Funding the Adventurous Life
So last week I quit my job. And now we’re in Sicily. Greetings from the sunny Mediterranean! And sunny it is, a wonderful departure from the snowy and dark northern latitudes where our journey began. We find ourselves this first week in the small town of San Vito Lo Capo, living that peninsula life in northwestern Sicily.
Continue reading “A Winter in Sicily, Part 1: San Vito Lo Capo”
I’m sort of fascinated with the concept of fear. It’s the entire subject of this post, but it’s also something I weave into a lot of my thinking and writing. Steve Bechtel told us how fear affects his clients, noting the powerful, crippling effect of worry, inaction, and ultimately⏤unfulfilled potential. All the best ideas mean nothing when we lay catatonic and hesitant to act on those ideas. It therefore seemed suitable for me to reach out to Hazel Findlay.
Hazel Findlay is a UK-based professional climber known for bold, traditional ascents. To use the American parlance, Hazel steps up to the plate.
Not only has Hazel learned to harness and use fear to propel her climbing career, but she’s begun a coaching career in tandem to mold and shape the fear of others. And speaking of fear, we discuss how her blossoming climbing career nearly came to an early end.
Continue reading “Hazel Findlay: Fear Is Trainable”
Steve Bechtel is a Lander, Wyoming-based climber, trainer, author, and business owner. Steve is also a pillar of the Lander outdoors community, a long-time owner of Elemental Performance + Fitness and Climb Strong, a training program specifically tailored to climbers. After following Steve’s work for a number of years, I suspected he might bring his thoughtful approach to climbing and training to other aspects of his life. In this interview, he doesn’t disappoint.
Continue reading “Steve Bechtel: The Importance of Time”
I’m very pleased to bring you an interview with one of my favorite climbers, Paige Claassen. Paige is an absolute crusher in the world of sport climbing, having climbed a number of notable nails-hard 5.14+ test-piece routes (Necessary Evil, VRG; Just Do It, Smith Rock), capped with her recent send of Algorithm (5.14c/d) in the Fins, Idaho.
But as usual, this isn’t really a climbing website and we’re not really here to talk about Paige’s climbing (don’t worry, we will a bit).
Continue reading “Paige Claassen: Making a Difference”
For those of you new to this site, The Interview Series is a way to highlight those in the world of climbing who view life through a different lens. These folks have found a way to balance life’s passions amidst a whirlwind schedule of family and work obligations, not stopping to consider the easy way out. Rob Pizem does it. And then he does more.
Continue reading “Rob Pizem: Fighting the Good Fight”
Ok folks, we’re back with Part 2 of the interview with Dave MacLeod. If you haven’t already checked out Part 1, please do so here.
Continue reading “Dave MacLeod: Life Outside the Box, Part 2”
From the way we dress, the content we put on social media, to even the routes we climb, our ego often runs the show. To pursue mastery of any sort, a high level of discomfort is required, usually in spite of the ego’s desire for pedestal-worthy achievement. I’ve had a slow and steady awakening over the past few years, allowing me to begin to see just how much my ego is in control. (Cliff Notes: a lot).
Let’s start with a climbing example, but hang in there non-climbers (PUN)!
Continue reading “Ego and Mastery: Looking Good vs Being Good”
Full disclosure, I’m posting this week’s case study as an interview, but no one is being interviewed here. This post is the amalgamation of several email discussions I’ve had with readers in the last two to three months. The premise is this: folks out there know some form of career is necessary, but they’re overwhelmed by the idea of 40+ years of something that isn’t the dream job. Oh yeah, and they’re obsessed with rock climbing.
I’m going to outline below the basic way we’ve structured our lives to be career-focused for only a small portion of our adult lives. From there, we’re free to pursue whatever it is that gets us giddy (which can still be a career).
Continue reading “Reader Case Study: Maximize Adventure or Career?”
Howdy folks, we’re back on the interview wagon again after a couple of weeks of “you’re spending too much” rants. I feel better, thanks for asking. This week we are once again going to focus on the lifestyle of folks in the climbing industry, and the financial implications for building a sustainable life in a world where money most certainly does not grow on trees. As usual, I reached out to someone whose work I respect, the very talented photographer, filmmaker, and climber Tara Kerzhner. Not only does she do exceptional work behind the lens, she has a unique character that makes her stand out — particularly a running theme of cats, which permeates her online persona.
Continue reading “Tara Kerzhner: Lights, Cameras…Kittens?”
If you’ve been in this climbing world for more than a few days, you know that my guest interview today, Jonathan Siegrist, needs no introduction. He’s simply one of the world’s top climbers, and he’s crushed it in all major facets of this game we play — sport, bouldering, and trad.
We’re going to mix things up this week and feature Jonathan not because he’s pursuing a life of financial independence or running a business, but because he works damn hard and is a man with a plan. He is laser focused on his goals, but he knows there will be more to life than professional climbing. There’s not much luck in this story.
Continue reading “Jonathan Siegrist: Life After Professional Climbing”