In this episode, Sachin interviews Chris Kelly, backcountry outfitter and friend, about the benefits of being in nature with a group, disconnecting from technology and using primal survival knowledge and skills, supporting each other, and growing naturally. Listen in for ways to embrace the natural world and put aside the office for a while.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:02] Sachin introduces and welcomes Chris Kelly to the Perfect Practice podcast. Chris is an outfitter and Sachin’s outdoor mentor, friend, and guide in so many ways.

 

[2:11] Sachin met Chris on a three-day group camping trip in Algonquin. Chris and his brother Kieran involved everyone in meaningful, positive ways. Sachin was so impressed, he brought a group of his friends the following year for another amazing trip.

 

[3:46] The Time we spend with people is magnified in a backcountry camping experience over multiple days. Sachin learned more on a four-day trip than on a three-day trip.

 

[4:55] Sachin points out that your business can never grow bigger than you. You’re like the trunk of a tree and your business is a branch coming off of that tree. Grow yourself to grow all the branches of your life, including your business. Part of that process occurs when we disconnect and go back to the essence of who we are.

 

[6:37] Chris describes the moment on a paddle when the person he was paddling with told him that his trips were transformational. It was an epiphany. People can rewrite their stories. They take down barriers they have put up. They stop telling themselves “I can’t,” knowing “I did.”

 

[8:41] In the backcountry, there are no services, electronics, or artificial lights. On the first day, you find your footing and it seems to be going in slow motion. In a new environment, you’ve got to pay attention to everything. If you twist your ankle, you’re a liability. The environment brings you new ways of thinking.

 

[10:16] When you’re out there, you’re a different person, entirely. There’s so much onboarding of these skills that we have from being hunter-gatherers for 99.9% of our existence. You might think portages are scary but you navigate it with ease. It’s amazing how we adapt. You’re breaking an autopilot. You have an intense presence.

 

[12:02] Taking high school kids to the backcountry for four days removes them from their devices. When they get home, they don’t want to see their phones. You see a shift in their behaviors. In the case of an emergency, Chris had a satellite phone available.

 

[14:05] Coming back from the first trip, Sachin realized he would rather paddle for three hours than drive for three hours to get home, it was such a magical experience that changes you in so many ways. It makes you tough; it softens you. Sachin describes the magic of seeing the sun for 15 minutes after five cloudy, rainy days.

 

[17:04] Chris says you build a relationship with nature. It’s a reflection of your relationship with yourself. As people return to the backcountry, they become more themselves. They become more grounded. Families experience great beneficial changes. Everyone’s accomplishing something together. Their stories wash away in community and love. This carries back to life.

 

[20:31] Sachin shares a reflection learned from the second trip when portaging uphill to the next lake, carrying packs or canoes. Everyone plays a role, big or small, glorious or not glorious.

 

[23:37] Chris talks of finding power in being humbled and disempowered and ultimately finding fulfillment. Finding wood to build a fire, feeling the heat of the fire, and cooking food on it is primal and satisfying. Everything you put energy into provides energy.

 

[24:33] One of Sachin’s goals for 2024 is to get his team up there. His wife is hesitant because in the backcountry there are no bathrooms. Some on his team are eagerly looking forward to it. You bond on a backcountry camping trip in a way that you don’t find going to dinner together.

 

[26:18] Chris tells how to prepare your team for a backcountry trip with him and Kieran. They set you up with a packing list. You show up with a weekend bag, and they take care of the rest. Top-end gear, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, tents; you’re going to be warm, cozy, and dry. High-end, ultra-light canoes. Hop on a call and you won’t regret it.

 

[27:13] Some people’s highlight of camping in the backcountry is using the Thunderbox, the sun peeking through the canopy, hearing the call of the morning birds, and the lapping of the water on the shore. Chris does a guided meditation about this. It’s not the problem, it’s the attitude on the problem.

 

[28:21] Chris describes the benefits of getting your team together in the backcountry. You’re putting work aside and getting to know each other as individuals. Handling hard things and fun things together grows a deep-rooted connection. Trust is formed on these trips. It’s a great opportunity for inspiration to come through outside of the workplace structure.

 

[31:07] You’re outside your comfort zone and so you’re more vulnerable but also supported by the people you’re spending time with. That allows you to show up at the office in a completely different way. On the trip, you are supporting people who might be lower or higher on the ladder. We have titles for our jobs but we are all humans.

 

[32:11] Chris cites the Dr. Chatterjee podcast. When we’re making decisions, we’re either making a decision to find happiness or making decisions from a place of happiness. The difference is drastic. Decisions you make from happiness are legacy decisions about your life. Chris uses Sachin as an example of making decisions from happiness after a trip.

 

[34:33] We all have nature around us. Have a plant in your house, at least. Find a sit spot. Sit quietly for five minutes, closing your eyes and tuning into your other senses. Open your eyes and see everything with a new lens. It’s magnificently impactful. There’s something special about going back to the same place daily. The birds and animals will accept you in their world.

 

[36:42] Chris describes some weather experiences and even a moving encounter with a mother and baby moose on backcountry trips. Sachin describes an unplanned trance experience he felt with others at the lake’s edge.

 

[40:31] There are amazing sunsets. Being out there so long, Chris is confident in feeling whether it will rain soon or not. He shares an experience of imagining himself as a sapling growing up in the forest and growing through the canopy of massive trees. That inspired him to start Driftwood with his brother Kieran. Guiding exclusively gives him renewed energy.

 

[44:26] Chris learned from Majeed on a trip that nature is full of infinite intelligence. He feels that if you open up to that, it does come through. He and Sachin are walking examples of it.

 

[45:08] Sachin gives his endorsement to Chris as a life-changing companion on a trip like this. It is crucially important who you go with to lead you on the journey. Sachin urges every practitioner or individual listening to this to consider this as a valuable team-building, friendship-building exercise, or even for building yourself.

 

[46:08] To reach Chris and Kieran at Driftwood Paddle, go to their website, fill out the simple form, and let them know what your dreams are and what you’re envisioning. They will book a call and have a Zoom meeting with you to show what they can offer and make sure it’s the right fit. Every trip is curated toward the group or individual, including diet and itinerary.

 

[46:53] Chris and Kieran and the two other guides that work with them, Troy and Craig, are mature, with adaptive life experience. They are passionate about backcountry camping. There are barriers to backcountry camping. The guides provide food, water, shelter, safety, and security. You work on the needs of loving and belonging, self-realization, and team cohesion.

 

[48:36] Sachin thanks Chis for his time today and his contribution to this episode of Perfect Practice.

 

Mentioned in this episode

Perfect Practice Live

 

More about your host Sachin Patel

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Books by Sachin Patel:

Perfect Practice: How to Build a Successful Functional Medical Business, Attract Your Ideal Patients, Serve Your Community, and Get Paid What You’re Worth

The Motivation Molecule: The Biological Secrets To Eliminate Procrastination, Skyrocket Productivity, and Get Sh!t Done