On the Road Again

Howdy,

Welcome to the 4 new subscribers from this past week!

Caroline, my van, is back on the road.

You'll find a follow-up on the mechanical issues she had, lessons learned thus far from my journey, + photos of the week below!

The van is back.

It was indeed a fuel pump connector issue. All in all, parts and labor were less than $500. I'll take it. Moreso than the money, it mostly took up time. The fuel pump connector took 5 days to arrive in Watertown, WI due to supply chain issues.

The good news is that I have great friends in Grace and Adam who gave me food and shelter for a week. We even had the chance to paint the first floor of their new house.

If you're ever up the creek like I was, I hope that you have friends as good as Grace and Adam around to help you through.

Song of the week brought to you by Willie Nelson.

4 lessons from the road.

I spoke on the phone with two of my best friends, Nick and Mike, a couple of times this past week about the van experience and what I've learned thus far.

I had such good conversations with them that, after getting off the phone, I jumped into a transcription app to document my thoughts.

I compiled my thoughts into 4 lessons that I wouldn't have learned without the van.

1. There's a difference between solitude and isolation.

Solitude is a place where I can be in my own thoughts in a healthy way. It's where I can hold myself accountable. It's where I can dig deep and think through my emotions. It's where I can take a step back to reflect on the past, take a few deep breaths to be in the present moment, and do some planning for the future.

Isolation is a place where my energy is sapped. It's where I'm low. It's where, instead of holding myself accountable in a healthy way, I'm beating the crap out of myself. It's where I feel as though I need to be reaching out for help, but I have trouble doing so. It's where I experience paralysis by analysis.

Solitude provides clarity, but isolation yields anxiety.

According to Myers Briggs, I'm roughly 60% extrovert and 40% introvert. I definitely need that time alone to recharge, but it is important to have weeks like I just had where I spend quality time with good people and enjoy their company.

The van is good in that it provides ample opportunity for solitude, but if I'm not careful it can quickly turn to isolation.

The road requires me to be cognizant of the fine line between the two.

2. Commitment and dependence aren't bad words.

I am someone who's incredibly independent and doesn't like locking myself into places or plans. I like to remain flexible and shoot from the hip.

With as much shooting from the hip as I've done this past 3 months, I've started to recognize that commitment and dependence are where roots grow deep.

What do I mean by that? Well, in the van, I'm nurturing 2 sets of roots:

1. Planting new, shallow roots - I'm exploring new places and making new friends, but at the end of the day, the van keeps moving to the next place. This means I'm experiencing breadth over depth.

2. Watering old, deep roots - I'm visiting family and old friends. In the South, I did a tour of old college buds + family. In the Midwest, I'm doing a tour of old ranch buds. In the coming months, I'll head west to see college buds, ranch buds, and family. I'm nurturing lifelong relationships with folks that are already in my life.

Focusing on #1 and #2 has been fun. I know that I'm not always going to be able to easily pick up and go to meet new people, experience new things, or visit old friends/family members like I'm doing now.

But this current season of life has taught me that, post-van, I'm eager to combine #1 and #2 by planting new, deep roots.

This primarily means having a stable community I can commit to and depend on.

3. "Happiness is only real when shared."

This is a quote from Christopher McCandless, the vagabond subject of the Jon Krakauer novel Into the Wild. I've found this quote to be true.

The first couple of months of this trip were centered around solo adventure. I was focused on finding a place in the South to settle post-van and exploring the beauty of the natural environment on my own.

If you look back at the newsletters over the past month, I'm now primarily centering my travel itinerary around where my old connections live.

Why?

The moment is only as great as the person that you share it with.

You can be looking at the most beautiful thing in the world, but if you don't have somebody to enjoy the moment with then how beautiful is it really?

4. I freakin' love to build with my hands.

Most of what I do for work is on a screen. It can sometimes be hard to see tangible results of what we build.

High levels of screen time leave me feeling mentally exhausted with an excess of physical energy. I become unsure of what I even accomplished that day.

The solution - build with my hands. Working on the van was an incredible escape. I was solving problems that I could see and touch. The progress I made was clear.

Don't get me wrong - I love writing code and content that scales through the power of the internet, but too much of this can be exhausting.

I'm a stronger developer and online writer when I solve problems off of the screen, such as woodworking.

It's funny. I can't tell if I had more fun building the van or living in the van. Both have been an adventure, but building the van was at my own pace and it was communal. I could take a break from it, and I had friends + family rallying behind it.

You can't take a break from the van if you live in it, and you can't have people rally behind you if you remain on the move.

All 4 lessons are essential for me to live a fulfilling life.

The key takeaway is that I know a few more things about what I need to communicate to family, friends, and my future partner about how I can lead a happy life.

1. Solitude - I need to openly communicate about creating time on my own to gain clarity.

2. Commitment and Dependence - I need to be intentional about nurturing deep roots in a new place post-van.

3. Sharing Happiness - I need friends + friends who will give me space to satisfy #1 but who will also go on adventures with me to share moments together.

4. Building with My Hands - I need to continue building my woodworking skills to get my mind off of screenwork.

What I'm finding is that this van journey (both building it + living in it) is not about what I'm seeing on the outside. It's about what I'm starting to see within.

I wouldn't have learned these 4 things without the van. So despite its ups and downs, I am grateful for what it's teaching me.

Photos of The Week

Locations this past week: Watertown, WI -> Green Bay, WI -> Keshena, WI

I need to get myself a local bar where I can throw darts and the bartender knows my name, like Don's Corner Pub in Watertown.

The calm before the painting storm. Many a La Croix was crushed during this time. These walls are now white and the place is lookin' good!!

Camp Stefanik included bike rides, softball games, basketball, and lifting.

Hanging with my buddy, Roscoe + more La Croix product placement.

Caroline and Lambeau Field. Green Bay feels like a small town with college football fever but instead of a university, it's a pro team with a blue-collar fan base. It's a unique market unlike anything else in the 4 major North American sports leagues.

Now hanging with another ranch friend, Mir, and her dog Cooper at a cottage up on Legend Lake near Keshena, WI! This photo features Spindrift, making it the 3rd photo featuring sparkling water - an aggressive amount for 1 newsletter. More of a La Croix man myself, but I'm open to sponsorship from either company lol.

Hugging my steed because we're back together

Thanks for reading

Let me know if you resonate with any of the 4 lessons above,

Josh

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