Do I Need a Teacher?

That's the age-old question, isn't it?

You can substitute 'mentor', or 'coach' or 'instructor' or 'guru' or 'leader' instead of teacher, of course. Those are all somewhat interchangeable, for the most part.

My answer?

It depends.

At the risk of being vague, I'm saying that because it totally does depend on a number of factors. But when it comes right down to it, the only factor that really matters is this: What do you WANT?

It's a goal thing.

For example, if your goal is to go scuba diving on your Carribean vacation, then yes, that means, you need a dive instructor who can get you certified.

If you want to be able to perform surgery on someone's knee for a sports injury, you will definitely need a veritable ARMY of teachers and instructors and mentors who can give you the skills and tools you need to be successful and helpful.

If your goal is to compete at an Olympic level for swimming, yes, you will need a coach who will help you reach your physical best.

That part is pretty simple, right? Those are clear goals, and the path forward is pretty obvious.

However, rarely in life are things super clear and direct like that. I mean, they CAN be like that, but we humans are emotional beings who have many different desires, impulses and directions.. Well, we might not actually like that, but it's sort of who we are. We're 'complicated'.

I call the state that most people live in 'The Grey Area', where we are sort of drifting along on the River of Daily Life, doing what comes up each day, handling our business, our relationships, our families as best as we can, and snatching whatever happiness comes along, whenever we can, and enjoying it to the fullest.

I don't say it to be derogatory, because it just is what it is. It's not always the most enjoyable state to exist in, because in the Grey Area, we don't usually have a lot of personal power. It's like we're drifting in the strong swells of a huge river, and it's hard to get around when that current is pulling you down, down, down.

The reason I bring this up in this context is because when we look at the examples of the people above, they are all clear about their goals, and they are clear about their commitment to achieving them. If they embark on those paths, they get clear, they take action, and they move towards their goals.

Clarity and commitment are two things that help you begin to depart from The Grey Area, and those two qualities are essentially 'having a vision'. They are the antidote to living in the ordinary, daily current, getting swept along to wherever the river takes you.

Usually, when a person finds their 'vision', or has a dream, or gets a wild idea, three things start to happen. One is that they start to work to figure out how to bring it alive, and it gets difficult, and they just give up. In those situations, the vision might be an excellent one, but that person might not have the inner strength or experience to make it happen at that particular time. It might be a vision that is just missing too much information, or it could be just a dream that isn't time for it to happen. There are a lot of reasons why they never come to fruition in this path, but the world is littered with visions that never made it to reality. That's just how it is.

For the record, we aren't taught in the modern world to have visions, or taught the skills we need to bring them to life, to nurture them, and grow them. We just don't get those skills naturally in our everyday lives. Why, you ask? The Grey Area. The Big Strong River. Enough said.

The second thing that also usually happens is that the person doesn't really give up on the vision, but they never really COMMIT to making it happen, so it sort of just goes in the back of the boat, and gets very little energy, love, time or effort. By the time all the other things are given their daily due, there is just nothing left. The 'vision' is slowly starved, but kept alive through the 'Someday' philosophy.

I have plenty of those visions, believe me. That's why I don't like anyone to go into my basement! It's filled with old projects that just need a few afternoons, or some TLC, or whatever, but never see the light of day because I have a LOT of IDEAS!

The Someday Philosophy, or Purgatory, is a tough one. Most of us just get damn busy, and we have a lot of things going on, and they never really happen. It's like a bow stave that never gets carved into a bow, or a book that never gets fully written, (ouch!) or that trip you want to go on that never actually happens. It's an energy thing, and it's also a choice thing. It's like Visionary Suspended Animation.

The third option is the rocky road called manifestation. This is where you just start making it happen, as best as you can, and you walk your vision, in whatever way you can, and do what you have to do to bring it to life. It's not easy, usually, and it tests you, how bad do you want it? sort of tests, and makes you see all of your weak spots, and work hard to shore them up, to get skills and figure things out and make it happen.

When you have a vision like that, and you're on that Manifestation Trail, you get clear really fast. You have to, basically, because you can't be on the fence when you're trying to make things happen.

It takes a certain kind of person to seek a vision, to look inside, and find an inner calling. It takes a certain kind of person to make a decision to take a risk and start taking action, too.

I can say this with a lot of certainty, because I see a ton of people every year at Hawk Circle, who come in with certain goals:

"I want to make a shelter and sleep in it!"

"I want to make my own ash splint pack basket!"

"I want to make a long term bow and arrows!"

"I want to tan some deer hides!"

I hear it all the time. Usually, within a week or two, you can see people's 'vision' fall into one of those three categories. After a while, I can usually make very accurate predictions as to who will succeed and who won't, on their own. Sometimes, I can mentor or coach them through it, and get that vision to be manifested. Sometimes, I just don't have the time. It's tough.

I can say with absolute certainty, that for all three visionary pathways, having a teacher, mentor or coach is critical to getting it done, accomplished, and how easily it is done, too.

There's an accountability factor that is huge when you have a mentor.

There's a strategy/problem-solving factor that is awesome when you have a teacher.

There's an inspiration/mindset factor that is critical when you have a coach.

So, to wrap this blog post up before it gets any longer, my answer to the original question is: YES.

You DO need a teacher, or a coach, or an instructor, if you're serious, if you're trying to accomplish something, and if you have a vision or a mission you are trying to manifest.

It's not even close to 'maybe'. You definitely need somebody who can help you figure it out, and save you a ton of time, frustration, resources and much more.

This just happened last night, so I will share it with you as it illustrates my points pretty spot on:

I posted our 2016 Timberframing Apprenticeship poster in a bunch of Facebook Groups last night, to let people know there was one spot left for our spring semester. It got around pretty quick, and I think the post was seen by about 4,400 people, and I got a bunch of comments on the program by people who had looked into it.

The first group basically said, 'Wow, it looks great, wish I was younger so I could go!" They clearly supported the program idea, but just knew it was dream that was past their window of opportunity.

A bunch of people shared it or tagged a younger person in the comment, to help them be aware of it as an opportunity they might be interested in checking out.

The second group started in with their comments. "Wish I could go! Why is it so expensive?" They also said things like 'Can I just come for a few weeks?' or "Maybe next year!" or argued about how it should be free if people are working on frames that might be sold or used at our place.

I made some suggestions to those who said they didn't have the money, and asked them how badly they wanted to go? I posted a bunch of different ways you can raise money quickly if you were seriously wanting to go, like, asking a relative to sponsor you in return for building a garage or cabin upon completion of the program. I talked about the benefits of learning these really useful skills that last a lifetime, in building, carpentry, roofing and general handyman kinds of stuff. It literally can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime, and open doors to great, great opportunities.

Not one person asked for a scholarship. No one asked if they could do partial work trade. No one approached us with any sort of creative problem solving solution that might make it happen for them.

For so many people, things are remarkably black and white. "I don't have the money = I can't do it" is the equation.

But for creative people, for visionary people, they find a way to make it happen. You probably know a few people like that in your life, who just get an idea, figure out a way to make it happen, and next thing you know, they are in Iceland, or Mexico, or doing some cool thing, getting hired by their dream company working on a wicked awesome project.

For those people, they aren't caught in the current of the River. They aren't living in the Grey Area. They find a way to make things happen and get to the next level.

They aren't super human, either. They just had someone teach them or coach them, or mentor them, one way or the other, and learned how to figure it out. They learned the mental aspects of living with vision, and manifesting and freedom.

It's pretty cool, seeing someone with that kind of life skill. On the flip side, it's depressing seeing someone with the same potential, living in the Grey Area, seemingly powerless to navigate and get some altitude.....

Find a coach, teacher or mentor, people. Find your vision, your passion, your quest of the year, whatever, and then find that person who can help you get where you want to go.

It might make things easier than you ever thought it might be, too!

The Visionary's Toolkit: Strategy & Problem-Solving

One of the toughest tasks a visionary person can undertake is to 'walk their vision'. Walking your vision is the process of bringing something you've seen in your mind's eye, or from your heart, or from a spiritual experience, and bring it to life in physical world. It's about creating something that is a gift to the world, to animals, to people, to communities, where you share your gift in a way that is meaningful and fulfilling.

It's a lot like being an artist. An artist sees something in his or her mind's eye, like the image of a landscape, or a character, or shape or form, and then tries to bring what's so clear and obvious in the mind, into a physical form.

This can be frustrating, because the artist might see this beautiful image or picture or scultpure, and what comes out on the canvas or in the clay is a far cry from that 'vision'. It might seem clunky, misshapen, or just way, way off from the blueprint.

If the vision isn't strong, the artist might give up, and go on to try another image or vision, something that might come easier. Or, he or she might decide to get the skills to make that original vision come out easier. There are a lot of ways to go.

Well, I can say from personal experience, that 'Walking Your Vision' is hard if you don't have the skills you need to bring them forward into this world. What's even harder is doing it alone, or in a very small group of people. Without skills and a number of tools in your 'Visionary Toolkit', you're going to struggle. Struggling sucks.

Tom Brown, Jr. often began his courses with the saying that if you are struggling in the wilderness, living survival, tracking animals, or making a natural craft, then your skills suck. I've used that as a guide for most of my life, both in my personal life and professional work as well. It's amazingly accurate and helpful, and it certainly helped me in identifying where I was going wrong, and what was missing in my approach, whenever I found myself struggling in some way. It won't solve everything, but it sure helps me get on track to shift in a new direction!

Our 'Visionary Toolkit' is vitally important and two of the most important 'Tools' I know are Strategy and Problem-Solving.

Strategy is all about planning your visionary goals, your over-arching path to achieving your mission, or getting you well on your way. Strategy is about getting a great road map to success, and figuring out how you are going to get to points A, B and C, and learning about the long term features of your particular ‘vision’, so to speak.

Problem-solving is all part of strategy, of course, but problem-solving is very immediate and focused generally on what’s happening RIGHT in FRONT of YOU!

It’s more short term. It’s focused and immediate, (think TODAY, rather than next week or month!) and it’s essential to moving forward on the larger strategy journey.

So, what does a visionary, a director, an herbal conference facilitator or wilderness instructor need either of these? (To name just a few 'visionary' types.)

Well, if you’re a wilderness program director, you would probably want both. You’d need to know where you want to go with your personal career, your own journey, your own goals, and how to get there. Strategy gives you that. It also gives you a sense of where you are on the map, either at the beginning or perhaps well on your way, so you can realize you’re much, much closer to where you want to be than you previously thought. Which is awesome.

Strategy helps you put everything into perspective. It’s letting you know what’s coming, and how to be prepared for it. Sort of like climbing a mountain like Everest. You need to know if you should carry ropes, oxygen, food, certain gear for the cold and so on. Or, if you’re going into the desert, you want to know if you should tank up on water and where to find more along the way, on a great hat, or where to get the best kind of scorpion spray or whatever. (Just joking about that last one!)

A good strategy is all about getting a clear map to achieving your vision, that is specifically tailored just for you.

On the other hand, you definitely need problem solving as a wilderness program director, for things like, hiring an excellent support staff. You might have problems figuring out where to run your programs, or what gear you should rent or purchase. You might need to solve issues like how to get paid, or what to charge, or what to ask your executive directors. You might need to solve a problem that keeps coming up again and again in your programs, like making sure the youth are engaged and focused, rather than resisting the flow of your experience.

Sometimes, there are ingredients that are missing from your 'wilderness program' recipe that can be trouble-shot to get you back on track. It might not be the results you get, that are causing you stress, if you have great results, but you might be left exhausted and broke at the end of it, and that could be your pattern or problem.

All of these things listed above can be solved. You definitely need that ‘problem solving mindset’, and how to make that happen, sometimes on a daily basis.

One of the problems though, is that sometimes, you’re so close to the problem, you can't actually see how many options you have. You lose perspective on the big picture, and if it’s something you’ve been struggling with for a while, it can feel that it’s simply ‘unsolvable’. (This is really almost never true.)

This is where it’s good to get outside help, from someone who’s been there, and can give you a fresh take. Someone who has your best interests at heart, who isn’t trying to just ‘make this problem go away because it makes them uncomfortable’. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about here.

Likewise, when you’re navigating your long term strategy, it’s helpful to have someone who knows the terrain a little bit, who’s had experience with the landscape and the trails, paths and roads, and what resources are available to you that you might not recognize easily.

It’s helpful to have someone who can give you the skills you need, too. That’s key.

Because in most cases, we need skills to get where we need to go.

Some people don’t need as much of the ‘Right Now’ problem solving, if they are in a pretty solid place with their jobs, and they don’t have a lot of bumps in the road, or things are not too challenging. That’s good. But they might need the long term strategy instead, and how to get started on the path.

Once you’re on your way, and out in the unfamiliar, though, it’s good to be able to ‘Phone a Friend’, like on that game show! It’s good because things can get dicey really quick once you leave your comfort zone, and it’s sometimes hard to recognize what is happening and how to best respond.

Here's a brief example:

A small wilderness school was approached by a video game company to learn some survival skills so they could make an awesome game about it. They didn’t know what to charge for a weekend intensive experience for these new people, and they talked about it, and settled on a price that seemed reasonable to them to do the program.

However, they weren’t familiar with how video game companies budget, and what the financial resources they have available to them to use consultants and trainers for their game production budgets, so they instead used their private client rates when they were making their agreements for their training.

Not knowing the landscape and the customs of these new clients meant that they severely undercharged their clients, and missed a large resource that could have been available to them if they had been able to ‘phone a friend’. They might have gotten a six month consulting fee for every aspect of their gaming platform, with ongoing trainings and a piece of the back end of the game sales, too.

It cost them a lot to make that mistake.

(Note: It’s all good in the long run, because that’s how we all learn. There's no shame in that, and life will go on. But it's sure nice to have someone to call who can help with specific strategies to minimize these kinds of missed opportunities.)

Here's a longer example:

When I first started leading summer camps and teaching wilderness skills, a nearby summer camp called me and said that they had a big Native American themed week at their camp and their headline storyteller had cancelled at the last minute, and could I fill in for them?

I had the time free, so it looked like it was a yes, but had never done this before, so I told them I thought I could do it.

"How much?" their program director asked me quickly.

"How long is the program, and for how many kids?" I asked. (Man am I glad I asked this question!)

"It's about 45 minutes, and it's for 300 kids plus some staff." came the reply.

"Okay, that's a long story," I said. "My stories are usually about 20 minutes, so let me think about it and get back to you in a couple of hours."

"Sure thing. But let me know by 10 am tomorrow morning." said the director.

We hung up, and I looked over my notes. At that point in my career, I was mostly a wilderness skills instructor and camp director, not an independent storyteller. I didn't have the slightest clue how much they typically charged for a storytelling session of that length, and what the range in fee was. The camp was about an hour away, maybe a little more, so there was a small travel fee included too.

I called three different people I knew who were professional storytellers, and left messages with each of them. By the end of a busy night of long, in depth conversations with my friends, I had a much, much clearer picture of what I should charge.

I had been originally thinking I should charge the camp between $150-300. Afterall, it was only for a few hours, including my travel time. $300 would mean I would be paid roughly $100 per hour. Pretty good, I thought, since at the time I was doing chainsaw work for friends at $10 per hour, which was really good in 1992.

However, some simple math let me realize that they budgeted a LOT more than $300 for this gig, which was the last night of their themed camp, with a LOT of high paying campers. This camp wasn't the sort of camp where the directors had the skills to pull this off themselves, and the industry standard cost of bringing in specialty features was just built into their budget. To charge too little might mean that I wouldn't even get the gig.

I asked for $1,500 when I called back, and honestly, I was freaking out when I did it, too. But my storytelling friends were really cool and had told me it's no problem, and just do it. So, I trusted them. They gave me a lot of really good advice on how to make it awesome, too, and that made it a little easier to handl.

I did a pretty cool happy dance when I called back and she said "Okay, that's fine"! We booked it right then and there, and I got all of the details.

I won't tell you what happened that night of the event, because it was a pretty epic fiasco (not my story, mind you, but everything else!) but I did have a 'warm-up' storyteller go on before I did, and after the event, she told me she was charging them $150, and she couldn't believe they were paying her $50 an hour to tell her 20 minute story!

I didn't have the heart to tell her what I got for that night.

I went back home, super grateful to my friends, and used the money to buy Hawk Circle Camp's first Lakota style tipi with buffalo leather trim, and it was truly a gift to all of use for almost ten years at our camp. What I learned from the whole experience changed me as well.

Awesome story, right? (It's always good to end with a happy note!)

Anyway, I hope this is helpful to some of you, and I'd love to hear some of your own stories about stratgy and problem-solving, so feel free to share this in the comments below, or via email if you prefer!

Good luck with your vision or mission, and keep doing great work! We sure need you all out there, that's clear, and I'm glad you're here.

Ricardo

Need Some Earth Skills in 2016? I've got them!

I was down in our basement, looking for a box of holiday decorations, and I found a box of 22 copies of my Earth Skills Correspondence Course!

I only have a few of these left, so this is the deal:

I usually sell this course for $200 plus $12 shipping, in a binder, but I'm offering this 10 block course, in separate printed booklets, (no binder) for $80 with shipping included!

I'll send it in a priority envelope, and you will also be added to our Secret Facebook Group where you can ask questions, get mentoring and support, as well as participate in conference calls and get occasional videos on specific skills too.

You can get the details on my website HERE, and read more about the course, what's entailed and more.

I am moving my course material to a digital/video/PDF format in 2016, with new programs/courses and trainings, so I won't be reprinting these, and when they're gone, they're gone.

There's a lot of great material here, with curriculum, safety, philosophy, instructor training, tree studies, shelter studies, fire studies, cooking, knots, plant studies, hazards, and a LOT more....

The last time I found a box of courses like this and sold them online, they were gone in about three days, so please check out the info and if you are interested, DON'T WAIT to get it. I expect it will be gone very quickly!

Start the New Year out right, and make Skills your Resolution in 2016!!!!!!! Skills are what dissolve fear, and those skills make the difference, whether it's in the wilderness survival, or homesteading, or just being ready for an adventure into nature or out in your backyard.

Skills training, stories, and inspiration are waiting.... Happy New Year!