SPACE - 5 Reasons Every Leader Should Take a #soloventure
Being a CEO of a tiny company is HARD. Everyone always needs something and you often get pulled into fifty different directions putting out fires all the time. (I truly believe I take out the trash more than anyone else in our org)
To that end, last weekend, I decided to take a little ME time and set off on an adventure with a goal of finding an ever elusive concept, SPACE. Space to think, space to plan, space to reflect, space to just exist without being needed. While on my adventure I reflected on the lessons learned while in the moment and came up with a few key takeaways and why any and all leaders need to take some time and find some space.
First off, business loves acronyms, so here’s what I came up with.
Over the course of just 52 hours I was able to leave this beautiful lush climate of Seattle and head to the deserts of Las Vegas and Arizona to find Solitude, Perspective, Adventure, Clarity, and most importantly, Energy, all components of this SPACE concept.
First off let’s start with Solitude. I flew into Vegas with just my backpack and my motorcycle gear and helmet. The plan was to uber out to the suburbs and pick up a 2020 BMW Nine T from a gentlemen and head out to the Grand Canyon, a mere 350 mile ride. With the wind buffeting me from side to side, and mountain and desert scapes opening around every turn I found that I could exist totally in my thoughts and the connection to the motorcycle and the road. Time both flew and crept by and by 4:00 PM on my second day I was heading into a site I’ve never seen, despite living in AZ for a time, the Grand Canyon.
Awe Inspiring, Belittling, Grand… There’s hardly words to explain the feelings that come with taking in this wonder of the natural world. If you have never been it is truly a sight to behold. Getting here by motorcycle and winding through the park and the landscape made it that much more special.
Winding through the landscape leads me to the next tenant. Perspective. I live in the Seattle suburbs and make my living getting teams and individuals outside, active, and engaging with each other. I’ve worked hard but I’m pretty darn lucky and in the right place to do this, surrounded by amazing areas AND tech companies that need their teams to perform and connect.
As I wove through the deserts and mountains of northern Arizona, I quickly realized that there are few places set up to do what I do so well as the Pacific Northwest. Don’t get me wrong, the desert is absolutely gorgeous and a wondrous place but access to all the conveniences and situations I take for granted are nowhere to be found.
Water is scarce, the environment is harsh, and people are nowhere to be found. Going out of my comfort zone into an alien environment definitely helps you understand how good you have it. The desert is holds a dear place in my heart but the PNW is definitely my home.
Next on the list is ADVENTURE. An often overused word in my vocabulary, but one I don’t get to experience nearly as often as I’d like to. Adventure, according to the Oxford dictionary, is
“an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.”
While I often get out in the woods and skip off rocks and roots on my mountain bike and hike and camp in the surrounding areas, I do so in the safety and familiarity of my local environment. Racing through desert highways and byways, not knowing what’s around the next bend, or if I’m going to make that next turn… that definitely satisfied my need for adventure. I’ll definitely be heading back as the desert and its grandeur and solitude make for AMAZING riding. Not to mention the lack of liquid sunshine that the winters in Seattle provide. It is absolutely necessary to scare yourself just about every day and put yourself into situations where you don’t immediately know how they will unfold. For me right now, motorcycle touring is the way to make that happen.
We’ve got a growing adventure business, a thriving online teambuilding component, and just opened up a new cafe and restaurant to host and feed our adventurous clients and local. I’m constantly pulled in different directions by EVERYONE and time to think and reflect is few and far between. It’s often tough to spend longer periods of time in thought and contemplation. Hours alone on the moto provided just the CLARITY that I needed. I came back in a better head space with clear objectives and places we’re taking the company.
Lastly, this SPACE helped with the ENERGY that I so desperately needed. I am an unabashed extrovert. I can talk to ANYONE and love hearing their stories, what makes them tick, and seeing a glimpse into their world. The light conversations I had, with the uber driver Charlie who rides a three wheeled motorcycle because he’s had balance issues since a child. Conversations with Chutiphol who rented me his brand new motorcycle and had this amazing thought provoking artwork in his garage in Vegas. Conversations with a lovely woman in the airport who was headed home to Chicago to break her 90 year old dad out of the nursing home and take him home to live his final days out at home.
I feel blessed and energized to have been a part of these stories, and for them to be part of mine.
SPACE to connect with myself. SPACE to connect with others. SPACE to gain some perspective of where I sit in the world. SPACE to be a better leader, father, and husband.
If you haven’t ever tried this and you have the ability, figure it out. A #soloventure will definitely give you the energy and adventure you didn’t know you needed.
See you on the trail.
Luke