Return to Everest
Thought I would share this with you, dear readers. Last week I received an email from our friend Alison Levine at Daredevil Strategies. Alison was the basis for one of my first stories on this blog.
Alison Levine was born with a life-threatening heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. As a teenager, her health was so unstable, that she couldn’t do many of the things that her peers took for granted. Simple things, like driving a car and climbing stairs. But Alison eventually underwent two heart surgeries. Within 18 months of her second heart surgery, Alison made up for all those lost years of climbing stairs, and she did it all at once; she climbed a mountain.
Alison Levine founded Daredevil Strategies. You can hear the Why Didn’t I Think of That story on Daredevil Strategies here.
The long and short of it is this: After climbing numerous mountains, and even serving as captain for the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, she “realized that many of the strategies employed in the business world are the same strategies used when climbing the world’s highest and most challenging peaks,” she says on her company’s website. “Foresight, focus, and flawless execution are equally important in the jet stream as in corporate America.”
Using the skills she’s amassed during her 20 years in business, as well as her numerous adventures in the wilderness, Alison speaks to corporations and companies about focus, teamwork, and more.
But the reason Alison emailed me, was to let me know that she had decided to return to Everest.
“I really never thought I’d go back,” Levine wrote on her blog, “but this time I have a huge advantage going into the trip, and that is because I have a secret weapon. My friend Meg Berté Owen is coming with me–in spirit. Meg passed away on October 15, 2009 of a lung infection.”
Alison is climbing to honor her friend, Meg Berté Owen. But what’s even cooler is that she has started a blog to chronicle her return. The blog is called “Alison Levine: Return to Everest,” and it’s worth your time. She updates the blog every few days with tales of her climb, as well as some amazing pictures (left).
Here at Why Didn’t I Think of That? we’re always inspired by people willing to take risks, people willing to put their all into something they love. For Alison Levine, that something is climbing the highest mountain on Earth. Her company may be called “Daredevil,” but there’s nothing foolish about it. Climbing a mountain requires undivided attention and focus. She’s been able to take her focus, her passion, and the lessons she’s learned, and apply them in the business world.
So what about you? What’s your passion? What are you willing to risk everything for? Email me at bc@thinkofthat.net with your story. I’d love to hear it.
Well that’s all for today. Best of luck, Alison. Keep us posted!
