Summary: "One of the things that we saw again and again in third world countries... was community and joy, which is different from happiness. You see people that have so much gratitude in their lives for the things that are really important." - Gavin McClurg The Bucket List Life Podcast Episode #58 – National Geographic Adventurer of The Year - Gavin McClurg Our next guest on The Bucket List Life Podcast with Kenyon Salo episode #58 has lived at sea for 13 years and circumnavigate the globe almost twice! Gavin McClurg was recognized with the prestigious award of National Geographic Adventurer Of The Year for a ground breaking Paragliding Expedition he did across the Canadian Rockies and currently holds the North American foot launch record for cross-country non-motorized paragliding for a total of 240 miles. Gavin has dreamed up and lived some impossible adventures, traveled to more than 90 countries and with no plans of slowing down, he wants to share those experiences with our audience today. Highlights of their podcast conversation: 2:00 Gavin describes what it was like to be the first to fly his Paraglider across the sand dunes of Mozambique called Dune Du Pyla. 5:30 Most of the time when Gavin refers to "we" in his travels, he is talking about himself and his boat. Gavin describes who else was in the picture of his adventure and travels for the past 13 years. He's set up his company Offshore Odyssey with his wife, Jody Macdonald, and has been able to fund their travels and sailing around the globe with clients that become like family on their journey. 7:00 Gavin gives his parents the credit and talks about how his sense of adventure and exploration of the natural world was instilled in him at an early age as he was encouraged to get outside and fall down, scrape his knees, make mistakes and learn from them. 8:00 One of the most important lessons he learned earlier in his life was from the acquisition of a serious corporate job in Boise, Idaho where he was elevated into a high responsibility position very quickly for a 22-year-old. After weighing his pros and cons, he realized the importance of enjoying his life, seeking adventure and not settling into a career where the only positive gain was money. So he quit. The most incredible lesson of his life didn't tell him what he wanted to do with his life, but it did tell him what he didn't want to do. 14:45 Gavins' life after the corporate world consisted of a lot of random experiences and seasonal work where he could save up enough to fund his next adventure and travels. He was living the life of a God and really didn't need that much money to have a good time. The payoff for the types of adventures he's had is exponentially higher than that of being a millionaire and it's just the type of life that money can't buy. "One of the things that we saw again and again in third world countries... was community and joy, which is different from happiness. You see people who have so much gratitude in their lives for the things that are really important." 22:45 Gavin talks about his first interview out of college where he was offered the American dream and an incredible opportunity with a growing and dynamic company to work 100 hours a week for 10 years and be a millionaire before he was 45. Gavin saw it as a trade of the best years of his life for money and definitely not worth it. 26:30 Gavin talks about some of the exciting film projects in the past couple years and his paragliding North American foot launch record, 7 hour 40 minute flight, 240 miles deep into Montana. 29:45 Gavin describes what it was like to receive the prestigious award of National Geographic Adventurer Of The Year in 2014. He talks about the support and all the people along the way that helped him get to where he is and receive that award. 35:00 Gavin talks about the first time he sailed across the Pacific Ocean in 2001 and then again 8 years later in 2009 and the profound,
