Chris Allen - Adventure School Coaching

Episode Transcript

UNKNOWN (00:00):
Music.

SPEAKER_00 (00:08):
Welcome to the Joyful City podcast.
I'm your host, Laura Wakefield.
And I'm pleased today to have asmy guest, Chris Allen.
Chris is a self-actualizationcoach that I actually connected
with originally on Instagram.
And I was intrigued by him inparticular because of the title
of his coaching program,Adventure School.

(00:29):
And anyone that has followed mefor very long knows that I'm a
big adventure person.
I love to hike and I love totravel and all things to do with
adventure.
So Of course, that caught myattention.
And then I dug in furtherlearning about Chris and was
just fascinated by his backstoryand by his approach to coaching.
So thank you, Chris, for beinghere today.

(00:51):
I'm thrilled to have you.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 (00:53):
I'm so excited to be here too, Laura.
This is a great opportunity toconnect with like-minded
individuals.
So thanks

SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
for having me.
Absolutely.
So I want to start with yourbackstory because I...
I speak and write a lot aboutjoy-filled living, but also
about overcoming hardships.
That's kind of what I mostlyteach and talk about.
And you have a pretty compellingbackstory to what led you into

(01:20):
coaching.
So would you mind sharing thatwith everybody?

SPEAKER_01 (01:23):
Yeah, I'd love to.
I'll try to be brief, but ifanyone's interested in the full
length story, I can send you toa link for that as well.
But essentially, I grew up apretty normal life.
I grew up in Utah, and adventureis kind of part of the culture
here.
So I grew up in the mountains,biking and hiking and climbing

(01:46):
and all those fun things,whitewater kayaking.
And that was a part of who Iwas.
And as I grew up and I went offto college and got married and
started a family, I Those thingskind of get put on the back
burner a little bit, but it wasalways there as part of my
identity.

(02:06):
However, along this journey ofkind of progressing through
college and starting a family,when I had just finished
college, we moved to Minnesota,and I had one child who was
four, and then our second was onthe way.

(02:28):
I got really sick and that'spretty normal.
You know, we all get sick, but Iwasn't getting any better.
And this went on for severalmonths and my symptoms kept
progressing and becoming kind ofdebilitating.

(02:49):
And over a few more months, Istarted to go to the doctor and
I was working at the Mayo Clinicat the time and And so I had
access to like the world's bestdoctors.

SPEAKER_00 (02:57):
Yeah, that's convenient.

SPEAKER_01 (02:59):
Right.
And I was on the employeeinsurance.
So it wasn't, you know, it'sjust, yeah, let's go see all the
world's specialists here and getall this figured out.
But specialists afterspecialists that I saw, no one
was able to figure me out.
And I'll explain a little bitmore about what my illness
looked like.
But it started as strep throat.

(03:20):
And as it progressed, that wentaway pretty easily.
But I started to develop allkinds of fatigue and
debilitating chronic pain,neurological issues.
I developed a tremor and brainfog, dizziness.
I had an intermittent fever,sore throat, swollen lymph

(03:42):
nodes, pretty much any symptomyou can name.
I had nausea, those sorts ofthings.
And it got so bad that I wasn'table to work anymore.
So they took me off work, put meon disability.
And my days at that point reallyjust consisted of moving from

(04:02):
the bed in the morning to thecouch and laying on the couch
all day, trying to take care ofor at least help entertain my
two kids.
My second child was born at thatpoint.
So I had a newborn infant and atwo or three-year-old.
And my wife through all thiswas...
trying to figure out what to doas far as providing for us what

(04:26):
has changed she was planning togo back to law school some of
these things

SPEAKER_00 (04:29):
well this was unexpected at your age you don't
expect to have a debilitatingdisease in your i'm assuming
early 20s

SPEAKER_01 (04:35):
yeah yeah i was 25 yeah and i was really healthy
you know i was very active andlike i said before this was part
of my identity to go out and dolike even in minnesota i was
mountain biking and trailrunning and and spending a lot
of time outdoors but I got sickand I couldn't do anything and

(04:57):
nobody knew why.
And I remember at one of mylowest points, I was sitting on
the back porch and a neighborwho, he was probably about 70
years old and he was beingtreated for lung cancer at the
time.
So not in great health, but hewas mowing my lawn for me.

SPEAKER_00 (05:16):
Oh goodness.

SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
And I remember thinking to

SPEAKER_00 (05:21):
myself, how did it come to this?

SPEAKER_01 (05:24):
I'm a 25 year old and I looked really healthy.
I didn't look sick, except I,when I stood up, you could see
that I was pretty weak.
I failed out of physical therapythree times because they
couldn't, they couldn't help me.
My heart rate would go too highor I would collapse or, you
know, whatever consequences camefrom forcing me to exercise.

(05:45):
But yeah, I was sitting therewatching my neighbor mow my lawn
and I, I remember just thinking,and I wasn't ever suicidal or
anything, but just having thethought that life would be so
much better for all these peopleif I weren't here right now.
I'm just a big burden toeverybody.
And there were moments likethat, especially laying in bed

(06:07):
in the middle of the night.
I only slept one or two hours anight most nights from all the
pain and everything, but lots ofrough nights.
And I am fortunate.
because I was sick for about ayear and a half.
Took about 18 months.
And finally, through what Iconsider miraculous events, I

(06:29):
was able to find a treatment andfind a diagnosis.
So we know kind of what's wrong.
We don't know how I got sick orwhat caused it, but we know that
my pituitary glands stoppedworking.
And Mayo had essentially givenup on me.
They had said, you know, you'vegot chronic fatigue syndrome,
fibromyalgia.
Learn to live with it.

(06:50):
There's nothing we can do

SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
to help you.
Learn to live with it.
Nothing we can do.
Oh, that must have felt sodiscouraging for you.
Because if you have an answer,then there's something you can
do about it.
But just the endless notknowing.
You probably even wonderedsometimes, is this all in my
head?
Am I imagining

SPEAKER_01 (07:09):
this?
All the time I'd go to thecardiologist and he'd say, well,
there's nothing wrong with yourheart.
The neurologist, well, we can'tfind anything wrong here.
And it was just...
appointment after appointment ofnothing.
So when they finally diddiagnose me with chronic fatigue
syndrome, even though it reallyis a kind of a wastebasket
diagnosis after everything else,we'll give you this label.

(07:31):
It was a label and I was happyto have some identity

SPEAKER_00 (07:35):
to it.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (07:37):
That's when I really like I spent all my free time,
which I had plenty of, butmostly my free energy, which had
very limited energy, mentalenergy, even.
scouring the internet, scouringmedical journal articles, trying
to understand what couldpossibly be wrong with me.

(07:58):
I was working at the MayoClinic.
I have a medical background.
So yeah, I was just figuring allthis out.
And like I said, miraculously,another doctor that doesn't work
at Mayo contacted me and hewanted to help me, his family
friend.
So I connected with him and hesent me back to Mayo and to meet

(08:18):
with a special endocrinologistand we were able to figure it
out.

SPEAKER_00 (08:23):
That's wonderful.
That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 (08:25):
It is.
And, you know, I speak on thatsometimes.
I speak at different medicalschools or to medical students
on that concept of trying tolisten to the patient and
patient advocacy.
But I meet a lot of people.
All the time that reach out andsay, my cousin is going through
something sounds similar toyours or my aunt or my grandma

(08:47):
or my daughter, whoever it is.
But there's so many people outthere that are suffering without
knowing what's wrong with them.
And I am one of the lucky onesthat was able to figure it out.
And so I feel extra blessed andI feel that there's an extra
burden on me to make the most ofmy life and help other people as

(09:10):
a result.
I do feel like if I hadn't everfigured this out and I was still
sick, I would have found a wayto contribute, found a way to
make the most of life and not,you know, wallow in misery.
You have to, if you're in thatstate for a long time, but it

(09:31):
was a process.
And I think that's part of whatmy, my goal is now is to help
people along that process, thatjourney to figure out, how to
find joy in life, even whenthings aren't ideal.
Exactly,

SPEAKER_00 (09:47):
because sometimes it's chronic disease, but
sometimes it's just life haschanged.
I always say sometimes life justkicks you in the face in various
ways.
It can be disease, it can bedivorce, it can be loss of some
kind, job struggles, all kindsof things.
But it does seem like part ofthe purpose and process of life

(10:10):
seems to be to have to kind ofgo through your trials and your
defining moments to discoverthose things.
And I really feel, I don't claimto understand the whole inner
workings of the purpose of life.
But I feel like this must beimportant for us because it
seems universal.

SPEAKER_01 (10:29):
Yeah, for certain, we all are going to face
struggles and trials.
I like to believe that we don'thave to go through crucibles to
change, although they are greatcatalysts for that.
And oftentimes, regardless ofwhether we change or not, we're
going to experience them.
But the goal of every day, in myperspective, should be how do we

(10:54):
learn?
How do we grow?
How do we contribute?
And I like to help people findthose opportunities, even on
small trials, life-changingevents, loss of a loved one,
loss of a job, loss of arelationship.
Those things certainly triggerintrospection and force us into
that mode.

(11:14):
But we can...
dig into that without those.

SPEAKER_00 (11:20):
You don't have to be going through devastation to

SPEAKER_01 (11:22):
learn

SPEAKER_00 (11:24):
lessons.

SPEAKER_01 (11:26):
To find that joy in life, you don't have to go
through all the pain.
It's certainly going to magnifywhat you feel because I feel
like the lower of a low youfelt, the higher of a high you
can feel.
And so if you've been at thebottom of the bottom then when
you do turn the corner and youcome to the top, you realize how

(11:50):
amazing it is.
Right now in Utah, we've beenburied under snow.
I had three feet of snow in myyard last week.

SPEAKER_00 (11:57):
I have family out there, and they've been sending
me pictures of all the snow.
My grandson that's practicallyburied in the snow.

SPEAKER_01 (12:04):
Spring is finally here.
I've got flowers in my yard.
It's 70 degrees, and it feels soamazing

SPEAKER_00 (12:12):
because of

SPEAKER_01 (12:13):
the difference, right?
Yeah.
the comparison, the contrastbetween the two.
And so I feel the same as thejoy in our lives.
If you do experience thosehorrific experiences, you can
feel incredible joy, even in thesmall areas of life, but you
don't have to go to those lowsto feel joy all the time.

(12:34):
And one of the ways, and we'llget into this more, but one of
the ways that I really feelhelps people to tap into this is
by comparing challengingthemselves with some sort of
adventure outdoors, connectingto nature, getting away from the
noise of the world and into yourown head, really.

(12:55):
I

SPEAKER_00 (12:56):
absolutely agree with you.
There's something about you'refacing a challenge, maybe
something that has is just outof your comfort zone.
And when you do that, it just isvery empowering experience.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (13:10):
It is so empowering.
And the science supports thattoo.
The science shows as we take onsome amount of adventure, and
that looks different foreverybody.
For me, that may be climbing tothe top of a big mountain by
myself, whatever it is.
Or for somebody else, that maybe going on a walk in a local

(13:36):
nature park.
And getting out, that may beenough of a change from the
normal routine that it's goingto allow that access to tap into
your own self-reflective state.
And that's the beauty of it.
Anybody at whatever level canescape the noise of the world

(13:58):
and get into nature andexperience some sort of
adventure or novelty, novelexperience.

SPEAKER_00 (14:05):
Absolutely.
There's something verygrounding, I think, about
nature, especially for me,water, but the woods as well.
I'm a big hiker, so it is.
It's just when you stay insideyour house all the time, I don't
know, there's just somethingvery earthy and grounding about
getting out that just remindsyou that a lot of the problems

(14:29):
that we worry about every dayare It don't matter that much
that life kind of continues togo on living in spite of all the
details that we humans kind ofimpose on it.
You get out in nature and yousee all this life around you
that isn't beset with all ofthat.
And it's just a good reminderfor me.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (14:50):
Yeah.
And it is something that we haveto consciously embrace.
Yes.

SPEAKER_00 (14:56):
I

SPEAKER_01 (14:56):
take, sometimes I take my kids out.
I have four kids and you canmaybe see their picture back
here.
They're a 17 year old, a 14 yearold, a nine year old, an eight
year old.
And so this age range, you know,the teenagers, especially
they're into their screens andtheir music and I'll take them

(15:17):
out on a hike or, you know, gorock climbing or something.
And I don't see any, that sameconnection from them because
they're not seeking it.
They're not actively looking forit.
They're tuned into their, theirearbuds or, you know, the text
from their friend or somethinglike that.
So for, if you want to approachthat, you really consciously

(15:40):
have to try to disconnect withthe world that we live in the
busy nine to five and all thatand get into nature in a mindful
state to where you can, you canreally hear your own thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 (15:55):
Well, and I think that you're still...
What I've learned...
So I have nine children.
I don't know if you realizedthat, but my youngest ones are
the age of your oldest ones, butI also have kids in their 30s
now.
And you're having more impactthan you may realize.
Teenagers kind of have a lot ofattitude shell that they put
around them a little bit, but...
What has surprised me is eventswhere I thought nobody was

(16:18):
having fun and everyone wascomplaining and all of that.
But years later, they'll saythat was the best day and I
loved it.
And it has more impact, I think,sometimes than you realize in
the moment.

SPEAKER_01 (16:27):
Oh,

SPEAKER_00 (16:28):
yeah.
Drag those kids out there andget them out there because it is
shaping their worldview and.
things that they will do whenthey get past all the teenage
stuff.

SPEAKER_01 (16:38):
Yeah.
I fully see that.
And they, they don't complaintoo much, but when we're out
there, they like, they love todo all these things are just
wrapping up the ski season.
They've all been skiing with meall winter, but whether they
complain and grumble getting outthere, once they're out there,

(16:59):
they enjoy it.
But what I'm trying to instillis that, like you said, that
building that kind of connectionto these sorts of activities,
because later in life, I knowfrom my own personal experiences
that when life gets hard,they're going to turn to that as
a respite, as, as a place toseek refuge from all their

(17:22):
struggles and it will heal them.
I believe that.
So, um, I

SPEAKER_00 (17:28):
would imagine with coaching clients also that
there's some of those things toovercome.
Maybe older coaching clientsaren't obsessed with their
phones, although some of us are,but they have other limiting
beliefs that are maybe holdingthem back from trying those
adventures in the first place.
How do you help somebody orsuggest somebody to kind of get
past all the reasons theyhaven't been doing adventures so

(17:50):
far?
Maybe they're scared.
They don't think they're up toit.
They don't have time, all thatstuff.
Talk to me about that.

SPEAKER_01 (17:57):
So I think part of it is building up from the
foundation of what they'reseeking.
And my program has six pillars,and it's really trying to build
all these elements that gotogether to, like you said at
the beginning, reach this levelof self-transcendence to where
we can live beyond our own selfand our own egos and our own

(18:18):
identities.
And so this is one component ofit, the getting out into nature,
but framing it with thesepillars in mind.
And the pillars go throughhaving the right mindset, a
growth mindset oriented towardsimprovement, self-growth, and
then gratitude and curiosity area big part of that.
So we talked through gratitudeand curiosity and so much of

(18:42):
that, those two pieces come fromconnecting with nature.
When you can get out and watchthe rainbow, after a
thunderstorm or even watch thethunderstorm, the lightning and
the thunder and hear all that.

SPEAKER_00 (18:54):
Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 (18:54):
It's awe-inspiring.
And if you really focus on it,you're going to feel gratitude.
You're going to feel amazed,right?
And so cultivating these at thebeginning and then building up
to what I have one element thatI try to get clients to do.
They're not all ready for this,but I call it the ordeal

(19:16):
element.
And it's like 72 hours on yourown in nature.

SPEAKER_00 (19:21):
That probably does stretch a lot of people.
Most of us have never doneanything like that.

SPEAKER_01 (19:28):
Right.
And for some people that is,it's simply renting a cabin in
the woods, right.
Or, or going to one of theselike yurts or it could be fairly
civilized, but you're,purposefully spending time in
nature by yourself withouttechnology.
And all these elements build tothat as an end goal.

(19:52):
So how do you, you ask thequestion, how do you get some of
these people who may not feelcomfortable with that to build
up to that?
A lot of it is working throughall this steps in the, in the
program and discussing whattheir needs are.
So they, they self-identifylike, this is what I want to
accomplish.
Right.
And, and, And then we can talkthrough the science of how your

(20:15):
brain works and how the elementsof the program will all help
accomplish whatever those goalsare.
And nature is going to help.
And here's how nature is goingto help.
So a lot of it's going throughthe process with them and
showing them the science andhelping them understand why it's
so important.
And when you can understand thewhy, then most people are very

(20:37):
motivated to try to unwrap that.

SPEAKER_00 (20:40):
you know, in our technology-based life now,
there's a little bit of terroraround that idea.
What do you, 72 hours with notechnology?
How will I survive?
You know, but we lived withthat.
People my age know that weactually lived without it for a
really long time.
So you can, but we have becomequite addicted to some of those

(21:04):
things.

SPEAKER_01 (21:05):
Yes, we have.
And it, And that's part of thegoal of 72 hours is to break
that connection there because wedon't even realize when we're so
engrossed in it that we don'teven realize what we're
thinking.
We don't even realize what we'refeeling more importantly.
So these emotions that we have,we buffer with all kinds of bad

(21:27):
behavior.
I'll say it could be shopping.
It could be eating.
It could be worst things,destructive things like alcohol
or drugs or pornography.
We all have those things that weturn to when we're stressed,
when we're anxious, when we'refeeling emotions that we don't
like.
And most of us, it's turning toour screens and scrolling.

SPEAKER_00 (21:50):
We're tapping and swiping kind of just almost
mindlessly.

SPEAKER_01 (21:53):
Totally mindlessly.
And we do that, whether werealize it or not, oftentimes
because we...
don't want to feel somethingelse.
So that may be for a lot ofpeople, it's just boredom.
We have this fear of feelingbored or feel a fear of thinking

(22:14):
our own thoughts.
And so by going in there andwhen you isolate yourself away
from technology and people, itforces you into this.
So, you know, you get a lot ofpreparation beforehand, what
you're going to experience.
is all these emotions that youhave suppressed.

SPEAKER_00 (22:36):
You're going

SPEAKER_01 (22:36):
to come out and you may cry.
You may have these horriblemoments, but it's going to be
amazing what you discover aboutyourself and who you are and
what matters to

SPEAKER_00 (22:48):
you.
So I travel a lot and mydaughter had been challenging me
to do a solo trip.
And so a couple of years ago, Idid my first solo trip and I
went down to...
I stayed in a nice hotel by thebeach, but I spent a lot of time
by the water, similar to whatyou're talking about.
Maybe not quite as adventurous,a little bit more pampering, but
I was by myself and I had a lotof that time to sit and think.

(23:11):
And I did cry.
I cried a lot.
It was amazing how much emotioncame up just sitting there with
my own thoughts and allowingthat process to happen was
transformative, right?
But she told me it would be, Ididn't really believe her, but
it truly, truly was.
So I can definitely say that Iagree with everything you're

(23:34):
saying.
And since that time, I've donesome more of these types of
trips and plan, you know, I'msingle currently, but even if
I'm in a relationship at somepoint in my life, I still want
to do that every year, at leastfor a weekend, go by myself.
Because like you're saying, whenyou're absorbed in somebody else
or in your phone or work or lifeor kids, you don't have the

(23:57):
opportunity to connect with yourinner thoughts quite in that
deep way.
And it's not entirelycomfortable, but it is truly
transformative.
It really is.
It

SPEAKER_01 (24:11):
can be.
And so much of our world todayrevolves around our perceived
identity.
And so we form these identitiesof I am this career.
I have...
These kids, I am a parent and aPTA president or whatever the
identity that we take onourselves becomes so important

(24:32):
to us.
And when we go out on our ownlike that, all those things
don't matter.
When you're by yourself andthere's no one to care that
you're posting cool pictures onsocial media, you're not worried
about how you appear or how youlook or Or even when you're out

(24:53):
there in the woods, how yousmell, you know?

SPEAKER_00 (24:54):
Right, exactly.
Your hygiene isn't as critical.
Those

SPEAKER_01 (24:59):
things all become less relevant and they're still
there, but suppressing themallows so many other important
things to come up.
And one of the most importantthings we look for is finding
your true identity, which isn'tthe identity you put on for
other people to feel fulfilledand to feel needed and to feel

(25:22):
Right.
Because when there's no onearound to fill those needs, it
doesn't matter.
And so you really find,

SPEAKER_00 (25:29):
yeah,

SPEAKER_01 (25:30):
there's no feedback.
The deer in the woods don'tcare.

SPEAKER_00 (25:34):
They don't care.

SPEAKER_01 (25:36):
So really you have an opportunity to find who you
really want to be and form moreof a life of purpose around
that.
And a lot of people, I frame itaround building a legacy,
building a life that, is alegacy for others because that
is a good.
And when we think of legacy,oftentimes we think of like

(25:58):
owning a business or a lot ofmoney and, you know, that's not
what I'm getting at here.
It's forming a life that mattersto other people, a life that is
significant beyond yourself.
And it's even further than justlike, yeah, I, you know, I, I
care about other people and Igive back to the community.
A lot of times we do that out ofa place of ego, right?

(26:20):
Sorry, ego.
And we do it because it's partof our identity.
But when we really reach thathigher level, it just becomes
part of our purpose in everydayliving.
And we don't really care so muchabout the feedback or the ego
boost from it.
It's just part of our joy.
And it's amazing to watch howmuch joy comes from escaping

(26:42):
that.
And life just becomes such ablissful state when you don't
have to weigh yourself down withthose burdens.

SPEAKER_00 (26:50):
Yes, it just feels like a weight comes off of you.
And what do you say to, so yougo and you have this
transformative 72 hours, butthen you have to go back to real
life at some point in time.
How do you take that with you?
Like you've discovered, hey,maybe this aspect of my life

(27:12):
isn't really where I want it tobe.
I'd much rather be focusing onthis value system here instead
But that's not always easy towhen you've gotten really out of
sorts in your daily life.
So how do you take yourtransformation and take it back
to your real life with you?

SPEAKER_01 (27:30):
Yeah, that's a great question.
And like I said at thebeginning, we can find
satisfaction, fulfillment,purpose, joy, all these things
in whatever life state we're in.
I mean, I think about ViktorFrankl or Nelson Mandela all the
time in these instances.

UNKNOWN (27:46):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (27:47):
Both of them went through horrific things,
imprisonment and hard times, butthey were able to maintain that
positive outlook and find joy.
And we see that in theirwritings.
But for us, after you go throughthis transformation, you're
going to view life differently.
And the program that I havehelps guide people after that.

(28:08):
You have like a daily practicewhere you maintain those
feelings of gratitude and aweand you work to build a daily
purpose.
And sometimes we think about wehave to find our life's purpose.
And it's this one big grandthing.
And I don't do it that way atall.

SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
And once we find it, we're done.

SPEAKER_01 (28:27):
Yeah, right.
I don't do it that way at all.
Every moment we need to findpurpose in, whether we're
working at a job we hate or ourrelationship is falling apart,
you can still, once you'veescaped your own kind of ego,
you can look at these situationsand say, what's the purpose

(28:49):
here?
How do I give back from a placeof abundance and gratitude?
And if you can approach lifeevery moment mindfully in that
state, which is not easy, andI'm not saying that we're all
going to just come back assaints and do this

SPEAKER_00 (29:05):
all the time.
72 hours, problems all solved.
We're done.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (29:10):
But seeing that it's possible opens a new world.
And then you can start to buildon that muscle.
And it really takes a lot ofpractice, but when you do, it's
so much more rewarding thandoing it for yourself, for your
own good, but looking at itthrough the lens of how, how a

(29:30):
compassionate lens, how can Ibring a better world about today
in this moment?
So, you know, talking to youtoday for this podcast, that's
the mindset I'm trying tomaintain is how can I, I'm going
to bless and help the audiencethat's going to listen to this
at some point and maybe open adoor for them to find this.

SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
You know, I think that's so interesting.
You say that because sometimeswe get very disconnected as
we've talked about with our trueself and what we want.
And we actually don't even feellike we have the right to worry
about that because we sometimesthink that that's really selfish
to do that.
But actually I've come todiscover in recent years, as

(30:11):
I've, the closer I can get tothat true inner value system of
mine, the more genuine,authentic love and light and
help and service that I have tooffer.
Because when I'm all caught upin things and I'm not grounded
myself, I don't have much togive.
I really don't.
So I really am always trying topreach that, that it's not

(30:35):
selfish to work on yourself andto pursue a life of joy for
yourself, because that is goingto emanate out of you to the
world around you and the peoplearound you.

SPEAKER_01 (30:44):
It's so true.
The trap I see people fallinginto, if they haven't reached
that state of self-awareness andself-actualization, and then
they try to go into that stateof self-care, it can become very
selfish because you're not readyto give.

(31:05):
You're living life continuallysharpening your own saw and
never cutting down any trees.
If you want to reference that.

SPEAKER_00 (31:14):
I love that.
That's a great metaphoricalidea.

SPEAKER_01 (31:18):
So the goal there is self-care for me is sharpening
my saw so that I can go do good,right?
Not so yesterday I went on arun, beautiful spring day all by
myself.
And some people, you know, takethat to an extreme and they're
always out doing things likethat by themselves.

(31:41):
Got to take care of myself.
This is self-care.
I got to have a spa day.
And some people are in a placewhere they need more of that
than others.
But for me, I have to do thatevery so often just to maintain
that state, right?
Sharpen the saw.
But now today's a good day thatI don't need to go out and spend

(32:02):
time by myself.
I can spend my time with otherpeople and building other
people, my family, my kids, and,you know, all the other people
that I'll interact with today.
And then when I start to feeldoled out a little bit, I'm kind
of an introvert.
And so I'll, I'm alone and it'snot a 72 hour retreat, but it's,

(32:23):
you know, maybe an hour, anature walk around the block if
I, if that's all I have timefor, but just trying to connect
with myself and understand whatI'm feeling today and And then I
can move back into that state ofgiving.

SPEAKER_00 (32:36):
Well, and you can really feel when that's coming
on.
You know, you know when it'stime to take that little break
out.
So I have another question foryou.
But before I do that, before Iask that, tell everybody how
they find you.
Where can they connect withChris Allen?

SPEAKER_01 (32:56):
Yeah.
So I have a website.
It's calledmyadventureschool.com.
That's probably the easiestplace.
You can also connect with me onsocial media.
Instagram is where I spend mostof my time.
And my handle there is AdventureSchool, but the L is a number
one.
So it's Adventure School 1.

SPEAKER_00 (33:17):
And I'll put these links in the description too for
the video.
But definitely, I wouldencourage people to go out and
check out your website.
He's got some great courses onthere too.
If you really want to challengeyourself to some hiking and
things, he's got courses of...
Tell everybody what yourcourse...
I know there's knot tying and...

SPEAKER_01 (33:38):
Yeah, yeah.
So I've got a lot of content onthere around different sorts of
adventure activities, rockclimbing, canyoneering, mountain
biking, skiing, all thesethings.
And then I have some coursesbased on skills you may need to
develop to become proficient inthat.
So not tying, learning how tonavigate with the map, things

(34:00):
like this.
But those are...
So the website has been anevolution over years.
And really, I started with justteaching people these outdoor
skills.
But then I connected thiswith...
I've been coaching for, I think,about 8 years now.
But I've connected it with theoutdoor adventure part of it

(34:21):
just recently within the pastyear.
And so the website still has allthis information on it.
And it's an evolution.
It's all valuable content.
So you can use it.
But the main piece there, ifyou're looking for the coaching
is you'll find the coaching linkthere too.

SPEAKER_00 (34:37):
Well, and I think that somebody...
once they try this, they mightjust discover that they're
hooked and they want to pushthemselves to the greater
challenge.
And then they'll need to knowhow to do the knots and things
to do that.
So yeah, the courses lookedamazing.
I have a son who's, well, I haveseveral kids who are very into
the outdoors.
We used to live in Utah also andnear the Wasatch front there.

(34:57):
And yeah, One of my sons nowlives in New Zealand, but he's
very into hiking, outdooring.
So he's going to love it.
I'm going to send him yourwebsite to take a look at
because that's just right up hisalley there.
So my last question for you, Ilove that you, that you, I
forget, I want to read thiscorrectly.

(35:18):
Well, just that you're, you'reencouraging people to build a
life of legacy and How can you,building your life of legacy,
you're a father of four, how doyou see your journey and your
efforts in building that life oflegacy and joy?
How is it important for yourchildren to see you living like

(35:44):
that?

SPEAKER_01 (35:45):
I think it really comes down to preparing yourself
my children or other people thatI work with.
I work with a lot of people involunteer organizations or my
career, but primarily the focusis with my children.
The legacy there is giving themthe skills and tools to live a

(36:07):
joyful life and to turn aroundand give back to the next people
that they're going to interactwith.
So it's a chain effect.
And the way that I see thathappening is not just by
teaching them, but by livingthat life, you know, every day
is a magical moment every daythat is filled with gratitude

(36:28):
and spontaneity.
And yeah, we're going to get alot of things done too, but
we're going to have fun doingit.
And it's going

SPEAKER_00 (36:35):
to be.
I love that in your pillars thatyou, one of the pillars that you
talked about was magic.
Yeah.
I love that a whole concept.
Can you elaborate on that just alittle?

SPEAKER_01 (36:45):
Yeah.
I mean, when I talk about magic,I like to think of Disneyland,
you know, it's, It's a magicalplace for kids.
And life should be that way forall of us all the time.
And that we see the beautyaround us in our relationships,
in the small moments.
I have a son, my youngest son iseight and he lives this way.

(37:08):
He wears his heart on his sleeveand everything is just amazing
to him.
He's so curious about the worldaround him.
And there's some pictures of himon my Instagram feed.
I talk about that.
All my kids have theirstrengths, but this one for him
stands out.
And I've gathered all thesepillars from role models

(37:30):
throughout my life.
I've read a lot of thescientific literature to put
these together from a scientificframe of mind, but also from
role models, autobiographiesthat I've read.
But one person in particular ismy grandfather.
And he really embodied all ofthese pillars that I talk about.
Do

SPEAKER_00 (37:50):
you want to name the pillars?

SPEAKER_01 (37:52):
Yeah.
So let's see if I can rememberthem off the top of my head.

SPEAKER_00 (37:56):
Hang on.
I think I have them up righthere.
It starts

SPEAKER_01 (37:58):
with mindset, then meaning, and then we do mindset
we talked about.
That's building this empoweredmindset, how to be...
How to control your ownthoughts, how to change beliefs
that are limiting, but then alsoto be curious and grateful as a
built-in part of your day.

(38:19):
Meaning really revolves aroundidentifying your values and
purpose and goals and thenliving in integrity to those.
That's a foundation to beingable to reach a state where you
know what you stand for everyday and how to make good
decisions.
I consider that our map andcompass and bearing.
the meaning of our life.
And I'm not saying we're goingto discover the meaning of life,

(38:42):
big capital letters.

SPEAKER_00 (38:43):
The meaning of my life, my value system.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (38:47):
Yes.
And that's something that canchange over time.
So we work that into the modeltoo.
Ministry has to do with ourrelationships.
Relationships are huge.
We take time away in theprogram, but we also spend a lot
of time looking deeply atrelationships and

SPEAKER_00 (39:05):
The

SPEAKER_01 (39:06):
science right now shows us that you can't have a
long, healthy life.
Well, I should go back andrephrase that.
People, so they've done studieson aging and quality of life
towards the end of life.
And people who have meaningfulrelationships are healthier.

(39:28):
They live longer.
They have fewer health problems.
They're happier, right?
And relationships are soimportant to all of us and we
take them for granted a lot ofthe time.

SPEAKER_00 (39:38):
Often the ones closest to us.

SPEAKER_01 (39:40):
Yes.
So relationships is a big partof it.
And then along with ministry isstewardship.
And that is caring for not justthe people, but everything
around us, all the things, ourbodies, our houses, nature, you
know, our communities.
And then magic is building in asense of self in terms of Being

(40:03):
able to show up spontaneouslyand joyfully for anyone around
you and not being ashamed of whoyou are.
Some of us are silly and some ofus are not.
And so you find who you are andyou show up that way and it
creates magic.

SPEAKER_00 (40:19):
With that childlike energy.
I love that.

UNKNOWN (40:23):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (40:23):
Disneyland, you know, you walk around, where
else on the planet do you seepeople walking around with these
silly little hats on?

SPEAKER_00 (40:32):
You're allowed to just be a kid.
But the thing is, you can dothat in your own backyard.
If you go out in the backyardwith a three-year-old, they're
looking at the bugs and theblades of grass and everything
is amazing to a three-year-old.
And truly, it doesn't stop beingamazing.
We just stop noticing.

SPEAKER_01 (40:54):
Stop noticing and we start noticing that other people
think we're weird if we'relooking at the bugs.

SPEAKER_00 (41:00):
Right.
What's wrong with them?
Yeah.
Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 (41:05):
Yeah.
So that's magic and traditionsand things go into that.
But the next one is memories.
And that certainly builds on therest of these, the magic.
But memories is also aboutbuilding an adventure and
creation experience.
and learning into our lives.
So maintaining that childlikedesire of creating things.

(41:28):
I'm gonna go paint a chalkdrawing on the sidewalk or
whatever that looks like, but wehave to consciously build in
those opportunities for memoryinto our lives because that's
how we transmit values.
That's how we transmit meaning.
So when I think, I mentioned mygrandfather, when I think about
him, I think about all theexperiences I had with him, the

(41:49):
memories that we built together.
And that's how I relate back towhat he was all about and what
his values were.
So

SPEAKER_00 (41:56):
legacy.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (41:58):
Building those opportunities to build memory,
taking my kids out rockclimbing, even if they may
grumble or not pay attention,that memory is, is there.
And they're going to look backon that at a later date and
build meaning out of it.

SPEAKER_00 (42:12):
They will for sure.

SPEAKER_01 (42:14):
And then the final one is money.
And money is important to this.
Not that we have to have moneyto create a legacy, but you have
to have a good relationship withmoney and understand how money
works for you.
And so it's talking about moneymindset, money relationship, and
then money generation so thatyou can amplify everything good

(42:35):
that you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 (42:36):
That's a big sticking point for a lot of us.
is just all kinds of limitingbeliefs about that for sure yeah
sure well chris thank you somuch for joining me today you
have so much knowledge andwisdom to share and i just
encourage everybody to go outand check out adventures it's
adventureschool.com correct

SPEAKER_0 (42:55):
myadventureschool.com
myadventureschool.com I appreciate your time today.

SPEAKER_01 (43:01):
Thank you so much for having me on, Laura.
I will go.
I'll send you the links and wecan put them in the show notes.
And I look forward to hearingfrom anybody who would like to
reach out.

SPEAKER_00 (43:12):
Perfect.
Thank you for joining us today,everybody.
And remember, dare to dream,plan to play and live to learn.
Thank you for joining me todayon the Joy Felicity Podcast.
If you enjoyed this episode,please like and share and come

(43:34):
follow me on all major socialmedia sites at Joy Felicity or
on my website, joyfelicity.com.
You can follow the link in thedescription for this episode to
all of the places that we canconnect.
Have a great day, everybody.
And remember, dare to dream,plan to play, live to learn.