Two years ago I did an interview for a book that was being written about the secret formula for making an impact in the 21st century.  Co-author Julien Smith had seen me speak back in 2010 at Tedx McGill (which is no longer online) when I told a story about the contrast between the awe-inspiring  beauty of the Yukon River and the Gwich’in people who live there, and that of the Mississippi River along Cancer Alley near the Gulf of Mexico and the story of a dead pelican.  My message was clear, as a civilization what direction did we wanted to take from this point forward; the path of sustainable prosperity or short-term liquidation with long term consequences?

Two years passed by and I forgot about the interview and the book for that matter until early this winter  I received a tweet from a stranger that caught my attention. The tweet said “There are 2 types of people in this world. You’re either head of lettuce or an apple tree.” Which are you? #arlenestribe. I recognized the line, it was my own.  I emailed Julien and asked if he had published his book yet.  He had.  Julien apologized that I had not received a copy. He had a book shipped out to me right away.

Julien had made his mark as a social media guru from his blog www.inoveryourhead.net   which gets over 375,000 hits every month. His first book, Trust Agents with co-author Chris Brogan, is a New York Times best seller that explains how to tap the power of social software and networks to build your business.  When Julien and Chris set out to write The Impact Equation I have to say I was surprised they wanted to include some of my journey in their book.

When my copy of the book arrived I opened it up and casually began to skim through the pages to see if my interview had been included in the edit.  To my surprise my interview was not only in the book but it started Chapter 1 with my analogy of being a lecture farmer vs apple farmer which essentially compared the approach of short vs long term thinking.  As I read on, the guys used my river-rat storytelling life as the lay out for their case study on how to make an impact through their formula CREATE {Impact = Contrast x (Reach + Exposure + Articulation + Trust + Echo)}.  What the Julien and Chris found intriguing was that I never waited for a television broadcaster or the acceptance of grant to do an expedition or make a film, I just did it. I found others who wanted to come along for the ride and were willing to pay the price I set.  Basically crowd founding on a different level.

It was pretty cool to see some of my ideas and experiences printed inside a published book that would be read by people I would never meet.  It’s a great book and if you have the chance you can preview the book here on google books…  or on Amazon… 

Time to tend to those apple trees!

***I HAD SOME PROBLEMS W THE PICS SO HAD TO RE-POST THIS BLOG…

I just got back from one of the world’s most fascinating places; Iceland.  This is an island where the natural forces of the world make there presence known like nowhere else on Earth.

Consider this… Over 10% of Iceland is locked in glaciers.  Some glaciers like Eyjafjallajökul, cover volcano’s hidden underneath the ice.  Eyjafjallajökul last erupted in 2010 (remember all those cancelled flights?) which resulted in fire and ice going head to head in an epic standoff.  There are 35 active volcanoes in Iceland and over 100 dormant ones.  In the last 500 years Iceland’s volcanoes have contributed to 1/3 of the global lava output.  The island itself is the product of the North American and Eurasian plates pulling away form each other, which is why there is so many volcanoes and hot-springs here.

The country is essentially populated by the descendants of the Vikings (the Norse). The island has been inhabited since AD 874 when the chieftain Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. These are the same people who later went on to settle Greenland and Newfoundland in the famed Viking long ships.  Just like the Vikings, the Icelandic people took advantage of the food sources at their disposal. This is a place that until very recently the common diet consisted of fish, whale, horse, and potatoes.  Today fast food, restaurants and grocery stores are quickly changing that.

As for the climate, it’s never that cold in the winter but it’s by no means hot in the summer.  Like most northern maritime places if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes because it will change. But make no mistake, the wind is enemy number one here and even on a warm day the wind can make it feel like -20.  Yet even with these harsh winds, the best part of Iceland is that a hot-spring or hot tub is never far away.

-Brett

Eyjafjallajökull Volcano

Free falling water

One of many small farms

Beach w volcanic sand on S.Coast

Mýrdalsjökull Glacier

The Atlantic Ocean in view

Icelandic horses

p.s. Not a bad way to celebrate my 30th bday. And yes that’s 2 whaling ships behind me.

This was posted Friday on the Intelligent Travel blog for National Geographic, an article I wrote about my time on the River Ganges. Enjoy.

Life and Death on the Ganges

Our boat was a beauty and her name was Sita. For ten days, she was our home on the Ganges – our portal into a world of few boundaries, where Hinduism is palpable and life and death confront the senses with brazen, and equal, abandon.

Women dressed in vibrant saris splash the holy water across the small frames of their children while, just a stone’s throw away, bodies of animals and humans brush against the banks as they work their way downriver.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here…

I just returned from The Explorers Club Gala in NYC at the Waldorf Astoria.  A special thanks to Jeff and Darlene who invited Lyndsey and I to their table, and continue to be my trusted supporters from the great city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

I had many highlights including attending a private event at The Explorers Club headquarters to listen to James Cameron talk about being the first human to reach the 11-kilometer-deep, Mariana Trench, solo.  At the Gala I met ocean researcher Sylvia Earle who was named by Time Magazine as the first Hero for the Planet.

The most memorable experience was listening to astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter, both two of the original seven astronauts selected for NASA in April 1959, speak about exploration.  This will go down as the most inspiring talk I have ever had the good fortune of seeing in person.

My experience in NYC was a reminder to the power of the human spirit as we push to explore new frontiers both here on earth and into the Universe beyond.

Here is a 90 sec vid I shot on my phone when James Cameron answered a question about the importance of exploration.  Not the best video in terms of image and audio but great insight.

Cliff and I just got back from a 11 day training session in rural Manitoba with the International Canadian School of Survival.  Dave MacDonald and his boys gave us a great experience, I highly recommend the school. 

The highlight for me was doing the cold water immersion which taught me how the human body can endure cold water way longer than I previously thought before hypothermia is a risk.  Plus anytime I can sleep outside in -20 weather is always a welcomed experience and some of the best sleeping too (I had not slept that good since sleeping in the boat in India).

Enjoy some of these pictures.

I am off to Manitoba for a 2 week intense Survival training course with Cliff.  In the meantime here is a quick video about the River Ganges, enjoy.

-Brett

Enjoy this short video preview that highlights some of the things we saw on the River Ganges.  More videos and story to come down the line.

See you on the water,

Brett

Greetings,

I wanted to share some of the best pictures from India and provide an update about Mohd, the young man with a broken arm who returned our lost camera when we were in India.

I’ve been waiting on getting a price as to how much it will cost to fix his arm but I have not received that number yet.  In the meantime I am still working on raising money to fix his arm.  To date we have raised over $1100 from a dozen generous donors.  If you have some extra money to spare  please consider making a donation.  All funds will go towards having an orthopedic surgeon fix Mohd’s arm in India.  You can either transfer direct to the Roy Quinn (Mohd Ahmad) savings acc at Royal Bank 003 acc# 00752 5007356 or send me an email interac transaction and I will transfer the money into the account.

This Friday in Toronto I am telling a story about my time on the River Ganges. Here is the link and info.  Waterlution Presents the launch of  Water Theatre, Friday, Jan 25, 2013, 6:30 to 7:30 PM. Venue & Directions: No One Writes to the Colonel Pub, 460 College St, Toronto

Water Theatre’s Evening of Storytelling is part of Waterlution’s mandate to open up creative spaces for sharing Water Stories. Part sharing, part entertainment, part experience. Bring a friend and join us!  *Snacks, hot drinks, and alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase at venue!

See ya around,
Brett

As we floated past a funeral possession I asked the youngest of the boatman, Perkesh, if people were sad when a loved one died? He replied “when someone has lived a long time we cannot be sad, we can only be happy.  We celebrate their passing for they have lived a long life”.

It made sense. We had floated past a dozen plus cremations along the Ganga.  Although I had no clue who those people were or what status they had attained in their life, the reaction was always the same. We never saw tears or heard cries. We often were greeted with waves and the odd person proclaiming “hello!”, all too eager to practice their broken English. Death was no more a stranger to these people than the birth of a child, the delight of a good harvest or the challenge of overcoming illness; it was all just part of the human experience.

On my last full day in India I found out my Gramma had passed away on Christmas Eve. She had lived a full 83 years of good health and comfort.  With that in mind I was still shocked and saddened of the news. That evening just before sunset I walked the beach alone to reflect on her life and to say goodbye to India. As my bare feet met the wet sand, I looked out over across the ocean at the setting sun. For me, being out in nature has always been the best healing agent and the only real opportunity to make sense of things that one can never truly make sense of.  The colours, the beauty of the sky and ocean, it was then that I realized something I had not realized at home, something that India, the Ganga and Perkesh had taught me.

As the day came to an end here in India a new day would begin back home.  If the sun never set here than night would last forever back home. If this was reality people in India would never be able to appreciate the beauty of a sunset nor would people back home be able to see the calming power of a sunrise.  One needed the other just as the other needed it.

The same can be said about life and death.  Without death, life would hold little meaning. It may be something we fear because its something we cannot control or ever fully understand, but it is as purposeful as a setting sun.

So while I am saddened by the passing of my Gramma India did teach me “when someone has lived a long time we cannot be sad, we can only be happy.  We celebrate their passing for they have lived a long life”. With that said I say goodbye.

Our expedition is complete! We spent the past 10 days on the River Ganges traveling from Allahabad to Gazipur. Although this may not compare in duration to some of my other expeditions we will take away just as much.

What was the highlight? Sleeping on the boat, cooking bread on cow dung, floating through the fog in the early morning, walking through villages lost in time… but the greatest experience of all has been sharing this journey with friends new and old. The Ganga was all I dreamt she be and much more.

The original plan was to find a boat and take off solo but we decided to hire a local boatman last minute and use his boat to undertake the expedition. This ended up being a wise choice. Ravi and his boatmen we’re superb. We were able to see India through a lens we could not otherwise see. During the expedition we rowed while Ravi and his boys steered the boat. With the little English they spoke, and the fact we could not speak Hindi, we actually were able to communicate pretty easily.

And get this… we saw the extremely endangered Ganges River Dolphin. Well, we’re pretty sure. Ravi said it was a fish but after doing some research we figured the giant specimen that kept jumping out of the water was in fact the Dolphin. I am 97% certain.

A big special thanks to Kensington Tours for helping to facilitate this expedition, without them none of this would had been possible. We have just under a week until we land back on home turf so we’re heading down to Goa to relax for a few days in the sun. We had planned on going a few days further but multiple boatmen on the river said the Mafia was a serious threat east of Gazipur so we decided to play it save and end at Gazipur.

In the meantime we wish everyone back home a Merry Christmas and we will see ya for the New Year.

See ya down river,

Brett

p.s. Gord we posted lots of boat pictures for you. The boat is only 3 years old. She was a beaut. Her name is Sita.
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