I recently completed the Hike of a Lifetime on the Camino de Santiago in Spain with an amazing group of men.  We hiked 72 miles over 6 days, and spent a lot of time together on the trail learning from each other, growing together and helping each other push past parts of our story where we find ourselves stuck in life, leadership and business.  The hike was a life changing experience for all involved and was impactful in so many ways. As I returned to the states and have had some time to reflect, I want to share some of the lessons we learned together on the Camino. In last weeks blog, I listed the lessons learned; this week I will begin a deeper dive into those lessons.

Men need to be in the presence of other men to help them lead and grow.

Being a father, husband, business leader, friend, and community member brings with it a lot of responsibility, and pressure. Many times men can begin to feel overwhelmed and like they have nowhere to go and no one to talk to.  Over my years as a man journeying through these roles and responsibilities, I have always searched for the fellowship and camaraderie of other men that I trust to journey through life with. For many years, one of my struggles was to find the company of other great men that can push me, grow me, and help me to become better in all areas of life.

As we ventured along the Camino together, one of the biggest things I noticed is how much we all craved and desired being in the presence of each other as men.  We desired this in order to share our stories, visions, dreams, and goals with each other while encouraging and supporting each other along the way as we hiked.  As the week of hiking progressed, I saw each one of the men in the group, me included, dig deeper and deeper with the other men in the group.  

Many of us shared our struggles and challenges with each other, and in doing so the group was willing to share perspective and experience to help each other with these issues.  We laughed, cried, celebrated, and encouraged one another.  At the end of each day, we openly discussed the importance of having a group of like-minded men to support each other through our journey, and by the end of our hike we left feeling like brothers.

Do you have at least one man like this in your life?  I remember the first time I asked myself this question, and the answer was ‘no’.  Here is what I did to make this a priority:

When I realized I did not have this, I first was intentional about seeking this out.  Next, I identified the men in my life that I had established relationships with, and scheduled times to connect with them.  During these connections over lunch, coffee, etc., I made it a point to get vulnerable and share parts of my story and journey I was struggling with.  From there I gauged their response.  What I found what that the majority of these men reciprocated and shared with me areas of their life where they felt stuck, trapped or were not where they wanted to be.  From there I asked if we could continue to meet at a given frequency to continue to help each other grow.  Moving forward, each time we met, we would continue our relationship, our discussions, and our desires to help each other.

What I found is that even having just one person like this in your life is so very valuable! If you are feeling stuck, frustrated and like you have nobody to talk to, try this above process and reach out to another man, get vulnerable and see where the conversation takes you both. 

As you journey through life, leadership and business, please let me know how I can help you, support you, encourage you and challenge you.  I am here for you, and I have your back.  Remember that I love you, I believe in you, you’ve got this. Now go get it!

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