Darius Nabors is unlike any guest I've had on the show before, but his story is something I knew my audience needed to hear. Over the past year, Darius has been on a trip he’s dubbed #59in59, with the goal to visit 59 national parks in 59 weeks, alongside his friend Trevor. The end of their trip brought them to Acadia National Park in Maine on August 25, 2016, for the National Parks Service 100th Anniversary; something they'd planned from the start.
Growing up in Colorado, Darius has felt at home in nature nearly his entire life. Since childhood, one of his dreams has been to see every U.S. National Park, which culminated recently with his idea for #59in59. The deadline of the NPS Centennial created a “now or never” feeling in Darius, which pushed him into motion.
One interesting lesson that Darius took from the trip, is the concept of a condensed timeline. This means that when you're filling your life with new and different experiences, it actually feels like MUCH more time has passed. This notion became obvious when he linked up with friends at the end of his travels, who he'd seen earlier in the trip. For them, not much had changed, and it felt like no time had lapsed since their last visit. For Darius though, SO much had happened. He'd lived lifetimes of adventures, and created so many new memories because he was proactively seeing new things each day.
We can incorporate this lesson into our own life by consciously choosing novel activities. By filling our weeks with 'newness' we can ensure that at the end of our life, it doesn't all blur together.
When Darius shared his #59in59 plans with friends and family, he naturally was mat with some skepticism. Surprisingly, the naysayers were all from the younger crowd. Older generations supported Darius in his journey, but most people in his own age range met the idea with pessimism and doubt, most likely brought about by limiting beliefs, or possibly jealousy.
To support the cost of his journey, a large part of the funding came from a crowdfunding campaign they hosted through Rocket Hub. Contributors were offered a variety of rewards for their donations, such as allowing fans to join Darius & Trevor in-park for a “B&B” experience, or the sillier gift of having a stick named after you. Rocket Hub was an easy choice for their preferred crowdfunding platform after Darius chatted with the CEO Brian Meece. Meece's dedication showed how much the company cares about the projects that they help fund.
Obviously this sort of adventure requires some intense planning and preparation. Here are some of the steps Darius took to ensure the trip would be a success.
Before the Trip Began:
Brainstorming - while watching through the Ken Burns documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, Darius jotted down notes on the parks and requested materials for the parks service to help plan his trip.
Finances - in addition to money in preparation for the trip, Darius relied on Rocket Hub to help supplement the funding for the trip.
Transportation - originally, Darius considered flipping an old bus or van as a travel vehicle, but in the end his parents offered for him to use their Dodge Ram 2500, providing for a similar size vehicle at zero cost. (score!)
Sleeping - at the beginning of the trip, a tent was an easy choice. As the trip went on, Darius decided to save time by sleeping in the bed of the Dodge or in a hammock. Set up and tear down time was taking away from precious experiences.
Notable Memories:
The trip was not difficult to accomplish physically, but Darius struggled trying to stay aware and updated with all of his ongoing plans, social media, and the blog for the #59in59 website. However, one notable struggle was an evening in a car in the Florida Everglades, where temperatures refused to drop below 80 degrees. (Note to self: don’t visit the Everglades in July). In general, the expectations for a lower standard of living throughout the trip kept Darius & Trevor extremely content.
The reason Darius spent so much time with content creation and social media for 59in59 was fueled by his drive to get readers out of the house and into the parks. Not everyone grows up with a love and respect for nature, and he hopes that he can change that for the readers of his blog.
Next up for Darius is updating his followers of the rest of the trip, uploading the last batch of photos, and sending off the final rewards from his contributors. At home, Darius has been caring for his four younger siblings, but plans to get back into the working world this November.
“As long as you keep working hard and trying, if it’s something that you really care about, stuff just happens… it’s like the universe is conspiring to help you.”
Darius continues to live his life as though he’s preparing for his older self; not for retirement, but for memories. There is no vision of his future that contains regret, as he’s working consciously to prevent future resentment. According to him, it’s too easy for people to wish they had done something, and then later on regret that lack of action.
I’m glad to share this unique story with you all, and I hope Darius’ journey resonates with you. And for all of you glued to your laptops and phones, use this episode as inspiration to get out into the natural world!
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