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 the rest of this entry »

A person can teach themselves to overcome learned helplessness and be more optimistic.  As with all forms of mental discipline, from sports psychology to the suggestions below, they seem simplistic and somewhat silly when written on paper.  However such disciplines, like exercise, healthy eating, systematic investing, and others, can have powerful effects when applied consistently and intelligently over time.  They are not magic.  But, they do work.
Is being optimistic an advantage?  People with high scores for the optimistic explanatory style has been shown to have to be the ones “immune” to learned helplessness.   Other significant benefits have been documented: Read the rest of this entry »

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 the rest of this entry »

I read a great article this morning at OutdoorEd.com that really challenged me in my pursuit of sustainable practices. The article also has links to worksheets to help you conduct your own sustainability calculations.

This article and the formulas will help any outdoor enthusiast to improve their Leave No Trace (LNT) practices.

Check out the article in full: Sustainability and Leave No Trace

Read the rest of this entry »

I spend a ton of time driving to and from climbing spots, and flying to and from climbing spots. There are a few simple practices that I have adopted in my travels to help my traveling become a bit greener.

1. Keep my own coffee mug in the car. That way when I stop at Starbucks to get coffee, they can use my mug, and not use their paper cups.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today I read an article on UsaToday.com about the importance of “playing” during these difficult and stressful financial times. The author, Janice Lloyd, spends time reviewing Stuart Brown’s new book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul. ( See the article here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-23-play-stress_N.htm)

Stuart Brown is a proponent of making sure that everyone, adults especially, take time to “play” and do things that are enjoyable and invigorating for them. Without doing this, it doesn’t just lead to boredom, but rather depression and discontentment.

Getting away from cell phones and computers and enjoying the outdoors is the best way to do this. Of course, leisure activities such as video game playing is still relaxing, but until you take action to get away from all things that can distract you, you won’t truly be refreshed.

I often find that when I get away from all the daily responsibilities and demands of running my company, I come back with a renewed vision and determination for Ascent Adventure Consultants success. Often, it can be easy to think, “There’s no way that I can get away….I will miss opportunities.” However, the opposite is true. If you don’t get away every once in a while, you will miss opportunities because you will get burnt out and discouraged.

This coincides with some of the postings we have done last year: Escaping the Normal Routine of Life

Visit our website today to: Take time to play and enjoy life! We only get one life…so make the most of it! Climb some cliffs, hike some mountains, or whatever else you may enjoy!

The Mount Washington Winter Ascent was a huge success this year (Check out the pictures on our website’s photo page, Flickr Page, Videos on our YouTube Page, and more pictures on our Facebook Page). We had 6 people attend the trip, which was the biggest group we have had so far! Upon arriving in North Conway, the group instantly clicked and I could tell that they were going to have an amazing time together. The feeling was correct! The entire trip, they encouraged each other, motivated each other, and helped each other accomplish the goals set before them of climbing and summitting Mount Washington.

We began the approach to Mount Washington at Pinkham Notch  early Friday morning, at 6:00am. Apparently, it was the coldest and windiest day they had all year on the Mountain. -5 Farenheit, with 80 MPH gusts at the summit. It made it about a -40 degree windchill! We broke trail that day…no one else was in front of us. After a few hours of hiking and climbing, we passed tree line, where the wind slammed us and made conditions almost impassable. The group was actively checking in on each other, making sure that everyone was feeling ok and staying warm. We had an emergency and had to go back down, and most likely wouldn’t have made the summit that day anyways due to the forecast calling for worse weather later in the day. When we returned to Pinkham Notch Lodge, we saw the weather report for Saturday was for partly cloudy skies and slightly warmer weather.

Saturday morning we woke up at 4:00am and headed out to Mount Washington. What a beautiful day! According to the weather observatory, it was “an unusually glorious day” on Mount Washington. Here is a picture so you can see what I mean:

Hey everybody! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

Ascent Adventure Consultants has some REALLY exciting things planned for 2009. One of them is the plan for the blog. We will be following a weekly schedule, having each day be dedicated to a different topic. What are those topics, you ask? Here they are:

1. Mondays- Trip Reports
2. Tuesdays- Fitness and Training Tips
3. Wednesdays- Business and Corporate Training Advice
4. Thursday- Climbing Techniques and Tools
5. Friday- Environmental Issues and Advice
6. Saturdays- Miscellaneous Items that We Want to Write About!

So make sure to check back to read what interests you!

In the final part of the mini-series on Escaping the Global Village, I wanted to review what we have discussed so far. The Global Village that we are a part of is a result of technology and transportation bringing this world so close together, that it’s almost as if the entire world lives in one village. Everyone is accessible to everyone, and we are expected to always be available. This indeed is a wonderful thing, as it provides opportunties for business, relationship building, friendships, learning, and many things that never existed before. However, it also has several downfalls. As a result of this global village, it makes it hard for us to have a work life balance, and causes others to place undo expectations on us. Our lives, as a result, become stressful and dominated by work, and the more we continue in this pattern, the worse it becomes. We simply must do something about it. 

In this final part, I wanted to discuss some practical ways that you can break free from the normal routine of life and get the refreshment and restoration that is needed. Following are 5 practical, easy things you can do to make retreats from the daily routine a part of your life.

1. Be an organized person. One of the things that technology affords us is the ability to be an organized person. You may be thinking….wait a second….I’m supposed to use technology to get away from the stress it causes? Well…yes. I recommend developing a good organizational system, such as the one developed by David Allen in his book  “Getting Things Done.” Read the book, work hard at developing an organizational system, and you will be TRULY AMAZED at how much stress is removed from your life. The idea is, if everything that you are keeping track of in your mind is organized on paper or electronically, then you no longer have to think about it. Let’s say I’m trying to keep track of 20 things that have to get done over the next week. If I don’t organize them in some form, I will be doomed to dwell on them all week and have an incredible amount of stress. However, if I organize them, I don’t have to worry about forgetting what has to be done, and I can think about other things, knowing that I have organized my “action items.” I strongly recommend doing this because it will free up your mind to think about non-work related things. Give it a shot. Buy the book and make the effort. I also recommend, for Mac users, that you purchase the program called OmniFocus.
2. Be a Disciplined Person. Do you want to have a better work life balance? Be disciplined and do NOT allow yourself to work or think about work all the time. Schedule time for yourself every day where you do something that you enjoy, even if it’s just for 30 minutes.
3. Be a Hard Worker. When you are at work, WORK HARD. Not working hard and being lazy at work will cause you great anxiety and stress. Read this Proverb (26:14) “As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.”
4. Aerobic Outdoor Exercise. Taking time to care for yourself by exercising greatly reduces stress and forces you to get outside and enjoy the creation. Listen to music as well. It will help keep your mind off of work.
5. Be an adventurous person. Nothing breaks the bonds of the daily grind like outdoor adventure can. Pushing yourself to confront fears, getting that rush of adrenaline, doing something you never thought possible…what a delight it can be. I know for me personally, nothing brings restoration, focus, and perspective like being outdoors away from the normal routine.

I hope that you all found this mini series to be helpful. I hope it can impact your life and make you enjoy your life to an even greater extent!

OutdoorEd.com had a great post on their blog, written by Rick Curtis. 

In it, Rick discusses how through involvement with the University that houses his program, he and his student leadership team spent months making their business and their operations more sustainable. The things they did included establishing better re-use habits when on the trail, establishing better recycling programs in their day to day use of resources, and analyzing what type of equipment they purchase, where it comes from, what it is made of and the manufacturing process, just to name a few. All in all, they developed a more sustainable program, which ultimately will contribute to the health of the environment and the effectiveness of their program. 

As I reflected on this, I began to think about how Ascent Adventure Consultants could become a more sustainable program, as well as how Ascent Adventure Consultants could be more involved in the community to help the community as a whole become more sustainable. What an honor it would be to be involved in making our community a better place to live. I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts on ways we can do this together as a community.

To give you some ideas of what we will be doing as a company, you can refer to the Princeton University Sustainability Manual.