Why are top-notch multi-million-dollar-net-worth CEOs dumping themselves into the Alaskan bush? What about backcountry coaching pulling these leading men and women so far away from home, work and the life they’ve built to suffer cold, wind, hunger, exhaustion and fear of the unknown?
Isn’t that at least a little bit… strange?
It’s certainly not something we normally hear about and it’s not something most of us do very often…
So what could possibly be the reason?
Call me crazy, but here’s the answer:
Truth.
World-renowned CEOs and leaders travel to remote Alaska to find truth… their deepest truths…
But what does that even mean? And how does Alaskan backcountry coaching help people “find truth”?
Let’s find out.
What is your deepest truth?
The brave souls who join me for backcountry coaching know they’re looking for something… something deep, something life-altering… it’s some sort of watershed reality that will almost force them to begin again, start fresh.
Your deepest truth is what lies in the uttermost depths of your heart, mind and soul… It’s where all of your most important thoughts, hopes and desires reside.
It’s like a compass that leads you on your way towards the life you really and truly want… Or like a magnet that pulls you in the direction of your greatest fulfillment…
What does that look like?
It’s hard to say because it’s different for every person. It could mean a life change, a career shift, or early retirement. It could be the realization you’ve spent the last 10 years of your life chasing things that had nothing to do with your deepest truths. That you’ve lost track of where you were going. Or you need a dramatic about-face to rescue what’s left of your life/career/marriage or any aspect of your life that’s important to you.
Those are the kind of things that happen when you get back in touch with your deepest truths… and with backcountry coaching, that’s exactly what’ll happen.
So… how does backcountry coaching reveal the “deepest truths”?
So… how does backcountry coaching reveal the “deepest truths”?
It’s a fascinating question, and the answer is equally fascinating.
Many people think it’s me. Like, I have some sort of Ninja Mind trips that, almost like magic, reveal to people the “deepest truths” that lie mystically hidden.
Now, I’ve been doing backcountry coaching for nearly 25 years and I’ve learned that my job is simple. Other than keeping people alive, I listen and ask very specific and timely questions to lead people on their internal journey…
I can honestly say that I don’t have “secrets”, and it’s certainly not voodoo trickery or Jedi mind tricks or anything like that…
In fact, I’m not even the primary person doing the work. It’s the person I’m coaching and the simple realities of remote Alaska they encounter because of backcountry coaching.
So if it’s not me, what’s happening here?
Simple.
When high-level leaders and executives find themselves in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, everything from the frantic, distracting and mind-numbing day-to-day life starts to melt away in the face of simplicity and silence.
The endless to-do list. Gone.
The constant rushing from meeting to meeting. Gone.
7,435 unread emails and all of them “URGENT”. Staying unread.
Trouble at work, trouble at home, trouble in your own heart and mind.
Noise. Constant noise… inside and outside your own head.
In the typical life most of us live, it’s impossible to stay in touch with our deepest truths.
We get so absorbed in everything else that it overwhelms us to the point that our very purpose can be hijacked by these extra responsibilities!
We start living according to some “other truths” that aren’t our own… they take us places we don’t want to go, discourage us, keep us from our goals, make us stagnant in pathetic complacency.
But the moment you start backcountry coaching in the Alaskan bush, all of that is shattered in an instant when you realize that life can be simple and silent.
There’s so much more I could say about this, but I’ll save it for the next post.
Until then, consider how much time you get in silence. Not just exterior (no music, tv, phone, etc) but interior (calm mind, collected thoughts, peace).
What happens when you go there? If it’s scary… you’re doing it right…
P.S. If this post interests you, you should check out my book Wandermust on Amazon which details my personal internal journey across all seven continents. And if you’d like to try before you buy, click here to read the first chapter for free.
P.P.S. If you’d like to know what backcountry coaching might look like for you, check out my previous post on what to expect from outdoor coaching.
