Member-only story
Lessons From the Wild Places
How what I learned in the wilderness helped me in life and business
By
Tom Hanratty
July 3, 2019
Some years back, three friends and I started a business teaching wilderness skills to city dwellers, mostly adults. All four of us were experienced in outdoor living, and we wanted to give others the opportunity to reconnect with the beauty and grandeur of the natural world.
The wild places were our first home on this planet, we taught, and humans belong here as much as the deer and buffalo. With a proper attitude, a little knowledge, and some practice, a scary wilderness situation could become just another adventure to those who knew the basics of primitive living. Our goal was to prepare students for doing more than merely surviving in the wilds, but to also prosper and enjoy the ride, using only what they found in Nature.
For twelve years, from the woodlands of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan, to the tundra of Alaska, our workshops changed our participants’ views of Nature and their places in it.
The wilderness taught the lessons. We just pointed out the trail.
Along the way, I learned a few rules that stood me in good stead in business and in my daily life.
