What a Month in a Van Taught Me About Business, Life, and Slowing Down

I know it's been a while... I sometimes do that.

Life happens and I go silent while I just enjoy the ride. I’m not the best at sharing everything along the way, I’m working on being better.

We bought a van... yes, like #vanlife

The month of July was a month of adventure, tears, excitement, and lots of organisation. So grab a cup of coffee, because I sure have mine ☕ It's time to share what happened after a MONTH of living in a van.

Week 1:

The adventure, the planning, the mountain views. It was perfect. Imagine leaving France to cross Italy towards Lake Garda, the bluest waters you've ever seen, then climbing up the Dolomite mountains (Alps). The peaks towering above us as Judi mastered the manual gear shift. Three tons going up and down the Italian Alps while trying not to break the brakes takes some patience.

By day 7 we had reached the Italian-Austrian border and crossed into movie scene. Cows crossing the meadow between the Alps along an untouched lake (it's illegal to go into many Alpine lakes, nature preservation).

Here we are, 7 days in and we have crossed over 800 miles.

Overly ambitious, I think so. I was exhausted.

You see, this wasn't a vacation. We were traveling while coaching FULL TIME from the van. 😅

Most of you wouldn't expect anything less from me.

The rest of the trip:

The realization that life doesn't have to be on overdrive.

Before buying Rêvie (our van) we had only ever rented vans for a week at a time. The week was over and we had seen everything we had hoped to see.

So now what?

There's no point in telling you everything we saw over the next three weeks and explaining all the incredible pasta we ate... go look at my instagram. This is where the lessons began and where the real growth happened.

Lesson #1: In a world full of noise, there is power in silence.

Between client calls, social media, emails, family demands and my own mind, there is so much noise. Turning off the sound feels impossible.

You know what I mean. We can put the ringer on silent, turn down the volume on Netflix and yet the distractions keep showing up.

We live in a world that is constantly telling us what to buy, how to dress and who to be. This isn't new, I've talked about this before. I had been having a hard time turning off the noise and finding Shannon again.

How did I do it?

A hammock.

Yes, I strung up my hammock between two trees overlooking the water. I picked up two simple story books (Andy Andrews) and didn't move until I had read them both inside of a day. Then I wrote in my journal, looked out at the water and just did nothing. Not so surprisingly the next day, I felt inspired to pick up my guitar. I just played with no goal other than just humming along.

Mind "off".

In a world full of noise, there is power in silence.

It isn't perfect, I am practicing every day. Writing this email to you, strumming my guitar, journaling, it's who I am. I can hear Shannon when there is less noise. You can too.

Lesson #2: Going fast doesn't mean you'll go far.

I like high speed. I can't stand wasting time.

If there is a more efficient way to accomplish a task, I will find it.

VanLife is not about going fast. 🚐 Every day, every mile, every stop requires planning.

Where are we going to sleep? Where is the closest grocery store? Did we fill up on gas? Is there enough water?

While passing from Italy to Austria, we had a small technical issue with Rêvie. He decided that the sliding door was not closed and that beeping every five seconds incessantly was what we needed.

The door was closed and locked. The sensor however was failing.

I wanted to just push through to the destination. Turn up the music and ignore it. We could figure it out once we got there. Focus on the goal. Go fast, get to the destination.

Judi was slowly going mad. Beep. Beep. Beep. All while navigating the passage through the Alpes.

Having advanced only one hour into the trip after 4 hours of stopping, starting, tinkering and quick fixes that didn't last, there was an emotional breakdown in the pouring rain.

Going fast doesn't mean you'll go far.

I worked with ChatGPT while Judi watched the YouTube tutorials until the end, not just the first 60 seconds, like I had always done. We found the solution. Ten minutes of video, and a few bandaids later, we were off.

Going fast doesn't mean you'll go far.

Lesson #3: The best sunsets are down the roads less taken.

Tuscany has so much beautiful countryside. Vines on rolling hills. Old stone villas set off in the distance. It had been 18 years since I had been back and it was just as beautiful as I remember.

We are the type of travelers that don't like going to campsites, we like wilderness VanLife.

This means more adventure, more stress for this control freak.

Finding government land, parks or abandoned property to stay on has its risks. There are few and far between and it means going where not many have gone. So here we are in Castellina in Chianti and I find these ruins that were now government property. We decide to go for it.

After crossing miles of small tractor paths through vineyards, we arrive at a descent with the ruins in the distance. Going down means going back up in the morning.

After hesitation we decide to take the risk. Down we go. I was stressed. What if it rained and we were stuck? What if this wasn't abandoned? What if, what if, what if?

Alone in the world. We park next to the ruins.

There aren't words to describe what happened next. The most incredible sunset I had ever seen in my entire life.

The best sunsets are down the roads less taken.

If we hadn't taken the chance we never would have had that experience. If we hadn't taken the chance we also wouldn't know what was possible.

The lesson in all of this is that sometimes you just have to let go and see what happens.

What if I fail?

What if it all works out?

Do it anyway...