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We live in an immensely beautiful and wonderful world ripe with adventure after adventure. The way in which we choose to live our lives reveals something deep within our hearts. The adventures of the soul uncovers something we’ve been longing for. A new experience. New places. New adventure. And new oceans of wisdom. In Becoming a King, author Morgan Snyder writes, “True adventure begins when we step beyond the boundaries of comfort and into the wilderness of possibility.” The biggest adventure of life lies in the unknown and the unknowable. The next first track is what we desire. In this post, I want to provide a handful of inspirational adventure quotes and my take on how they apply to our day-to-day lives. 

Life’s Great Adventure

The human life consists of three phases: Birth, Life and Death. In that order. When we’re born, we exit our mother’s womb struggling to breathe. Then, doctors clear our nose and mouth, clean us up and give hand us to our moms. Fast forward a few years, and we’re living time on our own terms. Getting our driver’s license. Graduating high school. Getting our first job. Breaking our first heart. 

Life begins as soon as we take that first breath. We spend decades trying to mark our mark on the world. Some of us succeed in this endeavor, while others of us continue striving only to find ourselves swimming in a deep ocean of endless waves thrashing us to and fro. This is the life so many of us choose to live. 

We have been given the authority to lead any sort of life we want. Whether we desire a life of deep impact, connection and authenticity or a life filled with social media glitz and glamor, riches and perceived success, it’s ours for the taking. We can be a celebrity, America’s Next Top Model, a New York Times Bestselling author, or even a rodeo clown. The choices we have to experience our next adventure are endless. 

The Greatest Adventure

I have climbed Blanca Peak in Southern Colorado. I’ve experienced a 24 hour rowing competition. I’ve fly fished the Dream Stream and bay fished in South Texas. Spartan races, Thailand and studying abroad in Spain. Our family left the only home we’ve ever known to embark on a new experience in a state we had no business being in and no relationships to run to. To say we’ve lived a little bit during our lives would grossly understate our adventures and experiences. 

All of this pales in comparison to the greatest adventure we have been called to – dreaming. The best adventures have a little bit of adrenaline and fear. Faith and facts. Struggle and joy. Perseverance and smiling faces. When we set our sights on the adventures that we’ve been called to embrace, our lives have additional meaning. The everyday things we cherish become faded and obsolete. The greatest reward when pursuing our dreams is not in the destination. It’s in the journey itself. 

35 Inspirational Adventure Quotes

1. Eleanor Roosevelt: “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

2. Jack Kerouac: “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that mountain.”

3. Paulo Coelho: “If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.”

4. Lao Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

5. Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

6. Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

7. John Muir: “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

Any daring adventure contains a significant amount of risk. One of the best documentaries is called Free Solo. It tells the harrowing story of free climber Alex Honnold and his quest to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any harnesses, ropes or carabiners. Watching the ascent up El Capitan stirs a sense of fear even from the comfort of your own recliner. 

The Danger of Adventure

However, as we see in the documentary, (spoiler alert) he lives to tell his story. The amount of risk Honnold took on is far too much for people like me to ever consider. The thing about risk is that there are several different kinds of risk. From relationships to business startups, risk is everywhere. It’s in the conversations with your kids about the sinful nature of the world. It’s in the choice to leave your day job to start that business you’ve always wanted. Further, it’s in the day-to-day decisions we make to enter the foreign land, the frontier of our hearts in search of something deeper. 

The normal christian life is ripe with comfort and safety. Far too often do we find ourselves living safe lives while trying to be a good person. We tend to err on the side of caution all too much. Rather than choosing risk, we decide to remain in our comfort zones. We don’t ask ourselves, “What do I want people to say about me life at the end of my life”? Real adventure is not safe, and it’s certainly not comfortable. It’s dangerous, and it’s risky.

8. Robert Louis Stevenson: “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”

9. Richard Branson: “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”

10. John Eldredge: “Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness, is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of man.”

11. Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

12. Anthony Bourdain: “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you.”

The Next First Track in the Right Direction

I just finished a book called “The Lion Tracker’s Guide To Life” by a South African named Boyd Varty. In his book, he states, “I don’t know where I’m going but I know got to get there.”

What he means is that we often are too consumed with the final destination that we miss the next first track right in front of us. You see, when a tracker is tracking the path of a lion, they aren’t peering off into the distance to catch a glimpse of the prize – the lion. They are focused on finding the next first track. This is what living a life of adventure in the right direction is about. 

Focusing on the final destination forces us to miss the opportunities right in front of us. 

Good Friends for Everyday Life

I failed to see our next first track when we launched an experience in our house called Curated Conversations. Celeste and I had sat on an idea to create an experience for a few of our close friends in our home that consisted of a 5 course meal combined with questions corresponding to each course. The idea behind it was to create a space for those of us with young families that are run ragged by school pickups and drop-offs, weekend activities, work and household responsibilities. 

So when we launched in January of 2024, we simply thought it was an idea that had come to life. What I missed though, was that this was the next first track in our dream to create and host experiences. I kept thinking that when we bought the land to build our dream property would be the day that our dream would start. However, through the wisdom of some very smart people, they invoked in us the thought that Curated Conversations was actually the next step, or the next first track towards our dream.

A handful of short adventure quotes…

13. John Steinbeck: “People don’t take trips, trips take people.”

14. Amelia Earhart: “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”

15. Robert Frost: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

16. Dr. Seuss: “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”

17. Lewis Carroll: “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

18. Ernest Hemingway: “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

Embracing the Days of Ease

Adventure is exhausting, particularly if you choose to embrace the adventures of calling and purpose. From reading, researching, studying and building, we can easily get overwhelmed with it all. We wake up at 5:00a and write a couple of blog posts before getting kids ready for school and out the door. Then, we drive to our office and work hard to provide until the work is done. After that, we arrive home to prepare dinner and spend time with the family before heading to bed and doing it all over the next day. 

In John Mark Comer’s bestseller, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, he makes the poignant point that in order to live true to our selves, we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives. What does this mean?

It means that we choose not to respond to every single text message we receive within 5 minutes of receiving it. We don’t say yes to every calendar invite that comes across our inbox. Further, ruthlessly eliminating hurry means taking a true Sabbath to rest, recover, reenergize and rejoice. Finding a day of the week to let you body, mind, heart and soul rest is essential when embracing the life of adventure. 

Some of the best quotes on adventures

19. Saint Augustine: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

20. J.R.R. Tolkien: “Not all those who wander are lost.”

21. Roy T. Bennett: “Live the Life of Your Dreams: Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.”

22. Ewan McGregor: “The open road still softly calls, like a nearly forgotten song of childhood.”

23. Susan Sontag: “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”

24. George Eliot: “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.”

There Can’t Be a Next Time Without The First Time

Have you ever heard that saying “you can’t take the next step without taking the first step”? This is something that ruminates in me as I contemplate a new venture. Whether it be a new business I want to start or a new habit of our household, we have to take the first step. There is no second, or third or fourth step without the first step. 

This is the starting point of any good thing. Starting is the only way to finish. It’s also the only way to experience the ups and downs that adventure will inevitably bring. 

I have started 8 businesses in my life. 6 are now completely defunct and no longer exist. Would I consider these failures? I have, yes. I have also considered these experiences as waypoints along the journey. Without our failed oil and gas venture, I never would have met the Wilsons who are now part of Curated Conversations. Had I not launched an RV rental business, we never would have experienced 22 days of adventure through the Western United States in an RV. Without my failed foray into land investing, I never would have discovered the skills necessary to negotiate, purchase, subdivide and develop raw land. 

We can view our failed experiments as failures if we want to. There is not anything inherently wrong with that. However, when we choose to understand that they are waypoints that ultimately get us to our destination, it prevents the crippling fear of loss throughout our journey.

Some of my favorite adventure quotes…

25. Walt Whitman: “Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.”

26. Hans Christian Andersen: “To travel is to live.”

27. Trenton Lee Stewart: “We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”

28. Alexandre Dumas: “Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes.”

Discovering the Good Traveler

We all have a routine we follow when we travel. Some of us are very rigid and robust in our planning. If you’re like me, you have every point along the journey planned out. From packing to unpacking to food options and entertainment, some of us like to know what we’re doing, when we’re doing it and how long it’s going to take. 

Others of us simply move by the direction of the wind. There is no planning. Packing occurs 30 minutes prior to departure. Restaurants are chosen by what looks the best when you get hungry. Entertainment is determined by what is within walking distance of your hotel. 

Being a good traveler is a combination of the two. You have a plan in place, but you’re willing to deviate from your plan at any moment. The best trips are those that have a little bit of planning and a little bit of spontaneity. 

This is the same for daily adventure. The best kind of adventure involves knowing where you want to go, but being open on how to get their. Becoming a good traveler involves understanding that curveballs are going to be thrown your way at any moment. 

The final best adventure quotes…

29. Hunter S. Thompson: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!'”

30. Herman Melville: “It is not down in any map; true places never are.”

31. Oscar Wilde: “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

32. Neale Donald Walsch: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

33. Roy Chapman Andrews: “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.”

34. Terry Pratchett: “It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done.”

35. Marcel Proust: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

The Most Dangerous Risk

You may think the most dangerous risk is attempting something you’re likely to fail because you feel the spirit calling you in that direction. I would argue that the most dangerous risk is simply choosing to say no to risk and adventure when it arrives at your doorstep. Why do I believe this? I believe this because we’re guaranteed to live a normal, Christian life without any sort of risk. 

We are ensuring that our lives are comfortable and safe. Rather than embarking on a journey that will develop discipline, perseverance and patience, we piddle our way through our day-to-day tasks hoping something changes. Yet, it doesn’t.

What I’ve discovered is the best way to eliminate safety and comfort from your life is to do the opposite of what the culture tells us to do. Culture tells us to stay in that job because you’re providing well. Culture tells us that we must continue to keep up with everyone else that has seemingly surpassed us in material gain. Moreover, culture tells us that the amount of followers we have, how much money is in our bank account and the size of our house are the most valuable and prized assets.

How To Fight The Most Dangerous Risk

Rather than let the culture dictate our lives, we should aim to dictate the culture around us. What is the culture that you’ve set in your own life or in your home? This is a common question we ask ourselves from time to time. The culture we want to set is one that embraces community, authenticity and freedom. We want to build a community that has open and honest conversations about the hardest aspects of life. Further, we want to create a culture that embraces the truth that we fight from a place of freedom, not for it.

At the very basic core of a man lies a deep-seated desire for a beauty to rescue, a battle to fight and an adventure to live as stated by John Eldredge in Wild At Heart. Fighting for our marriage in the age of divorce is counter to culture. Fighting the battles raging within us is counter cultural. Living adventurously in pursuit of something greater than ourselves is not the norm.

Questions To Ask In Pursuit of Your Next Adventure

1. What is your unique design? How were you created? We are all unique with God-given strengths and weaknesses. None of us are immune from struggle and pain nor are we too far gone to experience victory and true joy. How can you best utilize the gifts, talents and unique personality to truly live as you are called to live.
2. What is your dream? Taking time to truly discover what it is you want out of our one precious life is essential to living up to your calling.
3. What is the next first track? Are you looking too far into the future, or are you focused on the opportunities right in front of you?
4. What does the good life look like for you and your family? Are you living in it or are you dreaming about it? Write it down and go pursue it. Make it clear. 
5. What makes you come alive? When thinking about those things that bring you the most joy and purpose, write those things down. Do more of them. Do less of the thing that zap your energy and joy.
6. What is your risk tolerance? Starting a new business or leaving the familiar for the frontier is not for everyone. If you don’t feel called to do something, then don’t do it. However, if you know you’re being called to a big risk, say yes. 
7. What kind of traveler are you? Are you a planner or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants traveler? Neither is wrong. However, the sweet spot is likely somewhere between those two personalities.
8. Who are you trusting? Does culture dictate how you live your life? Or are you focused on seeking the plans that God has for you? 

The Way of Travel

In our family’s pursuit of more adventure, we have experienced very high highs and extremely low lows. Over our 18 months of adventure after we left the comfort and safety of our hometown, we experienced the sudden and unexpected loss of my father, a totaled vehicle, significant financial loss, the loss of our 12 year old dog and the strain of a marriage. 

What we learned throughout this process was that there is not anything that we will not conquer because of the power of God at work within us. When we lost our income and had to go through our savings that we had spent 5 years building, we knew we were in the right place at the right time. When we made the risky decision to move back to our hometown to pursue a unique professional opportunity, we knew we would lose a ton of money on the house we had bought only 9 months earlier. 

It was all worth it. We can always make more money. We can always move back to Colorado. What we knew we could never get back was the thought that we had missed God’s next first track for us. That’s what it all came down to. This was simply the next step in our lifelong adventure.

Conclusion

As I wrap this post up, remember that God is bigger than any loss you may incur. And you certainly will encounter loss along the way. We’ve lose numerous friends because of the decisions we’ve made. They weren’t mad at us. However, our lives just drifted in different directions. 

Do we miss those friends? Absolutely. Do we regret the outcome. Not for a second. It’s unfortunate, but that’s part of adventure. The opportunity cost of acting can have significant consequences. However, the consequences of not acting will have lifelong regrets. 

I encourage you to ask yourself the questions I posed above. Have your spouse answer them. Then answer them together. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others. Your spouse is your number one advocate throughout your lives together. Dream, plan and be spontaneous with each other. Let your kids have a say into the adventures you choose to embark on. You will find that your best moments as a family will come when you are embracing true adventure out of a place of freedom together. Don’t let culture dictate what you’re supposed to do. Choose the culture that you want to surround yourself and your family with.

After all, every day that you wake up is another opportunity to say yes to the next first track. Don’t miss it. Embrace it, and go live your adventure.

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