Graham Zimmerman (Recap): Building Blocks Of Adventure Experiences

Please click here to 'Follow' the show - it really helps get the show to a wider audience (which I really thank you for!).

It will bring more people, greater stories and more adventures for everyone.
In this episode of Adventure Diaries, Chris Watson sits down with renowned adventurer Graham Zimmerman to explore the true essence of adventure. Graham shares his insights on embracing challenges, the importance of meaningful experiences, and how to build adventures that resonate deeply with our personal values. He also highlights his involvement with Protect Our Winters (POW) and the vital role this organization plays in driving systemic environmental change. Whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast or someone looking for inspiration, this episode promises to ignite your sense of adventure and purpose.

Key Takeaways:

• Adventure is about challenges, beautiful places, and beloved companions.
• Focus on the building blocks of meaningful experiences.
• Protect Our Winters (POW) is a vital organization for systemic environmental change.
• Support POW by engaging with local chapters and contributing time or money.

Call to Adventure:

• Go to the mountains to challenge yourself.
• Engage in beautiful places with people you adore.
• Focus on meaningful goals beyond achievements or social media posts.
• Build adventures based on the essential experiences you seek.
• Pursue activities for the right reasons, whether climbing or playing chess outdoors.

Quote from Graham Zimmerman: "Think about the building blocks that are crucial to creating the spirit, the experience that is going to get you what you need and utilize that as the foundation that you build from in terms of how and where and why you build adventure in your life. And I'm not going to tell you to go climbing if your goal is to go and play chess outside with somebody that you love. Great. Do it. But just make sure that you're doing it for the right reasons."

Pay It Forward:

• Protect Our Winters (POW) is a key organization for systemic change.
• Engage with international and local chapters.
• Support POW with donations or volunteer time.
• Use available resources to drive impactful changes for the environment.

Quote from Graham Zimmerman: "Support them with money, support them with time. And think about how you can leverage the levers that are available to you in your life in order to drive the impact that we need in order to take on systemic change so that we can deal with our climate and have clean water and clean air for everybody around us."

Transcript

 So  two closing traditions one of which is a call to adventure. And the second is pay it forward and some of that protect their winters is probably what I wanted to touch on, but coming back to call to adventure, give us a recommendation or a suggestion for the listeners and viewers to, to go do something adventurous. 

To go to something adventurous. I think that when I think about why I. Go to the mountains is to do something that challenges me. It is in a beautiful place  and where I am going with people that I adore.  And for me, I find so much of that in climbing, but you can find that a lot of different places. And I think that when we think about why we're going to do something, having those goals that are not like, Oh, I want to ride a hundred miles, or I want an Epic shot for Instagram, zoom out from those.

Think about the building blocks that are crucial to creating the spirit, the experience that is going to get you what you need and utilize that as the foundation that you build from in terms of how and where and why you build adventure in your life. And I'm not going to tell you to go climbing  if you like, if like your goal is to go and play chess outside with somebody that you love.

Great. Do it. But just make sure that you're doing it for the right reasons. 

Fantastic. I couldn't agree more. I couldn't agree more. And secondly, and finally, a pay it forward suggestion, a worthy cause or organization to help make some impactful systemic change.  

I mean, Yeah, I'm going to say it's really easy.

You know, in many ways it's an organization that has been like a really key part of my journey. Also with the international chapters, we do have a really robust chapter there. Of course there's one here in the United States as well. There are a bunch of others around the world. So I'd look into your local chapter, check it out, check out what they're taking on, support them with money, support them with time.

And think about how you can like. leverage the levers that are available to you in your life in order to drive the impact that we need in order to take on systemic change so that we can deal with our climate and have clean water and clean air for everybody around us.  

Fantastic. And I think that's protectourwinters. 

org and there's a dot. Co. uk, I think, but I'll get all that listed.  

Yeah. If you just search for Protect Our Winters, you'll get where you need to go. 

Yep. Excellent. Fantastic. This has been phenomenal. I've really enjoyed it. There's so many things, like I say, I don't want to, it's finding a balance in the conversation because people need to pick up the book or get it on Audible and go and listen to it.

It's fantastic.  Fantastic. 

Thanks. Thanks, Chris. Thanks for promoting the book and thanks for this great time. This has been really special and I'm more than likely to be out at Kendall in the fall. So hopefully I see you there. Yes, you 

will. You will. 

We can have some conversations. We might even be able to go out dancing.

Yeah, grab 

A beer or two. 

And this has been awesome. I really appreciate you. 

Excellent. Thank you. And we'll bring it to a close.