When Life Feels Broken, What Can You Do?

September has been a tough time to share anything.

So much has happened in the world that my usual updates would have felt trite or self-serving.

Things seem broken. Which is also true of stuff in my life…

• My car finally called it quits after 280,000 miles
• Wife’s car gave up after 200,000 miles
• Washer won’t drain the suds
• Dryer heating element quit
• Had an animal in our walls
• Back pain won’t subside
• Vacuum belt broke

But there’s the thing: This is life. This is the human experience. This is what happens on every adventure — ups and downs, highs and lows, knowns and unknowns.

The past month has been an exercise in practicing what I preach from stages: that life, like an African safari, is an adventure to be engaged with.

And clarifying the experience I want, getting the right peeps in the Jeep, and having the courage to do The Unright Thing, have indeed led me through this volatile wilderness of life experiences and my thoughts.

I’m feeling more empowered that this is the message the world needs to hear that I can uniquely share.

The adventure isn’t always fun — but sometimes it is! There are times when you are laughing with friends and things seem easy, and other times when you’re at the laundromat at 7am trying to get clothes washed and dried before morning meetings.

Embrace the adventure, my friends. It’s there whether we want it or not. Change is inevitable all around us, and I invite you to join the movement of embracing it The Safari Way.

Speaking Adventures

This past month has been a true testament to the adventure of work, filled with long drives and extraordinary, unexpected encounters.

While speaking to the West Plains Engineering team in Pierre, South Dakota, I shared the decade-old story of my Rwanda walking stick, which had been cut in half for travel. I mentioned I always wished I could get it to “screw together like a pool cue.”

Unexpectedly, a participant pointed out that a custom pool cue builder, Ryen Reed (“The Cue Mechanic”), was working just outside our room at a concurrent pool convention and tournament. On break, a few of us went to chat with him, and he offered to help. Despite the challenging, hand-carved wood, he skillfully created a perfect, working screw-together mechanism.

Talk about having the right peeps in the Jeep! Having someone in the session with the idea and courage to tell me — and having Ryen with the skills and willingness to help right outside our door.

September also included two days in St. Paul with unemployment insurance experts, where I was honored to speak four times as well as sit in on sessions and have conversations that helped me understand the challenges they face, and to be inspired by their commitment to both applicants and employers. 

It’s so fun how people are able to connect my story, research, and insights to their own life and work adventures.

Here’s my schedule—if I’m speaking in your area, let’s get together! If you’d like to bring someone to a presentation, just ask and I’ll do my best to arrange it.

Do me a favor in exchange for extra cash?

What groups are you connected with that may hire speakers for their events? Maybe it’s the company you work for? Networking groups? Nonprofits? Associations? 

My request is for you to send an email introduction to them (copying me), and I will take it from there… and if they hire me to speak, I will give you 15% of the fee. 

Yep, that’s right— easy peasy, lemon squeezy, bring home the bacon! 🥓

Connecting with the Community

Ambitious speakers unite! It’s so wonderful to bring people together and gain world-class insights from an expert.

Last week we had a wonderfully insightful session talking about branding, marketing, and websites with Nikki Groom — and eight of our members got a free 10-minute “hot seat” website review from Nikki. But of course, her perspectives on each person’s site helped all of us improve our own.

Really loving this Ambitious Speakers Collective (ASC) as a way of sharing our speaking journeys and learning together.

This past month—from my own household repairs to the meaningful work done by professionals across the country—reinforces the central truth: Life is an adventure, whether we want it to be or not.

In my time with unemployment experts and the West Plains Engineering staff, I saw firsthand the powerful effect of keeping their focus on a greater mission. They reminded me that finding joy, fulfillment, and contentment often comes from our commitment to the positive impact we have on our community.

The adventure isn’t always easy. There will be long days, unforeseen obstacles, and moments where things feel truly broken. But the key to navigating the “wilderness” is not avoiding the struggles, but embracing them as part of the journey.

I encourage you to develop the courage to break the norms so you can breakthrough to the extraordinary. Keep clarifying the experience you want, keep getting the right peeps in the Jeep, and keep having the courage to engage with the adventure!

Oh, and one last thing: let’s connect on social media! Follow me on LinkedIn or YouTube, or join the conversation on Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram. I recently launched two new Facebook pages: one for my speaking adventures and one for my officiant business, Awesome Officiant—I’d love for you to follow along!

Until next time,

Maisha ni safari
(Swahili… Life is a Safari)

Sincerely,
Steve Fredlund,
The Safari Dude
Life is an adventure. Make it epic.

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