New Beginnings & Courage With Sanni McCandless

“We'll never suddenly be “ready” and move forward without making a single mistake. In fact, I think it can be dangerous to let “readiness” hold us back from trying out something new. I always like to say, you'll know 100x more than you do right now after you've gotten version one out the door.” — Sanni McCandless

I was intrigued by Sanni McCandless in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo. In the film, Alex Honnold tackles Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan…just him and the rock, no ropes or equipment. Though Alex is the star of the show, Sanni’s peaceful presence resonated with me deeply. I whole-heartedly admire (and aspire!) towards her courage and ability to stay calm and balanced through intensity, extreme challenge and fear. Sanni naturally embodies the wisdom that she shares in her interview below: “Acknowledge that fear and doubt exist and choose to move forward anyway.”

Today, May 22, is the new moon. This is a new beginning for free-spirits globally. The last few months have been a mindfulness pause. Now, as we embrace this fresh start, explore our wild ideas, and blaze our own trails, fear is a healthy part of the process. A combination of fear + excitement can be used as inner compass to guide us in the direction of our growth. Tune into fear of the unknown here.

This new moon is a clean slate—let’s start fresh. As you move forward and embrace this new beginning, are you recognizing your fears and summoning your courage? What are your next steps?

Arianna Huffington, author of Thrive and co-founder of the Huffington Post, is currently reading Wildpreneurs (a dream come true for me!). Arianna is also exploring fear and is sharing this excerpt from Wildpreneurs with her community: "Find the people who pick you up, dust you off, give you courage to confront fear and keep you on track (we may also learn from those who haven’t confronted their fears and have regrets)."

Sanni McCandless is one of those people who will pick you up and dust you off. She is the wellspring of courage that we all need right now as we adventure into uncharted territory. Several years ago Sanni quit her job working at a software company in Seattle to pursue a new, outdoor focused career as a life coach who specializes in living intentionally and courageously.

May Sanni’s Wildpreneur wisdom empower us to go boldly forward with new beginnings and no regrets…here’s what Sanni has to say.

Describe your perfect day as a Wildpreneur.

In my perfect day, I would wake up at 8am and play cribbage with my partner while I drink my coffee and eat breakfast. From 9-11, I would have 1:1 coaching calls with my clients, and watch as they make powerful discoveries about what's holding them back and how to move forward courageously and intentionally in their lives. In the afternoon, I'd go rock climbing with friends for a few hours at a local crag. We'd try hard on our climbing projects and sit and laugh in the sunshine together in between tries. I'd return home around 4:30 and do an online group coaching workshop around one my favorite topics, such as communication, values, or boundary-setting. At 6:30, my partner and I would make dinner and afterwards we'd play ping pong outside until it's too dark to see. Around 8, I'd return to my desk for another few hours of work, emailing, or writing. We'd be in bed at 10:30 to read a book or watch a show before falling asleep.

Tell us about your wild businesses! What was your inspiration to create your coaching practice and Outwild?

Coaching was something I always wanted to do, but felt would be a “later in life” career. I was really held back my belief that no one would want to work with a life coach under 30! One day, I was chatting with a friend of mine and she reminded me that coaching is not an “advice-driven” practice. The best coaches provide their clients with a foundation to see themselves, their thoughts, and their lives differently. They ask thoughtful questions, and pick out themes and patterns from their client's responses. They are a safe space, good listeners, and able to hold you accountable. Most importantly, they keep their own ego out of the mix and don't try to “show you how it's done.” Her reminder helped me realize that I already had many of the traits that would make me a good coach, and that my age had nothing to do with it! I gave myself a financial runway and a few months after receiving my coaching credentials to give it my best shot. Now, it's been 3 years and I'm still loving it!

Outwild came about through a combination of dreaming big and serendipity. Since college, I'd had the desire to one day host retreats, but I wasn't ever sure when or how that dream would happen. One day, a man named, Jeremy Jensen, approached me to be on his, “Adventurepreneur Podcast.” At some point during our chat, I mentioned wanting to take my coaching skills into the retreat setting because I really believed in stepping away from our day-to-day life to gain perspective, reflect, and recharge. A few months later, Jeremy gave me a call out of the blue and said, “I want to bring what I've learned on the podcast into the retreat space with you and help people create these outdoor-driven lifestyles that we're talking about.” I was thrilled to hear it. Two days later, I was on the phone with a friend of mine when she said our mutual friend, Courtney (who had been working and living out of her Subaru in Jackson Hole), wanted to work in events and was thinking of looking into retreat experiences. At that moment, I knew the timing was right and the team was there. I called up Court and told her about the conversations I'd had with Jeremy. The three of us got on a call and two hours later knew we wanted to work together and host our first event that year. Outwild was born and our slogan became, “a community and event series that helps people create more outdoor, value-driven lifestyles.” The rest is history!

What do you wish you’d known prior to getting started as a Wildpreneur? 

Honestly, nothing is coming to mind! Not to say that I knew what I was doing by any means, but I think a huge part of this lifestyle is being comfortable with trial and error. We'll never suddenly be “ready” and move forward without making a single mistake. In fact, I think it can be dangerous to let “readiness” hold us back from trying out something new. I always like to say, you'll know 100x more than you do right now after you've gotten version one out the door. 

What advice would you give to someone who is considering turning their passion into a business?

1. Don't forget customer discovery! Sometimes when we are focused on something we're passionate about, we make the honest mistake of assuming that everyone else feels the same way as we do. But I believe it is critical to learn about our audience from our audience! Surveys are your friend :)

2. Never reinvent the wheel. No matter what you're hoping to create, there's probably someone out there who has either done something similar or, at the very least, has similar business components. It's not only important to see who our friendly competition (or future colleagues!) might be, but more importantly we can learn from the people and businesses around us. Seeking information, guidance, or even an idea of what you want to avoid from outside resources can help you move more quickly through the early stages and not get caught up trying to build/learn from scratch.

 Do you have a favorite motivational quote?

“Acknowledge that fear and doubt exist and choose to move forward anyway.”

Anything else you’d like to share about your journey?

Thanks for having me and reading my rambles! :)

Where can we follow you? Please share your website, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

You can find me on my website, sannimccandless.com, or on Instagram @sannimccandless