In search of mountains: photos from Auli & Chopta

I had the privilege to travel to the Himalayan Foothills a few weeks ago. These are a few of my favorite photos from that adventure. I am going to try & do a few more of posts like these in the future as it combines my love of photography, traveling, & writing.

While this is not the first picture I took of the trip... I believe it does the best job of setting the story... I am a lover of mountains... I am most at peace surrounded by trees with few people around... That was the whole point of the trip for me - A bit of a life reset through natural beauty. 

Auli is known as a ski resort... Although when we visited there was almost no snowfall accumulation. It is a beautiful resort... Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, but in range to still see some of the peaks. This is Nanda Devi which is a sacred mountain in Hindu traditions. It was actually believed to be the tallest peak in the world until 1808 when additional surveying proved otherwise. It is still the 23rd tallest highest peak in the world & highest I have seen so closely before (I got to see Everest from afar on a plane while traveling to Manipur, which I do another photo story in my other blog).

Mountains... For as far as the eye can see... Although I have only gotten to go to this area known as the Himalayan foothills twice - I am in love. To be more precise it is the type of love that can never be reciprocated, which I am content with... I will travel to this area as much as I can before leaving India & hopefully visit for many more years.

This is the last picture I took before leaving Auli... I think of this picture as hope... A beacon of light guiding travelers home... a lighthouse of sorts... When I was living in Boston my "lighthouse" for many years was the Prudential tower. I knew the angle the tower should face from outside my front door... So from there I would guide myself home...  The Prudential for many years was my friend walking home with me when I was living in Boston. Even though I was thousands of miles away - seeing this ski tower reminded me of those nights walking home.

Inside jokes are the glue that keeps friendships together... They are a sort of secret language of ridiculousness that you share with only a few people... For this trip one of the inside jokes were the snowmen that we would make... This is Jon Snow 2.0. We created his other brother Jon Snow 1.0 in Auli, but Jon Snow 2.0 is the decidedly more handsome of the two... With a dashing sense of style... He is sexy & he knows it... This picture was taken on the first day we arrived at Chopta - after eating some food & venturing around we set upon creating a Jon Snow 2.0. 

My friends for this trip... This is us hiking up Chopta... Priyanka (In the red) & I traveled the whole trip together from Delhi. She had planned most of the itinerary as I had never been to this region before & could not have done the trip without her. Rishi (Red hat) Was traveling with DJ (black coat) who are childhood friends. I was so grateful for having met them as soon as we arrived in Chopta. Both of them are well traveled & easy going to be around... Quick to make a joke at their own expense to brighten up the mood. A lot of traveling is the stories of the people you meet just as much as the places that you go...

And then it began to snow... Quite a bit in fact... The night before all 4 of us went outside to experience Priyanka, Rishi, and JD's first snow... It was this magical almost childlike experience... It is still a bit of a cognitive dissonance to me having grown up in New England that people have never experienced snow before... This was my first time taking pictures in the snow - I still have a lot to learn with the lighting & a few other components... But I was happy with this one the pathway was slick & we had to figure out if it was safe to continue further as the snow was a bit more than we bargained for... We ended up taking refuge for a bit in the hut in the background...

One of my favorite pictures from the whole trip... This was while all 4 of us were taking refuge from the snowstorm in the hut... Priyanka looking out into the storm...  The way snow is casually tangled into her hood makes the shot in my opinion...

I quite enjoy people. I believe in people maybe more than anyone I have ever met... I like dogs even more than people most of the time... On our way down from the hut we made friends with this amazing dog. Much like the ski tower light in Auli - this dog was our guide for the rest of the trip down the mountain. Priyanka affectionately called him "Kaalu" which means blacky. I cherish this picture because it was mid "smell test..." when you are first reaching out your hand for a dog to smell then they smell your leg to see if you are to be trusted or not... If they accept your hand, then you can scratch a little bit behind ears or head. This process works with most dogs & I have found not to be country // culture specific.... You're welcome...

The hut we had taken refuge in from the snowstorm from a distance... We had originally planned to hike until we reached Tungnath Temple which is the highest temple dedicated to lord Shiva in the world... The snow was a bit much for us in regards to just not having the best equipment for it... I loved being able to take pictures in the snow, it reminded me of waking up the morning after a snowstorm & walking around... I am most at peace in those moments with a cup of Colombian dark roast coffee in hand exploring the new world after a snowfall. The following are a few of my favorite shots I took of the snow // trees.

Thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed reading a bit about my adventure to Chopta // Auli... For seeing natural beauty for a relatively low cost I would recommend this area. I am happy to be joining my passions of writing & photography. Would love to hear peoples thoughts & feedback for future posts.

-Tim O'Sullivan

I have become desensitized towards mass/school shootings.

I remember in High school we had an assembly where members of Rachel's Challenge told us the story of Columbine (this is a charity based on the life & poetry of Rachel Scott who was one of the students killed in the Columbine massacre). We as young students, learned in an intimate way about this historic event & how it impacted the lives of the families & surrounding community. It seemed important to memorialize Columbine. Each of us students left the assembly with a sense of urgency - a mixed with a twinge bit of disbelief. At the time The Columbine massacre seemed distant & far off... A sort of holocaust-esque event, not directly affecting our lives - but important for people to know about... Educated about... So that it would never again happen in history... We were naive. I think I was about 14 or 15...

Photo by Edwin Andrade

Now I am 26 & while I have been living in India for the past 9 months I have made the startling realization that I have become desensitized towards mass/school shootings... (As a side note I do not know what the categorical difference would be aside from one taking place at a school.) I don't have a solution for them at the present moment, but wanted to just write this to vent & maybe start a larger conversation with people. However before continuing. I do consider my personal desensitization towards mass/school shootings a problem/bad.

I don't know how to keep track of all the mass/school shootings... So I just don't. This is a conscious decision on my part - perhaps a cop out on my behalf... But I doubt I am alone in this. At least with hurricanes or snowstorms we can differentiate them by the years in which they occur... I believe in 2018 this is still possible... But it probably has to do more with mass/school shootings are so geographically diverse because the frequency is only increasing.

The easiest example in regards to school shootings frequency would be that if I told someone that I knew someone who was attending Virginia Tech when the shooting happened (I do/did not to my best knowledge). The first question they might ask would be which Virginia Tech shooting are you talking about?

I am not qualified to write legislation or know the intricacies of policy. I write this post with the sole intention of starting a conversation. I do not write about my desensitization towards mass/school shootings proudly, I just know it to be true in the same way my name is Tim.

In the more than 20 yrs since Columbine mass/school shootings have become a part of American culture. We should be disgusted by this, as it is an embarrassment to a country I love dearly. To put it into perspective for the past few years there have been more mass/school shootings (combining the figures. data from https://www.massshootingtracker.org/data/) than regular season NFL games (256). Conveniently enough you do not have to wait until Sunday/Monday/Thursday to get caught up on the most recent mass/school shooting in America.

I do not know anyone who has lost their lives in a mass/school just yet. I am grateful for being lucky in this way, yes luck is the best way to describe it. I am sure that many people reading this know someone who has lost a loved one to mass/school shootings. A tragic human phenomenon is that something does not become real until it personally affects people. Even though I am desensitized, I consider the issue very real & in need to fixing in as comprehensive way possible.

As a final note, thank you for reading. Let's now begin a conversation that can create some real change. When I was writing this I misspelled Columbine - I did not realize there was a "U" in the word. The spellchecker I use was kind enough to correct me due to the historical understanding // significance of the event. I say this because I have a fear of in the future spellchecker not keeping up to date with Sandy Hook, New Town, BlacksBurg, Sutherland Springs, and San Bernardino. But that is up to us rather than spellchecker. So let's do something about it.

-Tim O'Sullivan

Good lessons learned from bad leaders

As we go through life we will encounter a few bad leaders. One option is to complain about them & another is to learn from these bad leaders.  For the past few years I have focused on the latter point. I separate these leadership lessons into a good trait to incorporate & be mindful to not replicate.

Good Trait to Incorporate:

Think of leadership almost as a surgeon would... Even if the body as a whole is dying of cancer - there still might be several good organs that others could use... Focus on what a bad leader does well & incorporate it into your own leadership style.

Expectation Setting - A previous boss of mine was a remarkable expectation setter... As a whole an uninspiring leader... However could teach a whole class on how & why expectation setting is important. Make sure employees understand what success looks like, how to act, how not to act, when to ask for help, and any other relevant information. Every good leader should aspire to this level of expectation setting.

Before assigning any task or project - think about how you would like it done. Customize this to employees & their unique skill-sets if possible. Expectation setting is the map that you are having people follow, but a map is useless if it is not able to be read.

Being inspirational - While not an essential component to leadership, inspiration can prove pivotal at key moments. Inspiration can be used to grow a company or motivate employees towards deadlines they might not otherwise meet. There is a dark side of inspiration though, being enticed by someone who is inspirational but not a leader. In the past I have been seduced by a leaders charisma & was let down by their leadership abilities at a later time. In the long run inspiration can have an immense value in leading.

Words can fail us - I believe that this is a vital concept not only in leadership but in communication in general. There are a few people in the world who are excellent with their words - able to express exactly what they mean in a quick & concise manner. There will be times when showing something will prove better than saying it out loud. There will be times when someone's first language is not your own - be compassionate about this.

If something is unclear ask again what someone means rather than guessing. It may take an extra moment or two but that can save a lot of time vs. doing something totally wrong. Be aware of your employees communication strengths. Perhaps with one employee you can communicate what you want from gestures & eye-contact. With others though it could be needed to write out specific instructions or spend extra time explaining. The spoken word is an imperfect means of communication, good leaders know this & find creative alternatives.

Be mindful not to replicate:

Another key role of the surgeon other than taking out bad organs is that of performing transplants. It is essential to not adopt(transplant) specific traits or practices of our bad leaders. This section ranges from what a leader should already do before hiring employees - to micro/macro interactions that compromise their leadership.

Where you are going & identity - If expectation setting is about the micro interactions between boss & employee. Then knowing where you are going & identity are the macro relationship between employee & company. Goals of where the company is going should be set in place before any employee is hired. Being intentional with a what the long term vision, narrative, values, people, and practices are is key.

If someone knows where they are expected to go it is just a matter of how //  getting there. The road itself may prove to be difficult, but the individual knows where they were going... It does not whether an employee is motivated or not, they cannot achieve a vision if they do not know what that vision is.

What does identity really mean?. The most powerful brands in the world make it very easy for consumers to know who they are & their values. An example I have been thinking about recently is Harley Davidson. While this brand is not something I personally identity with - I easily understand the companies viewpoint.

Here is Harley Davidson's internal positioning statement:

“The only motorcycle manufacturer

That makes big, loud motorcycles
For macho guys (and “macho wannabes”)
Mostly in the United States
Who want to join a gang of cowboys
In an era of decreasing personal freedom.”

Even though this internal positioning statement might be polarizing Harley-Davidson is clearly stating what their values & identity are. Every employee & customer is able to understand with ease what this company is all about. If you are ever in a leadership position be sure to be intentional about internal position before any employee is hired. Is essence with a clear position you will hire better employees as they will be authentically attracted to what your brand is all about.

Build camaraderie but not too much comfort - The best leaders create an environment of camaraderie, but never allow comfort that would compromise their leadership position. In professional sports this occurs when a coach takes feedback from players during practice. However when the game is on the line they make the final decisions that are best for the team.

To put it another way never be the boss who tries to be best friends with every employee. A healthy distance will do a world of difference for how you are perceived by everyone.  I do not believe it was a coincidence that when a previous boss of mine tried to be buddy buddy with everyone, no one in the company respected him. Being a leader is a conscious differentiation - it is about being better than anyone. It is about when times are tough someone will lead & others will follow.

Not being present as a leader - You are trying to have a conversation about your future with the company in the bosses office - then... before you are able to build up the courage to say what you want to... The bosses cell phone on the table pings. Then a few moments later it starts ringing. Your boss looks at you sheepishly... "I am going to have to take that..." & for you that is all you need to know... Your boss is not going to give you their full presence & probably never will. When 10 minutes later your boss asks what you wanted to talk about, now you are the sheepish one... "Nothing of importance" you reply... Value your employees time with your full undivided presence as a leader. Never allow a situation like the one I just described happen if you care about your employees.

Likewise when managing a team that is remote or not all in the same place a leaders presence is even more important. In this way be consistent with your presence, set up a weekly video meeting. Make sure that employees know that you see them as real rather than robots. Having had many leaders who were not present with me, I always try my hardest to be mindful of giving my full presence to the people under my care.

The best leaders learn from the bad leaders of their past:

As I was writing this,  I realized how grateful I am for the bad leaders of my past. It is these bad leaders that have forced me to grow in ways the good leaders never would. It is easier for me to put myself in the shoes of the bad leaders & think what I would have done differently. I am a student of leadership, and in being one I take every opportunity available to learn & improve myself. Life is all about the climb, not being bogged down by the weather of the moment & aspiring to always higher peaks. I would be curious to hear what others have learned from the bad leaders of their lives... How did they change you? What do you do to not become like them when you are in a leadership position yourself?

-Tim O'Sullivan

A New Chapter.

Photo by John-Mark-Kuznietsov

I knew it would feel different... That first step on Indian soil compared to when I had first come to India 6 months before.. When I was younger I did not imagine dedicating a chapter of my life to living in India. I am happy that I remained open-minded // patient enough to embrace all that has been India.

I arrived to India without having a job - the company that I had planned to work for decided not to hire me the night before my flight. I have always believed in myself - so I figured worst case... an expensive vacation. Within a week I had found a job in a travel company as a content writer // social media manager.

This would be a type of work I had never done before. While my work life has not always been ideal, I am a part of a team of people from over 6 different countries. This has been one of my families while living in India. As someone who is constantly looking to understand the globalized world in a deeper way my fellow co-workers have been a boon.

Another family for me while living in India has been the expat community. People from Egypt, Russia, Brazil, Sweden, England, Nepal, & various other areas of India. This has been the backbone of my social life. However instead of running bar crawls I participate in them, ever asking questions about different peoples culture & lives.

While I am grateful for this past period of my life - I am keenly aware it has ended. I will search for more meaningful work living in the United states within the next few months.

A little about me to future employers - 

I am someone who is constantly looking to optimize my life. I am unwilling to live in a world where good enough is an acceptable standard operating procedure. I want to be a part of a team. Working with others - picking their brains about different strategies or tactics is how the best ideas come out I believe.

I believe that analysis used for games such as chess can be valuable in a business setting. Surely nothing will ever be as black & white as running a chess board state through a computer simulator, but we can review business decisions as such. A commitment to growth through feedback is the reason to me that that analysis is done. I was advised recently that feedback is fundamental to our own development.

Photo by Hiedi Sandstorm

Where Will I go Next?

I've always had the notion of owning my own business. Leveraging my abilities as a passionate generalist to bring in new ideas & perspectives that will achieve long term growth. I guess that is a sexier way to say be a consultant. I prefer accomplice though. When I think about the word accomplice - I think mischief, disrupting something. What I hope to disrupt more than anything is the cancer that is bad leadership that exists in the world.

I am a leadership nerd. I love reading histories of ancient rulers innovative strategies to create a better life for their people. With the current world configuration ancient kingdoms have given way to companies. In particular CEO's are symbolic of regional kings & queens throughout the ages. My allegiance is to good leadership first & foremost but my highest priority when I come back to the United States is learning good leadership in a hands-on setting. I still have more theoretical knowledge of leadership vs. practical experience so I am committing to being a follower right now.

How can you help?

I will for sure need some mentorship... What are some lessons in leadership that I can learn from you? What do you define as good // bad leadership? I want to collaborate with people to have conversations about different leadership perspectives in different industries.  

As a passionate generalist I am able to bring in a lot of different perspectives that might not be known by a someone who is a specialist. In this way I bring a valuable perspective to the table. I will be grounding myself in a bit more of the fundamentals of business such as finance & basic business planning. Creating a network // consistent content that I am thinking about will be a big part of my future as well.

I am ecstatic about what my future holds. Thank you everyone for all of the support via social media, whatsapp, & in person. Without the support of all the people I love I would not be able to be following my dreams like I am right now.

With love,

-Tim O'Sullivan

Photo by Mantas-Hesthaven

How Habits Hurt & Help

I am not a morning person. However I can develop habits that would allow me to become a morning person. We as humans are ruled by our habits. There are habits that we have consciously created & others which are subconscious. I believe we must be mindful about habits, so they do not rule our lives subconsciously.

Beginning to open my eyes to my habits:

I saw ants scurrying about on the ground, at first just noticing one - then many. With each passing moment I noticed more ants, I had finally woken up. Physically I had already been awake for close to half an hour, yet noticing the ants had woken me up mentally. The noticing of the ants had broken me out of my subconscious morning routine. This morning routine 9/10 times is healthy as it allows me to wake up, shower, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, put on clothes, and walk to work all without conscious thought. After having lived in India for over 6 months I have created a number of habits which for better or worse run my life. Even though most of my habits are healthy, I do an inventory of my habits every few weeks.

I would encourage everyone reading to stop for a moment to think about the different habits that construct your morning routine. I imagine everyone has a morning routine even if people do not think about it in this way. Write the habits that you do every single day, you might even surprise yourself. I will list below my ideal rituals for the morning - these will come up later when I am talking about how I want to become a morning person a bit more.

My ideal morning routine:

• Wake up at a consistent time
• Drink lemon water
• Shower
• Brush my teeth
• Put clothes on
• Breakfast
• Listen to some music // meditate
• Walk to metro for work

Get into work:

• Make coffee 
• Set up// plug in laptop
• Check social media posts
• Check Email
• Write in my journal
• Create a to-do list for the day
• Check in with other co-workers about what needs to be done
• Turn off social media // Phone until lunch to grind through some solo work

Every few weeks I write out the habits that are a part of my life. I find for me a lot of my habits exist in a certain environment (which is why traveling for some people is such a freeing experience, all of their environmental habits do not exist.). An example of this is when I went back to the US for a week I did somethings I had not done at all during my time in India. If you want to change yourself as a person you have to change your habits.

How we develop habits:

People differ radically in their personal habits, however the way in which we create them is largely the same. The dictionary defines a habit as: an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed to the point that it almost becomes involuntary. I would argue more of our daily habits are subconscious than conscious.

I learned a lot of what I know about habits from a book called the power of habit by Charles Duhigg. In this book habits are broken down in a more psychological way than I will be doing. The power of habit explains that every habit can be broken down into elements known as the habit loop. The habit loop of every habit consists of a stimulus - routine - reward. If the goal is to change an undesirable habit it is best to focus on changing the routine or reward.

A way to tackle the routine or reward with habits would be if someone smoked cigarettes whenever they felt stressed chew gum instead. The stimulus of stress remains the same however it is the routine of how you respond to the stress with gum that changes. This is one of the best uses of habits - creating new ones in the place of our old undesirable habits.

Another part of habits that is commonplace is that it takes about 20-35 days for a new habit to form. This is doing a new habit every single day (ideally at the same time or for instance always before you go to bed) for maximum effectiveness. While this may seem like a long time after about 2 weeks the habit begins to solidify so the process does become easier. I find when trying to create a new habit using a calendar & checking off during the day when I complete the habit is helpful.

What are unhealthy habits?

While I cannot say what an unhealthy is for anyone else but myself, I believe that it is irresponsible to not be conscious of the habits we have. For me personally I have a bad habit of when I get home from work I will immediately lie down on my bed looking at social media. This isn't something that hurts anyone, but I am actively trying to do it less. I  believe it is more important to be aware of our bad habits than our good ones. Just knowing how habits hurt & help is key. Do not attach emotion to the habit just list it as you would a schedule. 

My Journey to becoming a morning person:

For as long as I can remember I have been a night owl. It is a part of my identity in the same way that my name is Tim or that I grew up in Reading, Massachusetts. I want to become a morning person I feel this will help me to get to where I want to in life of owning my own businesses & consulting. In truth there will be much other work to be done - but this is a good example of how someone can reset or use habit inventories to change their lives. The following is a list of current habits that I have, in the next few months I will be working to change them & create more consistency in my life.

Current night before // morning habits:

Night before:

• No set bed time
• Often going to sleep with phone/laptop at my bed side
• Ineffective alarm clock that I often sleep through
• Drinking alcohol directly before bed
• Not brushing my teeth
• Some times going to bed in the clothes I wore during the day

Morning of:

• Inconsistent wake up time
• Not always brushing Teeth
• Sometimes starting my day by checking social media // sports scores
• Not always showering
• Getting into work at an inconsistent time.

I already mentioned my ideal morning routine earlier in the blog. I would add to that I am not yet reaching that goal with consistency - not yet fully formed all of those habits. It can seem like such a drastic change, but the truth is focus on only 1-2 different habits at once. Maybe for instance I just create the habit of brushing my teeth every night & morning. Once this habit is fully formed I am doing it without thought I can tackle some others that make up my ideal routine.

I hope this post was helpful for people. I have been a bit inconsistent with writing in this blog but am excited for the future of it. If you found this type of blog useful I am always looking for some feedback // comments to improve or even if you just want to talk about habits more!

-Timmo

Photos from the weekend: Manipur

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting an area of Northeastern India called Manipur. I was invited by the government of Manipur to run a 7.5 km race/festival called the Sangai Run. These are just a few of the pictures I took while falling in love with this isolated region & its people.

This is Winky whose kindness knows no limits. After only knowing Winky for about 2 hours he decided to introduce me to his family then proceeded to cook me his signature dish of chicken curry. I could not have asked for a more gracious host or a more perfect first night in Manipur. 

The next few pictures are all from a tour of Imphal, which is the capital of Manipur. The way the lights reflect upon the river reminded me of the lit houses in Philadelphia which made me a bit nostalgic for the US. I prefer darker pictures with light illumination from unique. The blurriness of the mixed color bulbs is one of my favorite features on the water. 

This is a traditional Manipuri house that was being displayed for another cultural festivial. The Northeast area of India almost feels like a different country compared to other parts of India. The light outside the front door reminded me of my childhood home where there was a light on our front porch. As long as the front porch light was on anyone was welcome to visit us.

 The lit lamp of my childhood home signified that people were welcome to come over. I think of this  In fact whenever I see a light like this, I think of it as an inviting beacon for travelers. 

 In the house I spent most of my life  When I was growing up we would have a single lamp outside of our front door which would mean anyone could come over.This is a traditional Northeastern house that they had set up to display the history of the area. The richness of the culture in this area really blew me away. I love how the lamp is lit next to the door as it almost is a welcoming light to travelers like myself.

Adorning the pathway on the cultural festival grounds are these glass lamps made to look like ink block prints. I appreciate the attention to detail that ink block prints have which I feel these lamps do a good job of replicating.

This was the first picture I took after arriving to the race area of Loktak Lake. This expanse of India is known for being the largest fresh water lake in the country. While I do not know for sure, it is my impression this is a father & son going for an early morning canoe ride.

One of the more humbling factors in photography is the fleeting nature of moments. At times you have to cede credit to luck much more than ability which is what I would say picture embodies. Just being appreciative of being in the right place at the right time.

I feel as though a lot of the landscapes of this region almost seem like oil paintings. The lush greenery of the hills goes for as far as the eye can see. The colors really pop compared to some of the pictures from the morning when we first arrived at Loktak Lake.

A man rowing back to shore with his sandals after fishing. Loktak Lake is known in the region for its plentiful stock of fresh water fish. The rolling hills in the distance allow us as humans the understand how small we are.

 One of the unexpected highlights of the weekend was spending time with these two Ethopians. Besides both winning the race these two are an abolsute joy. They taught me so much about building relationships//communication, as neither of them speak english. I will expand about both of them in a future post.

Another big surprise of the weekend was how quickly the sun set in this region. This picture is taken around 5 pm with the sun having almost entirely set. Across the lake is one of the many fishing villages we passed through while running the race. 

This picture was taken during the cultural display festival after the Sangai race. A lot of the time when I am at events like this I look into the crowd to see how others are enjoying the moment. With photography I now have the ability to capture & share photos like these with others.

The Northeast of India is known for their love of rock music - so we saw a local band to cap off the festival. The first song of the set was a cover of Elvis's Jail House Rock which set an amazing vibe. They added in a few original songs along with surprising but crowd bonding rock cover of Stir it up by Bob Marley.

I am so grateful for this weekend, I will be writing a more in-depth post about it later. In the future I will including a bit more of my photography into my blog posts. Before coming to India I bought a camera so it has been a learning experience to begin to dabble into photography. Taking pictures & sharing them with people has evolved into an important part of how I express myself as a person. This post was a bit different from anything I have ever done so curious how people liked it.

-Tim

How To Run A Bar Crawl

A bar crawl enjoying a local pub in Boston.

Bringing people together has always brought me immense joy. Before moving to India I volunteered for a non-profit Hi-International taking hostel guests on bar crawls around Boston. Bar crawls are a natural fit for my personality as I was able to create real relationships while showing people some of my favorite spots. First I will break down what each bar on the crawl is like, while finishing up with some additional tips.

Bar 1 - Creating connections through conversation  - 

Goals: Getting a sense of who is on the bar crawl. Try to talk to almost everyone or every group. Begin to think about where people might most like to go later in the night.

A pub environment is ideal for the first bar. Having a low-key atmosphere where the music is not too loud & people can sit down to socialize. Try to talk to everyone in the group, getting to know a little about each person. 

This bar is the best to be a regular patron at, I am often introducing other regulars to people on your bar crawl.  leaving the bar with a few regulars who have made positive connections is not an infrequent event. The easy going environment of the first bar is the perfect place for people to ask questions about Boston or what I do when I am not running bar crawls. Around 10 minutes before you want to leave let people know, some will want to grab an extra drink before going.

Bar 2 - A little bit of spectacle -  

Goals: Allow people to socialize in a different way than the first bar. Outdoor patios, funky themes, unique cocktails or beers, and games are ideal.

The majority of people on my crawls would only be in Boston for a few days, therefore I always looked to offer unique experiences. Now that everyone has warmed up their socializing muscles allow them to socialize in a different way. I am a lover of games myself so any bar with a pool table I am at home. Naturally games are not for everyone so other ideas include outdoor patios, unique cocktails or beers, and special themes or promotions (think holidays like Saint Patrick's or New Years Eve.). I always think of bars in how people can express different components of their personality. For those who are not expressive conversationally perhaps games are a better fit for them. In the last few months while I was in Boston an arcade focused bar opened up, which I would bring people as it is quite uncommon.

One of my bar crawls after playing a few rounds of pool.

Bar 3 - Move ye Body 

Goals: Allow people to have the best experience possible suited to their preferences. Offer different options for different people based upon what they like. Good options are live music, clubs, more low-key bars, and late night food places.

The third bar is all about empowering people through options & their personal preferences. I will often lead a group of people somewhere with local artists playing live music. Additional alternatives are clubs, low-key bars,and late night food spots. I would say this is the hardest part of the night as some people will more likely than not want to go to different spots. Use what you learned about people from the previous bars to encourage them to do what will make them happiest. If someone wants to go to a club or another spot - never take it personally, after all they are doing what makes them happiest. Let people know which places charge an entry fee (or if the bar is cash only), as this will be a factor for some & not a big deal for others. Finally I always tell everyone that I will be going to a food spot in the area at 2 am (show them where it is on a map or send it to them on the phone), so if they want to meet up they are more than welcome. Never take anything personal if someones choices or preference is different from your own. At this point in the night just give people options which they might best prefer & wish them well. There will be venues that have an entry fee while others may not, always mention this to people as for some it will be a big factor but for others not so much.

Nothing ends the night better than pizza.

Late Night Food -  The way to solidify friendships

I firmly believe that food is the best way to solidify friendships - whenever I go to a new city I am always looking up the places to go at the wee hours of the morning for food. The camaraderie (or hilarity dependent on sobriety) of a pizza shop at 2 am if something I miss while living in India. In a bar crawl setting - if people venture off I always tell them what pizza shop I will be going to later on so they can find me. Creating this rally point can be an important assurance of safety that everyone makes it home free of harm.

Quick Tips: 

Have a plan but be open-minded: Some of the best bar crawls involve the unexpected. Having a plan for the night is important, but make sure that that plan is flexible. A few of my most memorable & fun bar crawls came about from embracing the moment to go somewhere new.

Always be mindful if people are getting food: While drinking //socializing is the primary focus of most of the people on a bar crawl, some amount of people will always want to get food. Just understand who is getting food to calibrate that everyone is leaving at the same time. It is quite helpful to ask who is thinking about getting food before even entering a bar. Knowing who wants food means you can get them a menu // order food faster. This ensures that so no one is waiting or being left when moving to a new bar.

Bring in locals: Do you have fun friends ? Every once in a while I will invite a few of my local friends to bar crawls so that they can meet new people. The idea behind inviting friends is very similar to why you would invite regulars at the first bar yet with just a  bit more pre-planning. The only caveat is make sure you do not only talk to your friend & prioritize being of service to your bar crawl.

Make sure that they get home safe: While certainly you are no ones mother, make sure that everyone is getting home safe. If someone is quite drunk, make sure they are not going home alone. If people are going home on the metro, make sure they know which stop to get off on & when the metro closes.

Be mindful of different cultures: The wide array of cultures & perspectives is one of the greatest boons of the of the bar crawl. Yet always be mindful of the potential for mild misinterpretation. I have never had serious issues with cultural disagreements, but I would be remiss not to mention the possibility..

Conclusion:

Running bar crawls for Hi-International is one of the best opportunities I have had in my life. The ability to meet people from around the world & learn about different cultures has made me a better person. I have always had a strong belief in the natural goodness in strangers, but more often than not my bar crawls end up with a lot of new friends. I often living vicariously through people I met on my crawls, learning about different parts of the world I would have never thought were so beautiful. To everyone/anyone who has ever been on a bar crawl of mine - I am grateful for your companionship, the pleasure was mine.

Smiles all around.

Food & Leadership: A Most Satiating Meal

To provide food is an intrinsic form of leadership that is often overlooked. In modern times, especially in Western cultures we are quite independent about how we get our food. However if we look back towards our early ancestors 50,000 years ago in hunter gather cultures, there is a strong correlation between who lead & who provided food. The phrase "putting food on the table" is instructive for figuring our who is the true head of the household in a family. The best leaders know the value of providing both inspirational food & physical food. In some dire situations physical food may even be necessary first before the inspirational food of leadership can take affect. 

As a personal example I remember years ago being a poor hungry college student at one of my first jobs. My boss was one of the most natural leaders I have ever encountered, & at the time I was unsure if I would be able to succeed in the company. In short my boss took me to a Chipotle so that we could talk about my future. To be honest I do not remember any of the conversation that we had, what I remember was him providing me with food. I remember offering to pay, attempting to recollect if I had enough money in my debt account to cover the cost, & him telling me he had it covered. I do not even recall the inspirational food of leadership my boss provided, only the physical food. I would subsequently go on to having the most productive week I ever had at work after this meeting. One of the beauties of physical food as a form of leadership it is relatively easy to do, you do not even have to make the food only provide it. In my particular case after this moment I understood that my boss was there to provide for me, which motivated me to do better at work.

The last few years I have become enamored with Ernest Shackleton's timeless leadership.Throughout his Antarctic expeditions Shackleton would use food to encourage his men, break up monotony, & prepare them for treacherous journey's ahead. Shackleton would lead through providing food during special occasions such as the holidays, "Christmas was celebrated with some carefully held back treats, plum pudding, brandy, cigars and a spoonful of creme de menthe each." Shackleton was affectionately called by his men "The Boss", even through death defying adventures, they were immensely loyal to him. It goes without saying that just by providing people with food will not provide a leader with unshakable loyalty, but one would be hard pressed to not consider it as a component.

Shackleton & His Men Enjoying Warm Tea

An additional example of Shackleton using food as a form of leadership occurred with his failed attempt to the true South Pole. The men were exhausted, at their limits, and Shackleton knew that to go on further would be risking the lives of the people under his care which was not acceptable. The decision was made to head back, but before going back Shackleton shared with his men candied fruit he had been saving for when they had reached the True South Pole. Leadership is not just shown in moments of triumph, often when the best leaders are differentiated is in times of great defeat.

As evolving leaders we need to use all tools available to us for the betterment of the people in our care. This includes being aware of the leaders of history, as well as the ones we interact with in our day-to-day lives. Providing physical food alone will not make you a leader. Nor will providing solely inspirational food. Leadership is a consistent combination of traits that show you have at heart the best interests of those in your care. I believe that the physical food of leadership in modern times is often overlooked. Even if we have readily available access to food, it will always feel good to have it provided for us. In conclusion feed those whom are under your care, not just with inspirational food that will motivate them individually, but as well with physical food that will bring them together under a unified vision.