The Shewach Shift is About....
I'm a multi-passionate creator, consultant and educator. So this site represents my multiple passions and areas of expertise expressed through writing, photography, and working with me directly.
=> Shifts, whether small or big, move us forward—towards something we want or aspire to.
=> Shifts, by nature are often uncomfortable, and we try to avoid them which keeps us stuck or immobilized
=> Shifts, are transitional and have an end point where the discomfort dissipates
- Posts are dynamic. This means some posts are live but intentionally in progress. And finished posts are updated often. It's not the norm, but then again neither am I in general.
- Links within posts are kept to a minimum to keep a nice reading flow; and instead are at the end of posts. Hyperlinks within prose suck.
- All photos on this site are my own and shot on an iPhone. All copyrights are reserved.
My Story
It wasn’t until college that the spark for my love and yearning for adventure, nature, and freedom—and the pattern of making big shifts to access them regularly—began to reveal itself. Well, actually that’s not entirely the case. Read my Nothin’ piece (linked at bottom) from when I was in pre-school at age four; pretty sure you’ll agree I was born this way. Although my childhood allergies subsided in my teens, I continue to have severe routine intolerance to this day. Plus, being a Sagittarius, known as a lover of adventure and rebel to the status quo, makes my otherwise nontraditional life path concurrently seem ironically staid and predictable.
Before going away to college, I grew up in an upper-middle class family of four in suburban Detroit. From the fallout of my parent’s divorce at the end of my high school years (which, like many of us, were generally crappy), I made my first big shift—to go to school far away. The decision was my response to the pain of my family being torn apart against my wishes—at least that’s what it felt like at the time. The move ticked all the boxes; far away, different culture, different environment, and a chance to start fresh.
It was here that I acquired the sweet taste of freedom. Sure, simple freedoms like growing my hair out for the first time and learning it was curly or staying out as late as I pleased with no curfew. More importantly though, I began experimenting with a more nuanced expression of freedom, that of more overtly challenging cultural norms and societal expectations, such as gender roles, career path, and lifestyle.
It was here that I was ensconced in nature and my love of mountains took hold. Tucson, in the heart of the Sonoran Desert surrounded by “forests” of Saguaro cacti, is in a large valley ringed by mountains. Their omnipresence soothed me and beckoned me. I took up mountain biking and rappelling (including practicing on campus buildings and absconding from the police as they pulled up one time mid-building rappel). And even illegal zip lining, which in hindsight was extremely dangerous—but adventurous.
It was here where seeking adventure, in the forms of outdoor recreation and travel, became synonymous with who I was, who I wanted to be and how I defined myself.
This trio of Freedom, Adventure, and Nature (FAN life?) while often intertwined within the same experience, but not always, became my calling card. Truth is, the actual attending of college was secondary to finding more and new ways to experience my personal trinity. As such, my BFA in Media Arts, was chosen with the immaturity and naïveté that many a college student so helplessly bear. It went something like this: “I love music. I love TV. I love movies. You can get a degree in that? Wow! I’m in”.
Yet the trio kept its grip on me; so much so that five years later, when I learned one could in fact get a degree to play outside, I quickly (in just 16 months) and freely (via scholarships) obtained a master’s degree in Outdoor Recreation and Adventure Leadership. After which I spent the following nine years getting paid to be outside, in gorgeous natural places, while going on exciting adventures and honing my leadership and teaching skills. Although, those five years in between finishing college and going to graduate school were confounding. I struggled trying to adhere to the traditional path that had been inculcated in me by the oppressive American “bigger, better, faster, more” ideology; while trying to oppose the ever-increasing magnetic pull towards peripheral, off-the-beaten-path living.
Even during those nine years working in the outdoor industry, I still kept a foot in the traditional world. I held outdoor jobs that got me outside but included plenty of desk time conducting administrative duties, managing budgets, programs and people—thankfully, days in the office were always built around the foundational power of being outside in nature. Including inspiring other people to appreciate it, teaching them to be safe while there, and to want to help protect and conserve it.
As per usual in life however, transitions aka shifts—some chosen and others not chosen—were (and continue to be) often preceded by significant low points and then followed, as if by slingshot, big shifts that launched me across the murky chasm of the Zone of Uncertainty™. Where, on the other side, excitement, adventure, curiosity and growth flourished. Those transitions—between jobs, careers, deaths, and relationships— usually involved bouts of my favorite trio: Freedom, Adventure, and Nature. Things like three months in Europe, a year teaching and volunteering in Israel, a 2,400-mile bike trip amongst the mountains of the Western US, and countless road trips across America.
Amidst life’s bouts of adversity, I continued to feel an even greater force to break beyond the boundaries of the media-fed, capitalistic-driven, fast-paced American culture and eventually made the boldest biggest shift thus far. A window of opportunity presented itself after the culmination of a rat-a-tat-tat sequence of challenging events and transitions between my late thirties and early forties, including:
- Obtaining my poorly timed first home that went underwater by my first mortgage payment due to the 2008 recession
- Six months later, my father died
- A third and distinctively different career in project management, ended by losing my job due to the 2008 recession
- Beginning, gaining some traction, yet failing to build a personal brand/coaching business in the personal development space focused on men’s work
- My second marriage ending including finding out I’d been cheated on for nearly two years just one week after getting divorced.
- Two weeks later, after having her cancerous spleen removed, my beloved dog died in my arms.
- And several months after that, I sold my home and everything in it.
- And became a nomad, where I officially broke through any remaining societal walls, and spent the next seven years experiencing more Freedom, Adventure, and Nature than many people will ever experience in their entire life. And I'm still going with countless more adventures to be had.
I’ve now traveled to 65+ countries, having epic adventures—and continuing my personal development journey. Some highlights include trekking to Everest Base Camp and completing the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, having the best day of my life climbing and hiking everywhere in Machu Picchu, two-months exploring Patagonia, a week-long Kung-Fu course in Thailand, taking Buddhist courses in India, mountain biking down the world's most dangerous road outside of La Paz, Bolivia, and so many others that will be published as travelogues on this site in the future.
I continue to be semi-nomadic spending about half the year in Europe as I’m married to an amazing Portuguese woman named Dora (and yes she is an explorer) who shares many of the same ideals as myself. She and I are also professional pet sitters and have pet sat in over a doezn countries on three continents together. Being in the midlife age bracket, I'm now focusing my diverse life and professional experience and knowledge developing this site as an incubater for my passion-based income sources:
- Longevity & Vitality 💯 Midlife is only half-way
- Men's Mojo & Health 💪🏼 Transform your mind, body & health
- Slowiness™ Founder 🐢 Mindfulness meets minimalism
- Adventure Travel ✈️ Trip design, planning, logistics
- re/Lax Lifestyle 😎 Helping you re-prioritize to re-lax
- PetSitting Pro 🐶 Become an international petsitter
- Apple Guru 🍎 I'm your personal Apple Genius
So cruise around the site and my YouTube channel to get inspired to make Shift Happen. And then, when you're ready, I'll be here to help you Get Shift Done!
Lastly, about my last name, Shewach (pronounced "She-wack")—it's unique, so unique that if you know or ever meet anyone with the same last name, I'm related to them. I figured I may as well capitalize on it by getting everything I can in the digital world to use my last name as my handle, username, etc.
