Guys Trip: An Intro

Have you been putting off something on your bucket list? Are you letting self-doubt or feelings of not being worthy hold you back from ticking items off?

Welcome!  We are here to help you find the balance between a meaningful life and a life filled with achievements.  Because we shouldn’t have to sacrifice our personal balance sheet for our professional balance one. 

Writing a book has been on my bucket list for years, and I’ve put it off for a long time because, just like everyone else, I have the same mental stumbling blocks, which start with asking myself, “What am I going to write about?” That question alone triggered some limiting beliefs to bubble up to the surface, launching a stream of questions like, “Who am I to write a book? Who’s going to find my story interesting? Who cares?” All of those questions swam around in my head like sharks circling a lifeboat.

I finally pushed past those limiting beliefs and found the actual process of writing the book only took me maybe a month to six weeks to complete. It was an enjoyable and challenging process at the same time. I’ve been sitting on it for a while now, slowly editing and crafting the contents. 

In this episode, I’ll give you a taste of my first book by starting with the introduction. The purpose of my introduction is to paint the picture of what the rest of the book is like, what to expect, and my thought process in creating it. 

I’m excited to share that with you, so here goes.

The name of the book is:
'Guys Trip — How To Refocus On What Matters Most'

What do you think when you hear “Guys Trip”? I decided to name the book Guys Trip: How To Refocus On What Matters Most because I want it to be thought-provoking, perhaps a little triggering. My thinking behind “Guys Trip” is that when people hear the name, it might generate a perception of what it’s talking about, but once they read the book they’ll understand that their initial perception and the book’s meaning are two very different things.

I put transformational experiences together for men with the intention of creating a container for wonderful, beautiful, moving, and vulnerable conversations on what’s going on in the lives of each guy there. Of course, we have fun! Yes, we do incredible things, but that’s really what it’s about — a bunch of guys coming together who want to be successful in all categories of life. No matter how many trips I’m a part of, these guys inspire me, which has become one of the main reasons I wrote the book. Here’s the intro:

Here’s a thought: How do you balance a meaningful life with a life full of achievements?

One of the questions I like to ask the guests on my podcast, Reaching Beyond, is how they define success.

The response almost always involves a few things: 

• Some say it is more than monetary success.
• Others say it consists in making an impact on a lot of people.
• Most say it changes and evolves.

I have noticed the evolution of how virtually all of my guests define success has moved from an inward focus to an outward focus. The same goes for me.

When I was younger, success was defined as the accumulation of money. It also included the validation that would bring me from outsiders and all the superficial and materialistic things that would allow me to buy.

I know, I know.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have and own stuff. A wise man once said: everything is either a tool or an idol.

Pursuing money as a goal is not wrong either. Money is a tool that can be used for good. But there is a fine line.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

1 TIMOTHY 6:10

The point is pursuing money shouldn't be our only motive as it will distract us from what really matters. In my pursuit of climbing the corporate ladder, I got it all wrong. The higher I was on the ladder, the more money I earned. Making more money, in turn, allowed me to buy more stuff and get more validation (or so I thought) from others.

I know I’m not alone in this. Society tends to lean this way. The standards for success are usually how big your house is, what kind of car you drive, your net worth, and your work title. All of those things are achievements.

So when I took the promotion to a stay-at-home dad, I was declining in what society denied as successful and wasn’t achieving anything. They don’t give awards for the stay-at-home dad of the year (despite my wife’s countless nominations...haha).

Here’s the paradox: from the societal metrics of success, I was taking a step back. I was declining. But by the metrics of what matters most in life, I was climbing. It was just a different ladder I was climbing.

That got me thinking. Maybe I’ve had it wrong the whole time. The things that matter most in life are often sacrificed for worldly success and validation. However, I don’t believe we must sacrifice our personal balance sheet for our professional one because no success at work covers up for failing at home.

Can success at work and outside of work coexist? I think they can. And they should.

It took swinging the pendulum to the other side for me to see this. And now I can't stop seeing it. I know too many successful people that aren't happy or fulfilled. They have a lot of stuff, a lot of things, built a successful business, though. How many successful executives and business owners do you know that are on their 3rd marriage? Or have significant health issues? Or have broken relationships?

The target is denying what a meaningful life looks like to you. And success at work is just one category of many that must be considered.

Fair warning before we continue:

I’ll share some of my moments of refocusing on what matters most in the chapters to come. And I’ll share stories from men who have been part of my experiences and have transformed their lives as a result of an “aha” moment. Sometimes transformation happens in the most unusual of places. 

(If you'd like to order a copy of my book, you can find it on Amazon here: 
Guys Trip Book)  

So there you go! That’s the introduction to my book and I hope you enjoyed it.

I believe this book is going to be impactful to the reader and, just like the Trips and Experiences we do, transformational too. The book is meant to be light and fun, and it’s just good storytelling. It’ll be a short book — depending on how the editing goes, between 110 to 120 pages — making it a pretty quick and easy read. 

Guys Trips

If this is your first time here, I’d like to give you more detail about how to be part of one of these experiences I spoke about. If you’re a high-performing male entrepreneur who is crushing it at work but working too much and experiencing too little, a Guys Trip is for you! At least three to four times a year, I bring together exclusive groups of guys just like you from all over the U.S. who want to cross things off their bucket list and level up their tribe. 

In my life, I found that transformation happens in unexpected places, in contrast to our everyday routine. That brings clarity, but as we become increasingly successful in our profession and responsibilities come into our lives outside of work, we don’t make the time to take the breaks we deserve. It’s my belief that we need to schedule the time to truly celebrate ourselves and meet other guys so that we can all crush it — in all areas of life. 

These experiences are designed to help you connect, move forward, and bring fulfillment in all categories of life. Whether it’s contemplating your legacy while on the 18th green at Pinehurst, standing next to the Payne Stewart statue, enjoying the solitude while fly fishing the Provo river, dropping in on a floatplane in Alaska to salmon fish, driving a race car, or pitting a NASCAR, I guarantee there’s something you’ve never experienced before or even thought was possible. So if you’re ready to cross something off your bucket list and meet an amazing tribe of like-minded guys, take a look at what future dates are still available at www.guystrip.co . Here are just a couple of things that men who’ve been on previous experiences have to say:

“As a new dad, I felt guilty leaving my one-year-old daughter, but while I was there, I was having conversations about being a better father!” – Joel E“I didn’t realize how badly I needed this until I came home full of new ideas and totally recharged.”  – Chris Harder

In order to create this highly curated experience, the group will intentionally be kept small and intimate — between 10 to 15 men. Spots tend to fill up quickly, so do not delay in filling out the application to get in touch so that we can make sure you’re an excellent fit for the group!

Thank you so much for reading this post! 

Cheers to your success! I’m rooting for you.