Wanderous-Adventure Hacking

It was a strange feeling graduating from university. I was 23 and for the first time had no one telling me what to do. In the midst of my teenage angst, this day couldn’t have come soon enough. Yet I found myself standing there in shock, like a cat kicked out into the rain.

So I did the only thing that felt right, got a job where someone would tell me what to do. I worked as an engineer in various companies for 6 years until the the final one went under and put me on the street again. This time, with a financial safety net I started my own company and began the living as an entrepreneur.

Unexpectedly, the hardest part of the transition was working after 5pm. When the clock struck five, my analytical brain checked out leaving the reptilian one in charge. The years of 9-5 work had physiologically changed me.

That kind of behavior doesn’t really fly when you’re working for yourself so my brain and I had a chat. We’re now used to the current schedule and, in fact, going back to a regular job today couldn’t seem more foreign.

Everyone’s experienced this feeling in some way. It’s not the what we’re changing to but the changing itself that’s hard. I find this to be especially true in the realm of travel and vacationing. Two weeks of vacation time is the status quo and as a scarce resource, the days can’t be squandered. The result: the epic vacation. Trips which are a tornado of activities, drinking, overeating and occasional sleep. And that’s great, my best foggy memories come from times like these. But when 50 weeks of grinding work stand between you and the next one upon return… it sucks.

What I talk about on Wanderous is peppering adventures throughout those 50 weeks on any budget. Limited time? That’s ok. Limited money? That’s ok too, it doesn’t take much of either and you’ll be surprised at how little. All it takes is a little ingenuity, some tricks and willingness to experience new things.

Some of the ideas will seem odd and ridiculous, as they should; change isn’t easy. But stick with it and before you know it you’ll find a new level of excitement in your life.

Adventures are sold to us on the backs of brochures with beautiful photos and seductive text, planned and laid out, calling us to break from our daily grind, for a fee.

There is nothing wrong with paying for guided adventures and there are plenty of situations where you should. If you want to stand atop Mount Everest or paddle down the Amazon, you’d be well advised to go with someone who knows what the hell they’re doing. Adventuring is great but you want to be home for the slideshow.

Wanderous is not about the epic once-in-a-lifetime adventuring but rather those that can happen weekly, monthly or spontaneously without disrupting our lives. It’s about the interesting , not the expensive or exotic.

We’ve been conditioned that excitement and adventure are to be enjoyed sparingly, like potato chips or deep fried turkey. Adventures don’t need to be metered; they’re the reason we live. This blog is about Adventure Hacking, using knowledge, tricks and ingenuity to live adventurously. Go now and go often.