Advice I’ve offered Guide School students for years, regardless of what they think the outcome is going to be, to be able to help them they have to make decisions and just do something.

And that’s where I’ve found myself lately… looking in the mirror and telling myself that the only way to help, the only way to offer feedback and critique of my own decision-making process is to stop worrying about all the potential negative outcomes and just do something to move things forward. Make progress. Address the consequences as they occur.

As we prep for 2025 there are a number of incredible milestones and opportunities to celebrate. It will be my tenth year as a raft guide, Hotline Tips is gearing up to have a hell of a relaunch, and we’ve opted to pursue conventions and business expos outside of the usual Comic Con gamble as we recognize our place in the audience of panels is becoming increasingly less necessary; acknowledging we have a set of skills better served building community and elevating the industry around us.

Cue the executive dysfunction. The analysis paralysis.

Our lives have never been boring, but we definitely became complacent in a lot of areas, willing to allow life to happen to us rather than making the most out of the skills and knowledge we have. And that has to go. As I look at the calendar of events we intend to hit next year while building our presence and expanding our businesses, it’s both exciting and terrifying all at once, but if we get it right… We’re going to get it so right.

I remind my guide candidates all the time that they have to be willing to get things wrong, we can adjust on the other side of the choice they make, but they have to make some kind of move or else the water is going to push them around. It’s a bully that never gets tired. And that’s where I am. That’s where we are. Recognizing the power of our environment is critical, but with deeper recognition comes the ability to spot its patterns, its behaviors. 

Life can be that way sometimes. Stronger than us, overwhelming in its relentless power, but predictable if we allow ourselves to step back and recognize the signs it provides. Looking ahead I’m starting to see it. Just like the water will tell me what to do, show me where I want to go, so too is life. I can feel where I am, I can see where I need to go, the only left is to just do something.