I found a new blog that I love to read….it’s called The Practice of Leadership. I read an article today on The Importance of Creativity for leaders. Make sure to read the article in full. I wanted to highlight one of the points the author makes.

“The leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path” Read More…

This weekend I was climbing at Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire, on a route called Recombeast (5.9+). The crux of the route is on pitch 3, where you have to make a traverse onto a flake, with nowhere to put your feet except for smearing on the rock. This day, the area for my feet was wet! So it made it quite a challenging task. It took me a while to make the proper moves, but ultimately what got me through it was by standing still and remembering past experiences I had.

Read More…

Why does one person act in the face of uncertainty or fear while others are passive?  Research has been done to determine why some people appear to be “immune” to learned helplessness.  The answer was found in the concept of Explanatory style.   Explanatory style is how you perceive the world and the events around you.  Formally it is defined as “a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain to themselves why they experience a particular event, either positive or negative. Read More…

It’s amazing to see how many articles have been popping up all over the internet and in print media lately about how having a wilderness experience, whether its climbing, hiking, camping, kayaking, backpacking, etc., can greatly impact your life for years to come. I read another article this morning, this time out of Austrailia, on how having a wilderness experience gives a new perspective on life. They theorize that it’s because when out in nature, you realize how small you are and that you are part of something far bigger. Check out the article here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/03/2616497.htm.

Read More…

As I reflected more today on the article I read this morning on News and Observer (If There’s a Mountain Climb It), I began thinking about how climbing helped me to start my business. (Granted, my business revolves around climbing….which definitely helps!)

I wanted to share, over the next few days, what some of the lessons I learned from climbing are.

Read More…

A few weeks ago, while guiding a trip at Table Rock NC, one of the ladies mentioned how she kept having to tell herself “Trust Your Feet!”, and that is what got her to continue to move forward. After the climb, she mentioned how that thought and concept really could have a good life lesson to it! I gave it some thought and wanted to share with you all some thoughts on how this climbing concept and experience translates into all of life.

Read More…

One of the most common issues that I see arise among the groups in team building and leadership development programs that we facilitate is that managers begin to realize that they need to make changes in the way they organize and structure their days and tasks so that they can more effectively manage their teams.

Here are some great key points of application that I have seen teams develop:

Read More…

When talking with people who have never rock climbed, often their response to me when I tell them what I do is “Wow! Well, I know I could never do that!”, or something similar. I always encourage them by telling them that it is possible for them to do it, and that the whole reason Ascent exists is to help people see the amazing things that they can accomplish.

When people do then decide to give climbing a try, they are always overwhelmed with excitement when they get to the top of their first climb. The feeling of accomplishing something that had previously seemed out of reach or unattainable is unmatched by anything they had experienced before.

Read More…

The rock climbing, mountaineering, and outdoor adventure experience has so many applications to real life. It is my joy to be able to help individuals see this through our climbing courses, and through the team building and leadership development programs that I conduct. There is nothing more satisfying when I can almost instantaneously see someone’s life change for the good as a result of something they have experienced through climbing and/or team building.

Read More…

Ascent Adventure Consultants, North Carolina’s fastest growing rock climbing guide company, has unveiled a re-branding of the company, as well as a new website.

Apex, NC USA May 1, 2009 — Ascent Adventure Consultants is about impacting people’s lives and setting them out on the journey and adventure of a lifetime: when people experience climbing a cliff face, they are instantly aware of the existence of a whole new world; when people engage their fellow teammates or employees in a team building activity, they realize the greater degree of unity and success their team could be experiencing.

Read More…