You probably know we like to go geocaching. Geocaching is a modern treasure hunt where you use GPS to find hidden cans. When you find one you sign a log. Sounds weird but it is fun. Right now we are doing a challenge where you have to find a cache in each page of the Utah DeLorme Atlas. At this moment we are 3/4s done. This week we had a specially difficult adventure and it dawned on me how much our attitude affects the outcome and how similar they are to the behavior we have in business and while marketing our businesses.
During 2 days we did 10 pages, 780 miles, crossed a desert, two forests and ended having snow up to our waist.
For the first time we had 2 pages that defeated us. We don’t like to be defeated, but had to accept that when we faced some roads closed, lack of planning and ice. We learned from our first weekend when we got lost in a desert for 4 hours that there are no McDonald’s in the middle of any desert, so we planned a little better and brought with us water and food. We also have some tools and snake antidote. Still we could plan a little better for the kind of terrain we planned to cover. When we met the snow we were wearing t-shirts, and we didn’t check prior to see which and if roads would be closed. We assumed there would be no problems since it was already Spring.
We faced a tough decision when we met a patch of ice on the road and had to quit, but when we were getting buried in snow with all the equipment in the car 1/2 a mile away we pushed the boundaries and almost got in trouble. I had a bad feeling about this one since the beginning but Nash was excited so I went along. Guess that was the closest I got from having a heart attack. Called myself stupid so many times I lost count. In fact, we learned a lot while we were in Vernal about dinosaurs and the different periods like Cretaceous, Paleozoic etc. I decided I belong to the “Stupidus” era.
All ended well but can we really count on luck in life and in business?
Since we had to cross a piece of Wyoming in order to get to another page in Utah, we decided to grab some caches along the way. Just in case we ever do the Wyoming challenge. Sounds clever, but we spent hours on a task that at the moment was irrelevant, and that really could have been used to fulfill our main objective, our goal instead.
Here are a few things I learned about business and marketing from Geocaching:
1. We need to plan for the best and worst outcome. Planning might not be fun but it is really necessary.
2. Be prepared.
3. Entrepreneurs need to run calculated risks not jump without knowing anything about what lies ahead. That is not being smart, that is being stupid. Note the word calculated before the word risk.
4. Know when to quit.Yes, there are times when we need to quit.
5.Define and have a specific goal.
6. Keep your eyes on your goal and don’t go after shiny things.
7. Know your strengths and weaknesses.
8. Use common sense when in doubt.
9. Be ruthless when necessary
10. Learn to accept defeat.
11. Get out of your comfort zone every now and then.
12. Try new things.
13. Incorporate new experiences to your story.
14. Change your worldview. It is healthy.
