you feel good, and one is using a licensed mental health clinician to work with you through the adventure experience. 
4. After a year of living in Alaska where the purpose for the move was to be outside more, she wasn’t actually leaning into that in reality.  She challenged herself on Memorial Day 2017 to go outside every single day between then and Labor Day 2017.
5. At the end of the 3+ month experiment of going outside everyday she realized she liked the experience, she felt better and liked how many new things she had done.  She wondered what would happen if she kept doing it for a year.  

1. To mimic the Happiness Project, Amy decided to create rules she would follow as a part of her everyday outside challenge.  This was critical for her success to create a meaningful benefit.  
2. One rule she created was to define what counted as outdoor time everyday.  After some research a healthy dosage of outside time was 20 minutes.  Combined with the fact that 20 minutes was an amount of time she would actually do each day.  Her accountability was to post a picture every day on instagram and began using the hashtag #humansoutisde365 as a way to find the photos after. 
3. Outside is Outside, the challenge gave her permission to just be outside doing whatever she wanted.  She did want to push herself to try new things such as classic country-country skiing, dog sledding, among other things.
4. She signed up for a course called Becoming an Outdoors Woman, which is offered every state (she believes) sponsored by the state Fish and Game department. In Alaska, they offer a 3-day retreat which exposed her to experiences such as skinning and hide prep, a chainsawing course, and downhill skiing.  After forcing herself to spend time outside and try new things, new things don’t seem so scary.  
5. When you realize what is outside your back door and you are intentional about exploring it, so many more opportunities open up to you.  The practice of being aware and intentional.  
6. Outside is always new, because outside is always changing.  Even if you do the same trail the rest of your life you will encounter something new on that trail, whether you see something new or not depends on how much attention you are paying to what you are doing.  
7. While mountains and the Grand Canyon and all the epic adventures are great, Amy challenges us to experience adventures where we already are in a new light.  

 

To follow or connect with Amy

Website: https://humansoutside.com/Podcast: Humans OutsideFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumansOutside/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humansoutside/ 

For a full list of resources mentioned in this episode head to the episode website:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/067