So where did this crazy idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail  come from?

Well, while it has been building over many years, it all began to germinate quickly as I came back to my office from a typical hot, summer day in Oklahoma.  A FedEx letter was sitting on my desk.  I don’t get a lot of these, so it must be pretty important.  Hope it’s not from some angry customer wanting to take us to court over something, or an ex-employee wanting something, I thought.  Or it could just be another peddler wanting to sell us something, which we probably don’t need. 

With a little apprehension, I zipped open the carboard envelope and pulled out a neatly written letter on Trugreen letterhead.  Now that was interesting.  Trugreen are the “big guys” in our industry, with hundred of branches across the country and millions of customers.  My first lawncare business I had strarted in 1984 in Tulsa, and sold it after ten years of successful operations to these same guys.   When I sold to them in 1993, they were called TrugreenChemlawn, having been purchased by ServiceMaster, a well-respected public company.   Big business is a lot different than small business, in many respects, so the transition did not work too well for my previous employees, and many of my previous customers did not stick around for very long.  While it was a good deal for me and my family financially at the time, there were often feelings of regret on my part of selling out to the big guys. 

I've walked many miles lugging this backpack killing weeds!

I guess I was meant to be a lawncare guy, so after my 5-year non-compete agreement was up in 1999, I went back to what I knew the best and started LawnAmerica, at that time, not really knowing where the path I was on would take me.  But now that I was into my eleventh year back in the business, while things were going well, I was getting that little hint of boredom, or frustration, or whatever a typical entrepreneur goes through after their creation grows into maturity.  All small businesses have their challenges, but our business of making lawns more beautiful can be wearing.  That’s where I was, in the summer of 2009, in spite of being in the middle of a pretty good year overall.   Things were going well, with a great staff, and we’ve been blessed as a business.  While many business owners have struggled this year with the economy, LawnAmerica has continued to do well.  As we approach our twelfth year of business in Tulsa,  Oklahoma, we’re projected to again hit 14% growth, reaching total revenues approaching 4 million, in serving over 8,500 customers in 2010. 

It’s not easy though.  It never is when you’re in business for yourself.  “Being in business for yourself” is such a misnomer though, because when you own a small business, it’s really not for yourself.  You’re in it for many other reasons, and for many more people.  Your family, your employees, their families, vendors, and your customers to name a few, are always the focus of your workday. 

As I read the letter from the CEO of Trugreen, it was the typical “we are searching for great businesses such as yours….”  Well, from my first experience, I don’t know that it would really be a great opportunity for my current employees.  While my respect for Trugreen as a local competitor and a national leader was getting better, and I felt like they were making improvements in their service to their customers, it was still Trugreen.  It was still a big business, with accountability now to private equity investors, since they were not a public company anymore.  And whether it be a public company, or private equity investors, the ultimate goal is shareholder value, and hence money and profits.  While monetary profits are very important for all businesses, it does not drive every decision we make. 

But, I knew the money would be great.  At 56, I could really do something else, really have the freedom I yearned for, maybe start that blueberry farm I dreamed about.  Every entrepreneur and small business owner at times dreams of the time when they can walk away from their business, financially secure, with the satisfaction that their hard work and sacrifice paying off, while leaving a legacy for the future.  Having then the financial freedom to do whatever they want, at least within reason, work fewer hours, travel, buy that dream house, go fishing alot, go wherever their dreams will take them.  So as I imagined the possibility of actually selling out again, just for a few brief moments, I thought of what I would do at that point.  If I could actually walk away with my head held high, sell out, take off that load of responsibility of business ownership, and turn my paper net worth into money in the bank, what would I do? 

Immediately the thought came to me—hike the Appalachian Trail!

That’s it.  I could take as much time as I needed, without customers to please and employees to lead and manage, and with fewer responsibilities,  do what I really wanted to do.   So I dreamed, just for a few minutes at my desk, looking first at the letter, and then the piles of papers, books, computer screen, telephone, and other reminders of the reality of work and the present day. 

Nah—I can’t do that again.  I couldn’t “sell my soul to the devil” and sellout to big, corporate America again.  But for a brief few minutes, I re-captured that feeling one gets when they do sell their business, make some money, walk away from the responsibilities of small business ownership, and have the freedom to do what they really want to do.  After 

Backpacking 26 years ago, with friends and my brother in the Colorado Mountains.

backpacking every summer in the Colorado Rockies since I was a teenager,  I had not backpacked much during the past 26 years.  I had taken my family, and my sons on several trips–mostly short ones.  And that experience paid off for my sons, as the oldest is now carring a 100 lb backpack serving in the Marines, while the other will be heading that way soon as he complete the Marine ROTC program. 

But wouldn’t that be an adventure now, to dust off my old backpack, take up backpacking again on the Appalachian Trail, and re-discover the passions and joys of my earlier years. 

After taking a call at my desk, and shuffling through some more papers, I started to come back to reality.

Even if I did sell out, at my age, I probably couldn’t hike the Appalachian Trail now.  I knew a little about it, enough to know that it is very long, through the Appalachian Mountains, with all kinds of  different people along the way.  It will just have to wait until I do actually decide to really sell and retire—maybe ten, or even fifteen years from now when most people retire.  By then, I’ll probably barely be able to walk to the bathroom at night for one of my two or three nightly visits, I thought to myself, trying to discount even the crazy thought of attempting to do something like that.  It’s not going to happen.  Back to business, as I read the letter again, and slid it underneath my calender pad on my desk. 

So after quickly giving up the notion of evening thinking about selling my business, and heading off to the mountains for the adventure of a lifetime, I was back to solving employee issues, working with vendors, obtaining more customers, and figuring out how to kill weeds better.  That’s OK, as I still did enjoy the business.   It’s all good.  We were growing, doing a lot of good things in the community, and I felt that while far from perfect, I really was overall a good steward of what God had given us.  The thought of doing something adventuresome and challenging did not go away however.  So I decided to spend some time utilizing one of my strengths, in reading and learning more about the Appalachian Trail. 

The next day I was on the internet.  With a  few clicks of the mouse, I was delving into information on the Appalachian Trail, or AT as it’s commonly called.  I ordered two books on Amazon, and quickly engulfed them within a few days of their arrival.  I discovered that the son of one of my son’s football coaches had actually walked the entire trail, or thru-hiked it as it’s called, from Georgia to Maine.  He did it in 100 days, but he’s a young 25 year-old young buck.  By the time I retire, I may be way too old to do this, even if I am still alive.   There are no guarantees that I would live another day, let alone another ten or twenty years.  As I read and discovered more about the AT, dreamed of taking on a challenge such as this, and experiencing this part of America, I began to ask myself a question. 

What if?

Lots and lots of trees, and little grass!

What if I decided to hike the AT anyway?  This adventure of thru-hiking the entire Appalachian Trail  really intrigued me,  so I ordered more books, and talked to more people, and Googled the AT every night.  The more I learned, and the more I visualized myself doing this now, even without selling out. 

An excitement began to build up inside me, that I could not rationally explain away.  Would it be responsible for a business owner, husband, parent, and son to just take off for months in order to backpack across America?  Is it selfish to do so, with so many other responsibilities?   I spoke with my wife, and just a few of my close friends about what was going on in my mind, assuring them I wasn’t having a mid-life crisis or running away from problems.   It was just something that all of a sudden, I wanted to do.  It was a challenge.  It was doing something that I had really enjoyed as a teenager and young adult, but had to give up with all the responsibilities of being a husband, father, business owner, coach, Sunday School teacher, friend, neighbor, and all the other activities and responsibilites of adulthood.  My passions from my childhood and earlier years began to re-germintate.  ( I recommend reading “Now, Discover Your Strenths” by Marcus Buckingham, along with “Strengfhfinders 2.0″ by Tom Rath.) 

Hiking the AT would definatelly be a physical and mental challenge, even if I could take off.  Most people take 5-6 months to complete the entire trail. 

Most people in fact do not make it the entire 2,175 miles, with only 10-15% of  hikers attempting to thru-hiking the AT actually making  to the end.

And most people who hike it are younger than 56 years old!  What if I could try it now?   Could I pull it off?   I was in reasonably good shape, and I was mentally strong, so the more I thought about it, the more strongly I felt that I could do it.  My doctor prescribed what he called his “secret weapon pills”, which immediately caused my hip pain of several years to go away.  That got me excited, as I thought that without the constant hip pain, I could pull this off.  It would take me four months, as I really could not be away any longer than that.  Knowing that I had to be in great shape to make it would provide extra incentive in my physical preparations to get ready. 

One of the strengths I have is a strong belief system, which drives me in especially in my roles as business owner, husband, and father.  One thing that makes LawnAmerica unique is that one of our Core Values is to honor God by acting as a steward towards all that God has given us.  One way we do that is by giving back to the community through monetary and time donations.   So as I began to brainstorm as to how this hike could not just be about me,–what if I did it to raise awareness and money for some of the organizations we’ve helped in the past? 

So the idea of my journey to be in conjunction with our values of helping and giving back to the community quickly evolved, as I spoke to several of my friends from these organizations.  LawnAmerica would commit $50,000 in matching donations towards raising another $50,000 from customers, friends, and others, to be contributed to five special charities in the Tulsa area.  By sponsoring my hike at a certain amount per mile, or with fixed donations, our goal would be to raise and contribute $100,000 divided up amoung The Little Lighthouse, Tulsa Rogers (my old H.S), Young Life, Folds of Honor, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army.  Our emphasis is on helping people in the Tulsa area with financial, housing, physical, educational, and their spiritual needs. 

We came up with the name AT2010—A Compassionate Journey.  It was going to be much more than just a long backpacking trip across the mountains for myself.  Oh I could envision myself having fun, but also knew it was going to be very difficult. 

 But it had to be just not about me—others had to benefit.

It had to be a win-win for all.  I felt that after talking with others, including now my staff, that this could be just that—an adventure of a lifetime for myself, while helping many other people and organizations in the community with my efforts.   While not trying to promote my business directly, it would allow even more of the community, and potential customers, to see clearly what we were all about.  People like to do business with good, honest people who give back to the community.  That’s who we are, so I would gladly accept any positive buzz and publicity that would help our business obtain more customers. 

So it was only after about three months of reading about eight  books on the Appalachian Trail, visiting with a few folks who had done it, conferring with my family, my staff, and a few trusted friends, along with prayer, that I made the decision to pull the trigger and go for it.  I’m sure that some may think I’m nuts, and I know that they’ll be others who would  perceive this to be selfish, crazy, or foolish.  Some will think that I won’t make it to the end.  So who cares?  All I know is that for some reason, there is a passion that’s developed, along with a vision of the good things that could come from this.  I’ve always felt that God “calls” us to do certain things, and to be certain people.  It’s not just the preachers who God calls—it’s everyone who will listen, discern, and act upon that calling. 

I didn’t fully understand it, but I know that I was born to hike the Appalachian Trail at 56 years of age.

The final goal--Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

So this is how I processed and acted upon that initial thought of “what if I could hike the Appalachian Trail.”   It all started  with a dream, a vision, or wanting to accomplish something for myself  and for others, and a longing for adventure.  So as winter approaches, I have a little less than six months to get ready to go.  If it was just a matter of getting myself physically ready and saving some money (It will cost me about $4,500 for this hike, plus lost wages), that would be easy.  But this is more that just a hike.  It really is a journey.  It’s not just about me, although the success of this deal rests squarely on my shoulders, and my legs, and my arthritic hip in carrying my pack for over 2,175 miles in four months time.  Obtaining support, raising $50,000 in donations in a tough economy, and keeping my business growing and healthy so that we can donate our $50,000 in matching funds is going to be even more of a challenge. 

I’m not in this just for myself,  just as being a successful small business owner cannot be in it just for themselves.  Only when the focus is on others, will a business owner truly be successful.  And by using the same principles of helping others, of showing compassion, of putting others before myself, I hope to make this AT2010 truly a journey of compassion, helping to benefit many other people, and making a difference in the Tulsa area community in which we live. 

And at the same time, I’ll be having a blast!   Now hiking for over 2,000 miles through rain, extreme temperatures, going days without a shower, sleeping on the ground, eating tasteless food, fending off ticks, bugs, snakes, wild boars, and maybe even bears may not sound too fun for many people, it trips my trigger just thinking about it.  I’m ready to lace up the hiking boots, throw on my backpack, and head to Georgia!  First things first though, as without preparation and planning, I will fail. 

Reality check–get to work.  I’ve got alot to do before heading to Springer Mountain in Georgia at the end of May. 

I'll be standing here by Oct. 1, 2010!