Leading and Learning

Scouting has so many opportunities for adults. You can be as involved as you want to. It’s not necessary, but highly encouraged. It’s a weird thing when I’m looked to as an expert. I’m by no means the expert. I’m simply experienced, or at least I think I am. Then I meet others who are WAY more experienced than I am.

That’s ok. I don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. I don’t want to be either. This coming weekend we have another training session for Cub Scout adults. (I have led a few courses in the past, and now I’ve completely passed the torch to someone else.) As Course Director, my first course only had 8 participants. There were more staff than that, and it was definitely a learning experience on all sides. How to promote a course, run a course, and all of the little details along the way. Fast forward to my last course and we had over 40 participants. Definitely a shift, but the details and the teachings were still the same. Needless to say, the larger course brought it’s own challenges, but the basics I knew.

That last course was definitely the largest group I have organized so far. he little things. (I organize the Pack, but that’s easier because it’s kids. I relate to kids a little easier than I do adults sometimes) Having all those adults looking at me guidance, judging me - at least I think they are - on how I manage things, Answering questions, making sure all of the supplies are together, realizing at the last minute I don’t have everything and making it work. Even with all of that, I’m glad I did it. I’m still not as confident as I could be, but as I lead more, I will become more confident.

Scouting has given me this opportunity. To sit with my peers, share my experiences, and learn about theirs. As it was said over the weekend “We are all here because we have the same heart.” That’s it. Couldn’t say it better. All we (the leaders) do in Scouting is for the youth. Whether it’s little kids or teenagers, boys or girls, we do it for them. We give them the tools they will need later in life - both personally and professionally. At the end of the day, whether they make it to Eagle Scout or not, the goal is for them to:

• make new friends,

• learn a lot of skills (camping, first aid, finances, citizenship, etc)

• get to know themselves

• communicate and listen effectively

• make sure that everyone is heard and their voices counted

• train them, trust them, let them lead.

That’s just a partial list. Really it’s just the tip of the iceberg. So yeah, if you are ever asked, there is A LOT to Scouting. Not to mention all the cool camping trips we go on.

“I have never forgotten my days as an Eagle Scout. I didn’t know it at the time, but what really came out of my Scouting was learning how to lead and serve the community. It has come in handy in my career in government.”

— Lloyd Bentsen

If you have any questions about Scouts, just ask.

Please Allow me to Introduce..........Myself

Would you look at that? It’s already April. Where has the time gone? Wasn’t New Years Day just a few weeks ago? I guess not.

It occurs to me that some of you might be new here, or maybe it’s been awhile. Either way, I probably didn’t do a formal introduction of who I am and what this site is all about.

• I am father of two.

• I have been a husband for the last 16 plus years.

• I am an Eagle Scout and actively involved in Scouting with a few different roles.

• I ran a 50K a few years ago (for fun) but I still don’t consider myself a runner.

• I am a photographer.

• I am someone who loves the outdoors.

So let’s break it all down. Born and raised and in Kansas City, moved to Dallas in 2016. My wife and I have two kids (boy and girl) and a house full of animals. I am a dog person at heart, but the cats in the house are ok. I am Eagle Scout and as of late, have gotten involved once again. I have been back in it since my son was in Kindergarten. I started as a Den Leader, now I have moved up to Cubmaster. I have also helped lead a few Adult Leader Trainings as well as have taken a few myself. (check out the previous posts for more information).I have fun a few half and full marathons, as well as a 50K. I continue to play soccer as often as I can, so I’m in decent enough shape, but I’m not truly a runner. Between photographing my kids’ activities, just being a dad and a husband, being a Scout, and holding down a regular full time job (not photography) I stay pretty busy. Maybe I’m too busy, but you will never find me without something going on.

Hiking, camping, playing soccer, taking photos, it doesn’t matter. I am happy when I’m outside. I’ve been to several state parks, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, the Smokey Mountains. It doesn’t matter. As long as I’m outside, I’m happy. I can always find something new, something overlooked.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” — Albert Einstein

That’s probably the best way to describe my photography. It’s outdoors. It’s the beautiful landscapes, the hustle and bustle of the city, but it’s also the details. It’s the little things. The things you miss if you don’t slow down.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” — Ferris (Matthew Broderick)

What is Wood Badge?

So the other day I posted about LEGACY. I mentioned that the word has been on my mind lately since I came back from Philmont Leadership Challenge (PLC). I will tell you more about that but first I have to mention the precursor to PLC: Wood Badge. What is Wood Badge? It’s so many things wrapped together in a straight forward, easy to digest way. There is nothing that you can’t get from reading a few books. HA. If you know anything about Wood Badge, I bet you smiled at that statement.

Wood Badge is so many things it’s difficult to explain. I might as well try. Wood Badge is corporate level leadership training through the guise of Scouting. It not only addresses challenges in Scouting, but in life as well. It teaches you about yourself, how to communicate with others, how to motivate others and how to delegate, for starters.

WOOD BADGE TEACHINGS: (just to name a few)

• Drive, Vision, Mission and Values

• Know Yourself

• Communicate Effectively

• Manage Conversations

• Coach and Mentor

• Inspire the Heart

See, just those topics alone: aren’t those worthwhile skills for everyone? Knowing your Drive, Vision, Mission and Values. Sound familiar? Knowing Yourself. Isn’t that a good skill for everyone? Communicate Effectively. Tell me that couldn’t be usefull in whatever position you hold. See, those things are just the tip of the iceberg. I can’t explain it all, you just have to do it. It’s worth the price of admission, and then some, but only if you’re strong enough and ready for it.

“Invest in yourself. You get OUT what you put IN.” — Emily Ley

That quote couldn’t be more true. If you go into Wood Badge with an open mind, you will get so much more out of it. I went because a few people told me I should. (One of those legacy people. One that I can’t say no to, who has shaped my life in so many ways. One of those people that everything I do in Scouting now has her hands all over it.) I really had no idea what I was getting into. An extra few nights camping? I’m in.

Really though, one of the few experiences I’ve had that I can say is life changing. How I interact with people, how I see things, all changed because of not only this class, but the people as well. It’s hard to make friends when you become an adult, but Scouting helps makes that a little easier.

Do yourself a favor. If you are in Scouts, sign up for Wood Badge. If you aren’t in Scouts, sign up for someething similar. You, and those you interact with, will be glad you did.

Legacy

Some time ago I was on a Scouting Leadership trip (PLC) and we were discussing the term of legacy, among other things. I went into the week not really knowing much about what we were going to be doing. The agenda of the week was purposely kept a secret. Not in a bad way, but just to make sure that we went in with an open mind. That I did. I went in thinking one thing, and came out thinking an entirely different thing (or two).

LEGACY is defined by Merriam-Webster as: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.

That definintion has new meaning to me now. While at PLC I realized what legacy really is. It means that we ALL have been helped by someone along the way. Whether it’s a parent, a coach, a mentor, a teacher, etc. As the Beatles once said: “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends”. (With a Little Help from My Friends) None of us have gotten where we are without a little help from our friends. In some cases, it has been a lot of help. That’s ok.

Being at Philmont, away from my friends (making new ones along the way) it hit me. I have been helped along the way, particularly in my Scouting journey. There have been people who have really influnced the path I have taken. Some of them are still influencing my decisions today. I have a hard time saying no when they “suggest” that I should do something. They know who they are and they know how important they are to me. There are also people who have come into my life, who are no longer here. It’s those people that I really started thinking about at PLC. Some of them, never got the chance to do things that I have done. Yeah, realizing that hit me hard. It came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. I broke down in front of complete strangers. I’d known them for a few days and we had bonded a bit, but trust me, they were strangers and it was weird to be that vulnerable. That’s why they say PLC is “changing lives”.

My legacy is building on the legacy of those who helped me. My legacy is not what I can teach others and pass on to them. It’s what we can teach them. It’s what we can pass along? It’s our collective experiences that will shape and mold the next generation. We can only do our best to teach them that everyone is connected: the past, the present and the future. Everything we do, particularly in Scouting but in life as well, is for us, them, and everyone.

"The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world. The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present and our future. No segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm and courage of the young people.” — Kailash Satyarthi

Nature First

I recently came across this organization after listening to a podcast. It could have been a photography podcast OR a business one. I really can’t remember where I heard about them, just that the mission and the organization spoke to me. Spoke to me as a photographer AND as an outdoorsman.

Straight from their website, here is their mission:

“Nature First promotes the protection and preservation of the world’s natural and wild places through inspiring, educating, and uniting everyone making photographs and videos in nature; empowering them to be ambassadors of the natural world.”

If you go camping or hiking you’ve probably heard of LEAVE NO TRACE.

If you’re part of Scouting now or in the past, chances are good that you have heard of the OUTDOOR CODE:

As an American, I will do my best to -

Be clean in my outdoor manners.

Be careful with fire.

Be considerate in the outdoors.

Be conservation minded.

Either way, Nature First takes those ideas and expands on them. They are committed to not only ensuring the conservation of the environment, but also of the photographer. It’s not just protecting the environment, it’s also about giving other photographers the same experiences. As a photographer, we don’t always think about the impact we are making on others. When we find a cool place to photograph, we have one of two thoughts run through our heads: I have to tell everyone where this is OR I can’t tell anyone where this is (it has to be my little secret). If we take the latter, we are doing it selfishly, but it’s actually the right thing to do, in spirit. Not because we want it all to ourselves, but because we need to preserve it for others. If someone else happens to stumble upon a location that’s fine. But if everyone knows about it, soon enough it will get destroyed, or close enough that it gets shut down for future generations. Nobody wants that.

That’s just one example. See the rest of their principles here: Nature First

Regardless of your outdoor enthusiasm level, whether you are a weekend warrior or a “once a year glamper” (yes I said Glamper) we can all agree on one thing: there is only one Earth and we need to do what we can to protect it. This isn’t a political statement or an introduction to a debate about climate change. At the core of it we are all humans and we can all agree that if we don’t protect the environment from, and for, each other, one day there will be very little of it left and what is left will look very different. That will be a sad day for us all. When you go out, do your part: pay attention, think about what you are doing, be a good human.

“I want to be a good human being.” — Jeremy Renner

Calling ALL Nature Lovers and Outdoors Enthusiasts

“You can make positive deposits in your own economy everyday by reading and listening to powerful, positive, life-changing content and by associating with encouraging and hope-building people.” — Zig Ziglar

Let’s focus on that first part for a minute: reading. (or in my case, audiobooks)

Books you should read if you are a nature lover or an outdoor enthusiast or at the very least, want to read a good story and escape your reality for a little bit. Here are my top 5 books at the moment. I haven’t read a lot but of what I have so far, these are the ones I really like. In no particular order:

• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

• The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell

• Walden by Henry David Thoreau

• Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

• Leave only Footprints by Conor Knighton

“You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.” — Charlie “Tremendous” Jones

I’ve heard this quote, but I never really thought about it until lately. For the last decade plus (geez that makes me feel old) or so, I have been listening to audiobooks as much as I can. I’ve always listened to simply pass the time or to hear an interesting story. I never really chose them to “better myself”. I chose them because the covers or the subjects looked interesting. Business, military, history, biographies, psychology, personal growth, whatever. I never really took notes or got into deep discussions or thoughts about the books. Here over the last few years though, that has changed. I have been a little more intentional. Now I am picking books with a purpose. I’m trying to get better. I have found myself listening to a few things multiple times and taking notes.

It’s about whatever speaks to you. Find a subject, find a specific author, pick one book. It really doesn’t matter, as long as you are doing it. Read or listen to it, embrace and understand it, and keep going. If you can’t learn at least one thing or get at least one insight or new habit out of a book, I’m not sure it was worth it.