After seeing my small collection of megalodon teeth hanging in my office, a friend asked where I got them. “I found them,” I told him. I hired a local captain that knew the good spots, rented scuba gear and sunk 40ft down into the black water of the Cooper River. I stabbed a screwdriver into the sandy river bottom to hold my position against the current and worked a search grid pattern. Despite my hangover from the night before, I found the teeth you see there and many others that weren’t wall-worthy.
“How do you have so many adventures?!” he asked. Well, for that particular adventure all you need is a scuba certification, a good captain and the nerve to solo dive in alligator-infested waters with zero viz. A little skill, a good captain and a little nerve - that’s really all it takes to embark on most adventures.
A Little Skill: Acquiring skills that lead to adventure
You could get a scuba certification, learn motorcycle engine repair or learn a language. It can be simple. I took a welding class and before I knew it I was welding steel construction in Guatemala. Sometimes skills enhance your adventures by helping you connect with people. I started learning distilling and decided to tour a craft distillery in New Orleans. The tour guide, unable to answer my specific questions, brought me into the back room to introduce me to the head distiller. We ended up having a nice chat and sampling his yet-to-be-released rum. You don’t have to be an expert. Just pick something you think is interesting and learn it to a level that you can actually use it.
A Good Captain: Finding the right people
More often than not, people are the key to unlocking adventure. Locals have direct knowledge and connections - the stuff you can’t find on the internet. When preparing to dive the Cooper River, I asked the owner at my local dive shop if he knew anything about it. It turned out he knew a lot and even gave me the contact info for the captain we ended up using.
One time I was in a tiny dive bar in Queretaro, Mexico, and I asked the bartender for some local beer. He offered me a Corona and I shook my head, “No, a *local* beer. From here,” I reiterated in my broken Spanish. There was a little twinkle in his eye and he looked over at his friend and they both shrugged. The friend disappeared into the back room and reappeared moments later with a crate of unlabeled beer bottles. It was as local as it gets: their own homebrew. You should have seen the joy on this man’s face when I told him it was delicious. Halfway into my third bottle they turned up the music and brought out a box of silly wigs. We had a blast. Looking back on my adventures, connecting with people has always been pivotal.
A Little Nerve: Getting out of your comfort zone
Things outside of my comfort zone: sinking down into the darkness of the Cooper River, drinking unlabeled home-brewed beer, and even asking questions when everybody else is silent. Bring yourself to embrace discomfort and risk. Don’t be flippant towards your well-being, but learn to expand your comfort zone. Maybe your adventure involves an adrenaline-pumping activity in a foreign land. Maybe your adventure is quitting your job to pursue your passion. “Adventure” can take a lot of different forms, but a common thread is adventure happens outside of your comfort zone.
I suppose that’s how I’ve lived an adventurous life: Skills, people, nerve and, of course, a little bit of money - but not as much as you might think. If you have excuses: your job, your wife, your kids or your fears, recognize they fall into two categories: excuses and boundaries. Excuses can be overcome by working harder and overcoming fears and psychological roadblocks. Solving difficult problems is inherent to adventure. The other category, boundaries, are for things like having small children. Maybe you can’t be a good father to your small children and do a year-long motorcycle ride across Africa. (maybe you can? I don’t know) There are infinite adventures both near and far, simple and extravagant. YOU are captain of your destiny. Provision and steer her where you will.
-Don