How to live a life of adventure

“Everything you need is already inside.  Just do it.”  — Bill Bowerman, Nike co-founder

I have this friend.  We’ll call him Clark, because that’s his name.  Clark and I, approximately one week ago, set out from Houston, TX to travel the country in my car for the purpose of meeting as many new people, seeing as many new places, and creating as many new experiences as our nomadic hearts desire.

Basically, we’ve decided it’s about damn time that we live life the way we feel it’s meant to be lived– as a series of daring adventures to be had and new horizons to be explored.  The picture above is of Clark metaphorically and literally exploring said horizons.

We’re embracing life on our own terms, creating our happiness on a day to day basis, pursuing every passion without hindrance, and daring to discover just how much we’re capable of.

I’ve been intentionally living out of my car for a few months now, but I think we can probably all agree that almost anything is more enjoyable with a partner in crime along for the ride, a lesson my ex-girlfriend and I both wish I’d learned a little sooner.

Blah blah blah, Chad, get to the First Rule already

Yes, yes, fine.  Well, what if I told you that you could develop the ability to attract to yourself the very events, experiences, and even people that you want to find?  Sound like an ad for a lame online dating site?  Well, it’s not.  Or is it?

WELCOME TO ADVENTURE-TASTIC, THE BEST NEW ONLINE DATING SITE OF 2012

…just kidding.  But not about tapping into that power that allows you to essentially manifest aspects of your environment.  And what if I told you that not only was this within your grasp, but it’s actually a necessary first step to a successful adventure of any kind?

Do I have your attention?  DANCE PUPPETS, DANCE.

Anyway, let me give you an example of what I’m talking about here.  And fittingly enough, this example took place on our very first night after setting out.

The fire, the arrest, and the professional time-traveler

We found ourselves, after several hours and more than one wrong turn, cruising downtown Austin in the dead of night looking for parking we wouldn’t have to pay for, a rarity in such areas.  As we drove, we did as we’d done on so many adventures together before (we’ve been friends for years)– we set ourselves about the task of putting our hopes for the night out into the universe (more on exactly how to do this after the story, hold your damn horses).

Our objectives?  To meet incredible new people, get things for free, cause a little bit of mischief, and learn something new that directly benefits us.

We came across and initiated conversation with a couple of guys and, in exchange for a cigarette each (a currency and conversation starter always kept on hand even though neither of us smokes them), they led us to some free parking and we showed them to the nearby site of Occupy Austin where we figured we’d meet some interesting people.

Our new acquaintances, vagabonds themselves, left the protest site within a few minutes of arriving, but not before one of them accidentally (I can only assume and hope) left his dying cigarette butt where it ended up catching fire to a nearby pile of supplies.

If you’ve never seen a group of 50 sleeping campers suddenly wake with a start to cries of “Fire!”, I assure you it’s quite a sight.  Fortunately, the sight didn’t last long; “Fire” is a very rousing word, and several people quickly leapt into action, one of whom had a large water container on hand that dealt the final blow to the flame.

Accident or not, Suspicion of Arson is no trivial suspicion, and the cops who camp on the outskirts of the Occupy protest site around the clock proceeded to make what was possibly their first justified arrest in months (ba-ZING).  But in the aftermath of all this, the water-wielding protester who essentially saved the day found himself thirsty and holding an empty container, prompting him to ask the nearest person with a water bottle– Clark.

Thus began what unraveled over the next couple of hours as an amazing conversation spanning such topics as politics, quantum physics, sovereign citizenship, Eastern and Western philosophies, time travel, spirituality, and enough stories and helpful pieces of advice derived from his years of nomadic travel across the states to provide a framework and extra push of inspiration for our months of travel yet to come.

We parted ways as the sun began to reveal itself and, after setting up a tent in a nearby park (and being shortly thereafter removed from the park by a large handful of police officers), we set up sleeping bags with the rest of the Occupants on the steps of city hall.

***For the record, I’m not advocating using your local protest movement (now found in over 1,500 cities across the globe) as a last resort crashpad.  I’m actually a strong advocate of what the movement hopes to accomplish, and having participated in OWS-related activities in 3 major cities, including the main hub on Wall Street, I feel comfortable relying on the solidarity I’ve found with these people***

Summarize and get to the point already, Chad.

Meet incredible new people?  Our gadabout friend was pretty incredible.  Get things for free?  Parking and a place to lay our heads works just fine.  Cause a little bit of mischief?  The sunrise visit from the cops and their favorite tool of unnecessarily overhandling situations would indicate so.  And learn something new that directly benefits us?  Tricks of the Trade of Traveling 101, taught by our new pal.

Now, how are Clark and I able to manifest things, events, and even people into our lives?  We years ago stumbled onto what we’ve since honed into one basic tactic for seeking out and finding what we want.

It’s related to the Law of Attraction, Napoleon Hill’s one great Secret to success, the quantum theory of creating external reality from the internal world, the neurological concept that the brain perceives only what it believes it will perceive, and the insights of secular and religious philosophers throughout history (“What you are thinking about, you are becoming”, “Our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow; our life is the creation of our mind”, etc).

It’s the complicatedly simple idea of causing things to become reality with a sincere believe in their reality and your ability to create it.

Call it what you want– a time-tested theory, a New Age Thought, a scientifically verifiable concept, or wishy washy hocus pocus– it works.  If you don’t believe me, and you haven’t tried it, well… I don’t think I need to tell you what you make out of you and me when you assume things..

How to do it

It starts with a powerful belief in yourself, in your ability to exert a measure of control in your own life, in your responsibility for the way the world reacts to you.  This may not be easy to accept at first, especially in our American culture of victimhood, but trust me, it gets easier when you start to see the results.

It continues with the mental fortitude to produce first a clear mental image of what you want, then of you coming to possess it.  See it, taste it, feel what you would feel upon actually receiving it; a clear idea of what you want and a firm believe in your ability to get it are absolute necessities for achievement.

It ends with what our friend Mr. Bowerman was straightforward enough to tell us– “just do it”.  Take that leap of faith (which really isn’t such a leap anymore, now that you know that you’re capable of directly influencing the way the world interacts with you).  Saddle up, cowboy.

“If you want to do something, you’ll find a way.  If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”  -Jim Rohn

Can you control everything that happens around you?  Of course not.  Can you step up from a place of helplessness and accept responsibility for making the things you desire most a reality?  I believe so, and so do many others who’ve since utilized that belief to succeed in ways many of us will only sit quietly and dream of.

The planets seem to align for those who get out there, seek out the experiences they want to have, and know that such experiences are out there waiting to be found.

So what’s the first rule of Adventure Club?  Clearly defining, visualizing, and believing in your adventure.

More often than not, you’ll find what you’re looking for.  All you have to do is get out there.