Scorpions and Secrets in the Sand: Knowing What You're Looking For

In the vast Namibian desert, the art of tracking elephants requires a discerning eye and an ability to recognize subtle signs. In episode 2 of 5, we uncover hidden truths and remarkable insights - and how they help you navigate through life's twists and turns.

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Knowing What You're Looking For

Today we’re delving into more dusty hot Namibian adventures…the good, the bad, and the creepy. Let’s go!

The second really big thing I learned while we were tracking elusive desert elephants is:

You have to know what it is that you're looking for.

You have to be able to see and notice the signs.

Here’s what an elephant track looks like. It's actually really subtle.

So often during the tracking process, we'd be driving in the safari vehicle and we’re “hot on the trail” following the elephant footprints. I'm looking everywhere and thinking, “I don't see anything!” But there was a lot to learn about spotting a track and understanding what it means.

For instance, when the elephant footprint is round, it’s the front foot and when it's oval or sort of oblong, it's the back foot.

You can also tell what direction the elephant is traveling in, because when the elephant pushes off, its toe digs in to the sand. So we can see in this picture that the elephants are actually traveling towards the top of the image.

You can also tell how fast the elephants are moving. If the footprints are really close together, that means they're walking more slowly than if the footprints are further apart. You can also tell the time of day that they moved through. And when Herman, the tracker, first said this, I thought he was totally pulling our leg.

Y'all, it is hot in Namibia. So elephants during the day are not only looking for food and water, they're looking for shade. He explained that if the footprints are on the right side of the tree, they passed through in the morning, or if the footprints are on the left side of the tree, you know they passed through in the afternoon.

Head explosion. If you know what you're looking for, there's a lot of information there!

And the poop. Oh, my goodness. Were we ever obsessed with the poop! We're going to get back to that in a future video. (And I bet you're counting down the minutes for that one.)

So how does all this relate to you and me?

1. Sometimes the signs are super obvious. And sometimes the signs are a bit more subtle.

Maybe you get downsized or you get fired. That one’s pretty obvious. Or this has happened to me before: I was warming up a potential new big client and all signs were pointing to yes. I'm thinking “This one is in the bag!” and then they cancel at the last minute. And then it just goes dark….

Sometimes there could be an unexpected delay in a project or in a timeline of something. There could also be a chance encounter with somebody in a grocery store line. I have met some amazing people on airplanes.

So it’s important to be able to notice the signs more often.

 2. Sometimes the signs are not out there. Sometimes the signs are internal.

The sign could be that sick, icky feeling in your stomach. Or that sense of fluttering and excitement in our chest. There's a lot of information there! Having the ability to see and feel the internal signs as well as being able to trust and follow what that information is telling us is so important.

 3. Noticing coincidences and recurrences.

They can be really big. Sometimes they're small. I've had this happen several times where you're talking to somebody and they say, “Oh, do you know so-and-so?” And you're response is, “Oh, no, we never met.”  And they follow with, “Oh, you should really connect with them.” And then a week and a half later, you're having another conversation with another person that also brings up the same person's name that you should really talk to. And then 2 weeks later, the name comes up again. Okay, the universe is clearly giving you a sign that you need to take action on.

Alright, so about that scorpion…

One of the nights we got a little bit of rain, so one of our guides was sleeping underneath one of the trucks. While we were in Namibia, the weather was normally great. It's warm. You could just sleep out under the stars and there aren't a lot of bugs. So he was drifting off when all of a sudden he hears.....clickety clickety clickety….and he turns on his headlamp and crawling right towards him and his sleeping bag…is this. This disgusting scorpion.

Which he then decides to find a Tupperware to put it in so that everybody can enjoy it in the morning. That's not the thought I would have had!

So when I said there was no bugs, hmmmmmmm...not true. But that's not a bug…that's a scary creature.

Alright, tune in to the next video where I share one of the next signs to be looking for on your journey. And you’re going to hear about an unexpected encounter with a python…

If you missed Part 1, you're going to want to watch it here.