198.Our mentors come from the past

 As you walk down the path of life, it's important to remember that you're going to need to seek out
inspiration. And one of the best places to look for that inspiration. Inspiration lays in the pages of history,
since, after all, we are born to live out a story. It's. One that is filled with ups and downs, beautiful arcs,
devastating tragedies. Just like the way that any book or movie is laid out. And where the historic circle
figures of the past come into play is the fact that they too have faced each and every one of those
beautiful highs and devastating lows. They've overcome all the different obstacles that we will have to
face in our lifetime.  And therefore, it makes it such an amazing thing that these records, these stories
and all these different writings have survived the test of time and now lay at the palm of our hand in so
many different forms. Because it gives us the opportunity city to look at each and every one of these
people and learn from their beautiful triumphs.  As well as taking note of their devastating mistakes.
Through all of that, there's this sense of building our roadmap and the things that we are able to do to
become much clearer to us. It's like the power ends up back in our very own hands.  For me,  it
became, at the very beginning of my journey, turned back the hands of time, and I started to call on all
these different ancient figures. And it's still something that plays a very vital role in my journey today, 
because I'm able to bond and connect with these figures and they hold an important part in how I plan
and I predict the things that I'm going to be up against. But when I explored this avenue, when I first
walked down this path of looking into history, For motivation and ideas.  I came across  the
meditations by Marcus Aurelius and some writings by other stoics, but as I've mentioned before, thrown
at me in really my darkest day in a very random interview that I heard on a podcast just like this. And the
effect that they've had on my life and teaching me and showing me the things that were inside that I
never knew were there, came just based off the simple understanding of the logic within the questions
that they asked or the philosophy of the mindset that they developed, the way that they walked through
and they navigated life and all the different challenges. And it's been my privilege to introduce produce
them to you through this podcast.  And there are so many different apps. And it's just a matter of the
story or the human being that came before us that we connect with that were able to embody the
teachings. You know, like I said, for me, it was great. Even great stoic minds like Marcus, Aurelius,
Seneca and Epictetus, even Cato and many others, the list goes on and on. Those were the ones that got
me through my darkest hours and brought me back from the brink of darkness. And they, too, can do
so for you. It's a matter of just picking up a book, turning on an audiobook, and listening, being open and
receptive to the ideas and the teachings that they left behind. Because it is a model  when you're in
those moments where you feel like you're just laying down, waiting for death to grip you easily. There's a
simple phrase, sentence, line, anything within some of those writings that have been passed down that
will make you realize it's time to stop and stand up and redefine what's going on around you.  To
redefine yourself is where the wisdom and the power comes from. And that's what these characters
throughout history shed a light on.  My practice grew. So did my reach, because the project needed
to evolve, not only for myself, but as I began Project Mindfully Outdoors. And that's really what all of
this sort of stuff is an ongoing project within each and every one of us. So where the base for me, was the
print possible? Stoics it then expanded to the philosophies of the men and women of the American
frontier.  The ones that built what we know and what we call home, because that home 1s was built
upon the backwoods. Heroes such as Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Elda Leopole, Fred Bear,
Sitting Bowl those are just to name a few. And I mentioned these names because it's a way to introduce
you, to get you to pick up some of their writings and begin conversation for yourself. Because we've all
got to look places, we've got to look inward, we've got to look outward. And we've got to also remember
to look backwards and remember those beautiful triumphs, those devastating mistakes, and learn how to
find a medium. And it's through those sort of philosophy based practices that we find that medium and
we learn how to shape ourselves in a way  that cohabitates both our mind and our body, just like the
wind across the land. And these are the reasons that all these names and all these philosophies are such a
deep root within our camp. Because we're here to explore how the land has been shaped in the history
that's made it and how we can apply that to ourselves, to shape ourselves in order to make us.

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