I was talking with a friend who has a son and daughter, both in their 20’s, about leadership the other day. In her experience, kids these days have “be nice” constantly messaged at them. My friend isn’t at all opposed to being nice, just trying to parse some meaning behind the recent election results. Her … More Team Human
My friend, Phil, who was a mountain guide for more than 40 years and a climber longer than that, has a motto, “Climbing is a round trip sport.” One of the cardinal sins in climbing is not being in-tune with how much gas you have left in the tank. If you use up all your … More Each Day Is A Round Trip Sport
On this past Saturday morning, I was sitting on my meditation cushion on a dark, blustery morning in a room lit only by candles, listening to a storm lash the branches against the side of the house and the rain hit the windows of the French doors in front of me. There’s nothing like a … More Port In a Storm
Let me just say up front there is absolutely no point to this story. Writing the Chili Dog Guy story last week reminded me of one of my favorite side jaunts. On my five-day guided expedition climb on Mt. Rainier in 1999, the first day out we climbed from Paradise Inn at 5,400 feet up … More On the Way to the Top
The other day Vicki and I were talking about this blog, the Heart of the Matter. Sparked by an idea from my brilliant brother’s marketing blog, Vicki asked something like, “So, are we on brand?” Hmm, on brand for being a blog where we have conversations about things that matter. On brand for telling stories … More Marketing, Mountaineering, and Making Meaning
In the spring of 2001, I was hiking every weekend to prepare for a trek to Everest Base camp. The trek is a 30 mile route of narrow up and down trails with heart-stopping views of the Himalayan mountains around every corner. It takes about 12 days on the route to ascend, passing through successfully … More Lessons From the Trail
The Heart of the Matter 