Hiking Camino de Santiago Changed My Outlook On Life And Business

Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the Bullpen Sessions podcast. My name is Andy Neary and this is episode 306. In this episode I am sharing a recent experience I had hiking the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. It was an experience that not only has changed my life, but it is definitely going to change my business and I'm excited to share that news with you. But in this episode I'm just going to share my three day journey of hiking 50 miles, southern France into northern Spain. The lessons learned, the people I encountered, the villages and the towns we stopped in. I'm excited to share what I experienced. If you're somebody who loves travel and you love professional development, you're going to love this because I am going to share the lessons that have forever changed me on that three day hike and just some observations I made by heading over across the pond into Europe. It was my first trip to Europe and so I'm excited to share that with you. So I hope you tune into this episode. It is more story than script and tactics. I really think you're going to love this because there are some game changing, life changing lessons to be learned. All right, here we go, episode 306. Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the podcast episode. All right, in this episode I am going to recap a really cool experience I had last week hiking in southern France and northern Spain. And the lessons I've learned by taking that three day journey that covered about 50 miles. And what I'm going to do about it, what we're doing with the business, based off of some of the thoughts and, and the, the, the mindset shifts I had while along this hike, I think that's going to help our business shift in a really beautiful way and I'm, I'm excited to share them with you in this episode. So today is going to be very much about a journey. I actually don't have a script. I normally have a highlight, you know, overview summary of the podcast. But today's I'm going to share my journey with you. So yeah, hope you're doing well. If you are somebody who likes to travel and likes to hear about stories of travel, you're really going to like this episode. But more importantly, I'm going to share some of the lessons I learned on this trip and again, what, how it's actually going to impact some of the things we're doing here with the business at Complete Game Consulting. So thanks for tuning in. So.

Earlier this year I had made a decision to sign up for a trip. A good friend of Mine Kyle depias was putting on that was going to take place over in Europe. It was going to be a three day hike along the Camino de Santiago Trail. If you're unfamiliar with that, it is a local pilgrimage. It's a trail that's been around thousands of years. In fact, I think the distance, if you, if you do the full trail, it's 850km and it ends up on the northwestern coast of Spain.

And the plan was as part of this trip we were going to be hiking roughly 50 miles. I'll keep things in miles and not kilometers as I'm an American here. We were going to walk roughly 50 miles starting in southern France in a town called Saint Jean Piedra Port, and we were going to hike back into Pamplona where we actually started the trip. So this trip took place last week and this was my first time over to Europe. So I was super excited. Never have gone, never gone over the pond. And we flew in, took off from Milwaukee, flew to Atlanta, Atlanta, over to Madrid, Spain and then turned around and flew from Madrid up to Pamplona. Pamplona, if you're unfamiliar, is where they do the running of the bulls. And we spent a couple nights in Pamplona and then they carted us, they drove us about 90 minutes north up into southern Spain and we started our trek. Now, if you have ever seen the movie the Way, the movie the Way is about the Camino de Santiago Trail. And so this is a very famous trail. And I was super excited. I, I didn't think the hike itself was going to be overly difficult, but I was really excited for the journey of being present.

Allowing my thoughts to wander. And I remember as I was leaving for the trip, Amy said, let the trip change you. And I thought that was really good advice. And so on the first day we headed out out of St. John, St. John Deere at Pierre de Port. And mind you, we're about to start a 50 mile hike and we're, we're following the trail signs and no more than a quarter of a mile into our trip, we start, we take a wrong turn and we're in the middle of town, St. John Pierre de Port. And we take a left where we thought we were supposed to go, left. And I remember we're walking up a hill and we're walking on a road that you can tell us start is about to start to leave town and go out in the country. And there was a farmer just out working his garden and he said, hey, hey, you doing Camino de Santiago we said, yes sir. He said, wrong way, wrong way and he pointed back. So we, we had to get redirected and literally a quarter mile into a 50 mile hike almost took a wrong direction. So fortunately that was not a sign of things to come. But yeah, so the first day on this hike.

Was actually the most challenging of the three because unbeknownst to us, the, the trail guide said there is a little climbing in the first day leaving St. John Pierre de Port, but man, we ended up climbing I think almost 5,000ft. And you are climbing, hiking right up into the Pyrenee Mountains. It's absolutely stunning. And this hike over the three days was really going to be about bonding with a group of guys. There were eight of us in total going into the trip. I hadn't, I already had known two of them and so the four, five others, not including myself, I, I was meeting for the first time. So for the next three days we were going to be locking arms, hiking 50 miles, getting to really know each other and spend a lot of good time bonding. And so I was excited for that as somebody who, you know, I don't put a lot of time into networking and finding a circle of guys that, that I can surround myself with. And so this was getting me outside my comfort zone a little bit.

But yeah, it was, it was really a unique experience that first day, as I mentioned, a ton of climbing. And by the time we wrapped up day one, we had walked 25 kilometers, which is about 15 miles. And that first night we stayed in Ronce Valle, Spain. So we were back on the Spain side of the border. And one of the coolest things was the hotel that we stayed at the first night was built in 1612. And if you're listening in and you've been over to Europe before, you know that their history is very different than ours, right? At the end of the day, our country is still only not, you know, 250 years old. The history there is unbelievable, right? You're going back hundreds, sometimes thousands of years and just seeing the sign on the hotel that, you know, built 1612 was, was pretty eye opening. So we spent the first night there and then from there days two and three. The hike was probably more downhill than it was uphill though there were, there were climbing sections of it and it was really cool to see all the, call them the pilgrims who were hiking along the trail. We were actually probably some of the youngest on the trail, if I'm being honest with you. You know, our group was consisting of guys anywhere from age 35 up to 55. But the vast majority of the hikers were people in their 60s, sometimes even 70s. And there were pilgrims there, there were people there hiking the full trail. We're talking all 850km, which was going to take them probably 40 days to do. And so it was really, it was a really cool experience because you would stop in these little towns, grab a cup of coffee, grab lunch, you would see the same hikers pass them, they pass you back and forth, and it was just a really cool experience. And on day three, when we left for day three's hike, which was going to be the final hike, the hike was going to take us now down the pass and back into Pamplona, Spain, where we started our trip. Kyle, the organizer of the trip, asked us to spend the first hour hiking in silence. So one, we had to hike on our own. So we were each about 100ft, 150ft apart, and we had to hike in silence. We couldn't talk to anybody. So that first hour on day three, I hiked by myself, didn't really say a word to anybody, and it was just, I just let my thoughts wander. And, you know, it was an interesting journey for that hour because, you know, when I started the journey, my mind was like a hamster wheel going a thousand miles an hour. But by the time that first 60 minutes wrapped up, I was really present, just looking around in my environment, the mountains around me, you know, you're looking down on some of these towns. It was just a really beautiful experience. And I'm not going to give you the play by play of every minute of the hike, but what I do want to share as part of this podcast episode is some of the lessons I learned and what I'm going to do with those lessons to change my life, make some changes in my life and, and make some changes in the business and, you know, getting a chance to be a part of one of these experiences. It's not only about the experience itself, it's about who you're surrounding yourself with. You know, I sat in a group of eight men, and there were a couple guys in that group that had recently sold their businesses for a lot of money. There were people, highly intelligent men, doing some extraordinary things. So, point being, you're not only getting a good experience, you're actually being put in a really strong room of very, very smart, high level thinkers. So it was part experience, part trip, part mastermind. And some of the ideas that generated that came out of the three days were absolutely fascinating business ideas.

Suggestions Made, you know, from others, you know, suggestions made to me about what I should be doing or could be doing with my business. And one of the coolest parts of this trip was Kyle has everybody do what he calls a life balance sheet. And a life balance sheet is your way of going through your life today and looking at different parts of your life, whether it's your health, your business, your relationships, your spirituality, you're giving back to the community and the people around you. And it's a way to just kind of grade yourself on what you're doing in those areas and how you're doing and where you could be better. And so each night.

Two or three of the guys in the group got a chance to go through their balance sheets in front of everybody else. And it's a very vulnerable experience because you're, quote, unquote, getting naked in front of everybody else because you're talking about what's going well in your business, what's not going well, you're talking about what's going well in your relationships, what's not going well. And then after you go through your balance sheet, you give the rest of the guys an opportunity to give you advice. And one by one, we go around the circle and every guy has an opportunity to say a couple things they appreciate about you. And at the same time, they have an opportunity to make some suggestions on where you could be doing better in certain areas. So that was a really eye opening experience for me. Done it before as part of Kyle's past trips. But, man, every time you do it, it's uncomfortable. But you leave a better person because you have a group of guys who care about you and they want to see you win. And they're there, they're there to lock arms with you and to do anything they can do to help you win. So in my balance sheet, I was given a lot of great advice. You know, when I look at my current life balance sheet, the business is going well. From a health standpoint, I feel super locked in. Could I be better in certain areas like spirituality and things like that? Absolutely. But at the same time, I was given a lot of good insight from the guys in the group that I really appreciate. And, and just being part of that experience where you are getting that kind of advice and you're getting that vulnerable with a group of men. And it could be the same if you're a woman, as part of a woman's group, man, you're. You're creating bonds, brotherhoods that, that you can't find anywhere else. And so when I look back on the three day hike, and the trip itself was about seven days because we spent some time in Pamplona and Madrid at the end of the trip. But those three days of hiking, I look back and really am proud of who I became by the time those three days were over. You know, when you're out in the middle of nowhere and you're in, you're hiking in areas, the phone, the WI fi doesn't work, you've got to get present, you're forced to be present.

And when Kyle forces you to walk in silence, man.

You really have to be present. You're having those conversations with yourself that aren't comfortable.

And it was a really cool perspective to see what life is like in those small villages as well. You know, some thoughts, perceptions, opinions or observations of mine, just spending time in Spain, that absolutely blew me away. As somebody who has to be, you know, pretty picky about his diet. You know, I, I don't really do dairy. I'm lactose intolerant. I've. Since my leg infection, I've pretty much been gluten free. You know, over there, I ate gluten, I had products that had dairy in it. And it was really interesting how my stomach had no issues with it. Makes you wonder, makes you think about what we do to our food over here in the States. Number two, I was actually really fascinated by how many cafes have sweets, breads, all the things we're told not to eat. Yet when you look around these cities, no one's overweight, no one's obese. And I sit there and I go, how is that possible when they have access to the this much food that we would deem unhealthy, that they're not overweight? Well, pretty simple. Number one, it's the way the food is made. And number two, people over there do things in moderation, something we don't know here in the States. So these are just all these interesting observations I made while on this trip that were, were very eye opening for me. But what I wanted to share with you as part of this podcast is this experience.

Has really shaped.

What I want to do with complete game consulting.

You know, when you get an opportunity to enjoy an experience like this with others, you leave not only with better relationships, you leave a better person. And this brought me back, especially when I was walking alone in silence on day three.

I went back to 2018, 2019, when I had this idea of starting a business. And one of the things that frustrated me at the time was going and Attending these conferences, these industry conferences where.

There'S not a damn healthy option for food in, in anywhere to be found. You have these conferences that go from seven in the morning from till seven at night. You go out and you eat like, you drink like, and then you wake up and you rinse and repeat. And was getting frustrated with those comps. I'm like, what's the point? And I said, I want to create a different experience. I want to do something totally different. I don't want to be hosting events in the back of some hotel, serving for food, and then.

Literally creating a space for people to be unhealthy and to have a bad experience. I want to create something totally different.

But when I started the business, I kind of put all that on the back burner. But when I was on day three of this hike, especially in the silent portion of the hike, I came back to this. Why I wanted to start the business and why I wanted to start the business is I wanted to create an experience for advisors that I wish I had. And when I look at who we serve today.

I can confidently say our best clients are advisors who aren't just looking to kick ass in business. They're looking to kick ass in every all areas of life.

And that's the same for the guys I was spending time with over in Spain. These are guys, these are very high level business professionals, but they're just not, they're not just satisfied being successful in business. They're trying to be a better husband, a better father, they're trying to be healthier. They're trying to find a closer relationship to God, whatever it is, they just want to kick ass in all areas of life. And I bring that back to our business and I'm like, that's what I want for this business. Because when I look at the people I have been fortunate to serve, we have been fortunate to serve, our best clients are people who are trying to play at a high level in every category of their life. And that's why I have made a decision to launch this elite mastermind. And if you've been following our LinkedIn content, you probably have seen me posted about about it a couple times. But this is the reason I wanted to do this is we work with some very high level insurance professionals. And what I know about them is these people tend to not be satisfied. You know, they are playing at a high level, making a lot of money with a big book of business, but they are still very hungry. These are the type of advisors who sometimes find it hard to Fit into teams because people don't get them, you know, yet they have people in there surrounding them saying, dude, like take the foot off the gas. You got a $2 million book, aren't you happy? They're not, they want more. But these are also people who don't want to just excel in business. They want to excel everywhere. And I wanted to create, I want to create a space for them to do that. And I got my first chance to, to try this last year when I hosted a two day retreat for a small group of guys I've worked with advisors and we hosted at Dominic Frankini's house. He's one of the guys that participated. Dom's an advisor with Hub out of Cincinnati. So we went over to his lake house in southeast Indiana and I hosted a two day retreat. Now, I'll be honest, I was a little nervous to do it because these guys are again, they came with a lot of credentials and I was just going to host a retreat for these five guys to help them not only become better benefit professionals, better men. And I will tell you what came out of that two day session was pretty beautiful. You know, I can remember specifically one of the last planning sessions we did before everybody left for the airport is we went around and I asked each of them to pick one thing in the fourth quarter of 2023, one thing they're going to do to improve their life. And it couldn't have anything to do with business. And it was interesting the responses that we got. You know, one guy was gonna try, was gonna start crossfitting. Another guy said, I'm gonna stop drinking alcohol for, for a quarter. Third guy said, I'm going to hire a personal trainer. I need to hit the gym more. Fourth guy said, you know, when my wife and I started dating, I used to write her poems. I'm going to start writing her poems again.

Said, awesome. I said, I'm going to check back in with you guys in 30 and 60 days. I'm going to see how we did. And you know, we checked in one month later and then we checked in again right around Christmas time. And it was one of the coolest experiences I had. Number one, not only did they get a boatload out of that two day session, just surrounding themselves with other high level thinkers, but when we checked in with each other 60 days later.

The changes these guys had made absolutely blew me away. The guy hiring the personal trainer was working out two, three days a week. The guy who was gonna stop alcohol for, for the quarter ended up losing. I want to say almost 30 pounds and did stop drinking alcohol. The guy who was going to write poems for his wife told us that his wife was excited, elated, she got her poet back. This, this stuff you can't replicate at some industry conference.

And so when I look at where our business is going, this is what we're going to be offering. This Elite Mastermind is for that insurance professional who's already playing at a high level. You're driven, you're hungry for more. You want to build more brand awareness for who you are so you can get more quality at bats. That's where my coaching comes in. That's where we're going to help you. But you want to be put in the room with other high level thinkers, men and women who are playing at that level. You are, who have the same challenges, the same goals, the same dreams. That's where the Mastermind concept comes in. And, and I am more than excited to share that in the future we're going to be hosting these live experiences because nothing creates bonds, nothing creates business growth, nothing creates personal growth better than sharing an experience with other people. And that's what I got a chance to do in Spain for a week. And that's what I want to bring to the insurance industry. And that's why I'm so excited about this launch of the Elite Mastermind, because it does involve coaching, it does involve collaboration, it does involve community. But man, to get an opportunity to create experiences with other people who are striving for the same things, you are maybe breaking sweat with them, sharing other parts of your life with them. That's what this is about. And so if you are somebody listening who tunes into my podcast every week, number one, thank you for doing it, I am super grateful. But number two, if you are that, if I just described you and you are looking for that kind of coaching, you are looking for those kind of people, I do want to talk to you. Make sure you go in the show notes, click a link, let's, let's jump on a call, let's talk about this. But I didn't want to make this a commercial. My point is I wanted to share the experience I just had, spending a week in northern Spain, hiking through the Pyrenees, hiking through these small little villages and being where my feet are and creating an experience that has changed my life and it's about to change my business and I couldn't be more excited. And if that's something, if that's a journey you want to be a part of, I want to lock arms with you. So make sure to go to the notes, check it out. But my message today is is this.

I hope you're striving to reach your full potential in your business. But more importantly, I hope you're trying to you're striving to reach your full potential in life. I hope you're trying to be the best wife, mother, husband, father, boyfriend, girlfriend you could be. I hope you are trying to grow your business to its full capability. I hope you are focused on your health, how what you can do from a health perspective to lift up other areas of your life.

This isn't just about business. Money can't replace an unhealthy lifestyle. Money can't replace a divorce, a broken relationship with a child or a parent.

This is about life. This is about creating an experience you're damn proud of. We only get one shot here. Why not make it your best? So I don't know where this podcast goes in your mental file, your mental library, but I hope I I shared a nice message with you today, just sharing my experience with you. If you ever get a chance to go do the Camino de Santiago, I couldn't recommend it enough. We're hoping to go back in the future years to do the other parts of the trail and hopefully do all of but man, most important thing is be present. Create experiences in your life, but strive to be the best person you can be, not just in business, but in all areas of life. This is about being a student of life, not a student of insurance. And again, if you are that type of insurance professional, I want to lock arms with you. Let's make sure we connect. Otherwise, you know what happens. When you're confident you will be consistent and when you build other areas of consistency in your life, not just in business, you're going to be unstoppable. And I hope that happens to you. Be good. That's all we got for today's episode of the Bullpen Sessions podcast. One thing that would really help us both and other new potential listeners is for you to rate this show and leave a comment in itunes, stitcher or wherever you tune in to listen to the show. Also, make sure to link up with us@completegameconsulting.com on social media and please share this podcast with anyone who you think might enjoy it. Until next time. Remember, clarity creates confidence. Confidence creates consistency. Consistency makes you unstoppable.