All posts filed under: Adventure

Stew in Uncomfortability

Published by Colin Nanka

A Friday throwback post from the summer of 2009. The first time I can truly say I stretched my limits is when I trained for the NYC Marathon in the fall of 2002 with one of my best friends from Edmonton. We took what traditionally is a four to six-month training window and cut it down to three so we could hit the Nov 2nd competition date. There is something about the unknown, fear of failing, that drives you. Unsure if you will be able to complete the goal and in a measure of time that lives up to your standards.  It was hard work! Six runs per week, three hour runs on Sunday afternoon, and when adding in post-recovery time (stretching, soaking, eating, nap), it turned into an all-day event that finished with an early bedtime. We had hilarious side stories and lots of learning that developed through the challenges overcome. The next challenge for me was a move from Edmonton, AB (the prairies) to Toronto, ON (the big urban city) the following year. …

6 things I learned while on Paternity

Published by Colin Nanka

1. There is nothing like the birth of a child!  We are blessed to have a healthy baby girl, Tess Gertie Nanka. Getting to spend the first three weeks of her life together as a family has meant everything to me. See pictures of our adventures with Tess (so far) here on Instagram 2. I have gained a huge appreciation for how hard moms work!  I appreciate my partner, Blake, more than ever. She is an amazing mother and a resilient and inspiring human being. I’ll work very hard to tell her that. 3. You can integrate your child into many things.  I start most mornings with meditation. But now, my morning meditation comes second to Tess’s morning feed. I am learning to be more flexible and even try and incorporate some after-feeding quiet time with Tess into my meditation practice. I don’t always win, but I try. 4. Exercise has been important to me and will always be important. As sleepless nights and responsibilities prevail, I made it a priority to get at least 20 minutes of exercise per day. Take …

7 days of Tess

Published by Colin Nanka

Wow, what a difference a week makes.  For those of you who haven’t seen the IG Posts, we welcomed a healthy bouncing baby girl into the world last weekend, Tess Gertie Nanka.  I decided (or so it happened) to wait until a little bit later in life to get married and have a child.  I was still learning about myself (and always will be). I’ve been on a journey to see the world, test myself, meet and learn from incredible people.  I’ve always wanted to be ready. I guess you become ready when it happens.  As I turn 44 this year, I have never been more ready. If not now, when? There is a new layer of accountability that has snapped in, to do what is necessary to make sure she is happy.  Who knew one of my new favorite activities would be to just watch her sleep.  A new journey is upon us. It doesn’t mean the other will stop, it’s just on hiatus for a little while until they come together as one.  The …

The ways Anthony Bourdain made us all better

Published by Colin Nanka

He took the road less traveled. He was vulnerable, resilient, deeply human and brought out the best in other people around the world, maybe at the expense of himself.    He opened up an understanding of cultures using the common language of food and wine and addressed tough and often taboo topics. He was an unbelievable storyteller and a lifelong learner. He helped us experience other cultures through his eyes and offer a connectedness desperately needed in the world. While accepting the Peabody award in 2013, he described how he approached his work. “We ask very simple questions: What makes you happy? What do you eat? What do you like to cook? And everywhere in the world we go and ask these very simple questions,” he said. “We tend to get some really astonishing answers.” A bright light in the world was extinguished on Friday but his gifts to the world will never be forgotten.  This is one of the ways I would like to remember him.   “There’s a picture of me and my daughter, aged four, in the Cayman …

I’m leaving my position tomorrow

Published by Colin Nanka

  …to start a new journey. Fatherhood. Feeling really grateful and fingers crossed everything goes as planned we’ll have a bouncing baby girl Nanka join the world this weekend. I truly appreciate Salesforce’s support of taking time off to fully immerse in the experience. I turn 44 in July and have been on many rewarding adventures across the globe over the last decade. This will the most rewarding yet. I’ll be offline from work for three weeks, so if you want to keep up with our going’s on, FB and IG will the place to be. I may pop a blog in here or there or just queue them up for when I return! Have a great weekend. Colin  

Three Pieces of Wisdom From Kyle Maynard That Will Make You Better

Published by Colin Nanka

Kyle Maynard is the best selling author, entrepreneur and ESPY award-winning mixed martial artist athlete and the first quadruple amputee to climb Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua. On failure:   “The best way I can describe the feeling of overcoming failure is the Finnish word – SISU – the mental strength to continue to try even after you have reached the limits of your abilities.”   Advice for new professionals:   “Follow your bliss.  Happiness is just above status quo, bliss is your feeling of freedom standing on top of a mountain or laying back in a catamaran halfway around the world.”   On saying no:   A CEO friend of his asks his people to rate candidates for hire as 1-10 on potential and they cannot choose 7.  That lesson has helped him make better decisions on incoming projects and requests.   Excerpt from Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferris    Advice to live by.   Colin  

Three reasons to stress test the system

Published by Colin Nanka

Eighteen months ago I sprained my ankle before a big race in Antarctica.  I healed it enough to make it through the race.  It took a bunch of rehab through 2017 and was aggravated again in Patagonia in the fall and this spring in Vancouver.   As I start my 2018 journey in less than a week…Baby girl Nanka joining the world, I am focused on long-term rehab and healing this nagging injury.   As I gingerly and proactively stretch the tendons, my trainer explained to me when you went over on it last year you applied at least 2-3 times your body weight of force.    You need to build it back up to withstand competitive stress.   Is there something in your game that needs stress testing?   Three things I am focused on:   Strengthen the tendons Stretch and stress the tendons  Rest and let the body repair Always be strengthening the foundation.   Colin   

You are the pilot of your own life

Published by Colin Nanka

“Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve jobs I like to sleep! I am about to get a lot less of it with baby (insert name) Nanka joining the world on or before June 8th! We could not be more excited. The average person lives 78 years! We spend 28.3 years sleeping!! That could mean over half of my life is behind me, however, I plan to live to 100! I have been waking up earlier, every year I am alive. I have too much to get done! In my role of enabling the success of other people, I constantly hear: I don’t have enough time I am overloaded I am sooooo busy I feel like I am always climbing I have lost balance in my life I have said all those things myself! I highly recommend this video by former Monk Jay Shetty as he beautifully outlines the value of time. Time is more valuable than money. Chart your own course today. Colin

One thing I learned walking through Antarctica

Published by Colin Nanka

Sometimes it can take awhile for appreciation deep down to set in. In November 2016 four weeks before a trip of the lifetime sailing 1,000 miles from the southern tip of Argentina to Antarctica for an adventure race I sprained my ankle.    Story here What I may not have appreciated at the time is how much I filled up the resiliency bucket.    The most I could manage was running a total of 20 minutes prior to leaving to run 200KM + in deep snow and ice.    I did, however, do some of the best rehab of my life in the 10 days after the injury. I also controlled what I could control and was laser-focused on staying in shape and pushing mentally through barriers every minute of every day.    I don’t know if it’s fully sunk in 18 months later what that Antarctica trip will mean to me 20 years from now.    What I learned walking through Antarctica is that life is a gift. I appreciated every sunrise, and sunset every glimmer of …

A big adventure deserves a big dinner

Published by Colin Nanka

Almost a decade ago I sat along the Nile river in Egypt celebrating a big adventure. My friends were celebrating the completion, I was celebrating the attempt. Since then, I’ve put a celebration dinner on the day of or after, for any big hairy audacious goal, not only to celebrate the effort but to honor the journey. I’m in Vancouver this weekend running a 50 KM race with a friend. I’ll get to celebrate the journey with him and his wife and another lifelong friend who I ran my first marathon with! Good things come together when you rally the right people about a worthy endeavor. I can’t wait to enjoy the moment during the race and after! Colin