During the North Star Launch Party in January someone asked me why I chose North Star for the name of my program.
“The North Star – Polaris, sits almost directly above the North Pole. It is a reliable gauge of North if you find yourself lost on a clear night without a compass. Sometimes we all need to refocus and right our own ship. North Star Adventures is designed to reinvigorate your life, help you chart a new course or recommit to a passion or project, and strengthen your leadership and community building capacity.” Quote from my webpage.
I gain my strength from natural places. When I feel overwhelmed, bound in indecision or angry, I escape to the woods to regain my sense of self, to get grounded, and to get in touch with what is most important in my life. I reset my compass and move forward. Embracing the sounds, smells, colors, light, and feeling of nature is the catalyst the moves me.
When I was developing North Star Adventures it was with the intent to increase people’s awareness to the beauty and excitement of the natural world through human powered activity. It is my intention to give you a peak experience. Push you out of your comfort zone just a little (not to the panic zone) and give you the tools you need to succeed. You don’t have to climb big mountains or paddle dozens of miles in 20 knot wind. Everybody’s threshold and experience is different.
North Star is designed to meet you where you are at physically and emotionally. We will set a course for success and help you to achieve those goals.
Through use of metaphor and debrief we transfer the knowledge gained from your experience into insights that will help when faced with challenges. When I am in an uncomfortable or difficult situation I draw my strength from those physical challenges I have had in the backcountry. Hey, if I can climb Katahdin via the Knife Edge, or ski 12 miles in a raging snowstorm or paddle through waves on Moosehead Lake I can certainly muster the strength to have that difficult conversation with a coworker.
On a clear night go out and look at the stars. During a crisp clear winter night,it can be overwhelming. While not the brightest star in the sky, the North Star is the reference point from where you can begin your exploration of the night sky. It is the place to focus on if you are lost. North Star Adventures may not be the flashiest program in the field, but we are a reference point from which you can begin your journey , continue your jouney, where you can come to refocus, or where you can come to create the adventure of a lifetime…