Working on deals for Mark Scharenbroich, Steve Gilliland, Peter Diamandis, Kevin Coupe, Tony Hsieh, Lynne Lancaster, David Stillman, Seth Mattison, and Tommy Spaulding...
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Ideas for International Affairs Speakers
One of the most important takeaways of any event or meeting is perspective for the audience - offering an audience a chance to understand what’s going on in the world that affects their industry, their business, their life.
Leading Authorities represents the most forward thinking speakers on our global community. Engage these experts in a conversation, create a panel, hire a moderator, or invite them to give a keynote on the forces changing our world and how they will shape your industry in the years to come.
Former Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe and former National Security Advisor, Gen. James Jones is a commanding presence with a strong vision and keen insights. He assesses how world events are developing and what international events mean for the nation.
Former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley provides audiences with a backstage pass to the world of national decision-making. His speeches are intellectual and compelling whether he's focusing on the big political movements that affect the country as a whole or drilling down to the individual country or region where the international news of the day is happening.
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and former Director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Michael Hayden dissects the political situations in the hot spots in every corner of the world, analyzing the tumultuous global environment and what it all means for the American people and America's interests.
Former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal discusses the new challenges facing America in a globalized world, the proliferation of non-state actors, and the advance of information technology and instantaneous communication. He shares a thorough assessment of U.S. security and what the future will hold.
Former Undersecretary of State Ambassador Nick Burns speaks with candor and passion about his experiences at the forefront of American foreign policy, what works and what doesn't in America's foreign relations, and what the future holds for America's position on the world stage.
Former Governor of Pennsylvania and First Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge draws from high-profile experience to enlighten audiences on the state of the globe and what the future holds for the global marketplace.
If you are interested in learning more about these speakers or if you would like me to put together some recommendations on another topic, please drop me a note or give me a call at 202-721-7675
Leading Authorities represents the most forward thinking speakers on our global community. Engage these experts in a conversation, create a panel, hire a moderator, or invite them to give a keynote on the forces changing our world and how they will shape your industry in the years to come.
Former Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe and former National Security Advisor, Gen. James Jones is a commanding presence with a strong vision and keen insights. He assesses how world events are developing and what international events mean for the nation.
Former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley provides audiences with a backstage pass to the world of national decision-making. His speeches are intellectual and compelling whether he's focusing on the big political movements that affect the country as a whole or drilling down to the individual country or region where the international news of the day is happening.
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and former Director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Michael Hayden dissects the political situations in the hot spots in every corner of the world, analyzing the tumultuous global environment and what it all means for the American people and America's interests.
Former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal discusses the new challenges facing America in a globalized world, the proliferation of non-state actors, and the advance of information technology and instantaneous communication. He shares a thorough assessment of U.S. security and what the future will hold.
Former Undersecretary of State Ambassador Nick Burns speaks with candor and passion about his experiences at the forefront of American foreign policy, what works and what doesn't in America's foreign relations, and what the future holds for America's position on the world stage.
Former Governor of Pennsylvania and First Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge draws from high-profile experience to enlighten audiences on the state of the globe and what the future holds for the global marketplace.
If you are interested in learning more about these speakers or if you would like me to put together some recommendations on another topic, please drop me a note or give me a call at 202-721-7675
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Business Books on My Desk
A few books that have made it to my desk and have lasted many rounds of cleansing
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Stephen R. Covey
World, Inc.
by Bruce Piasecki
Wealth Management in the New Economy: Investor Strategies for Growing, Protecting and Transferring Wealth
by Norbert M. Mindel, Sarah E. Sleight
Think Big, Act Small: How America's Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive
by Jason Jennings
Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance
by Marcus Buckingham
The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies
by Kevin Coupe, Michael Sansolo
The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers
by Bill Conaty, Ram Charan
The Squam Lake Report: Fixing the Financial System
by Kenneth R. French, Martin N. Baily, John Y. Campbell, John H. Cochrane, Douglas W. Diamond, Darrell Duffie, Anil K. Kashyap, Frederic S. Mishkin, Raghuram G. Rajan, David S. Scharfstein, Robert J. Shiller, Hyun Song Shin, Matthew J. Slaughter, Jeremy C. Stein, Rene M. Stulz
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
by Gary Vaynerchuk
The Executive Guide to High-Impact Talent Management: Powerful Tools for Leveraging a Changing Workforce
by David DeLong, Steve Trautman
Getting China and India Right: Strategies for Leveraging the World's Fastest Growing Economies for Global Advantage
by Anil K. Gupta, Haiyan Wang
Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It
by Marshall Goldsmith
I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works: Why Your World, Work, and Brain Are Being Creatively Disrupted
by Nick Bilton
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
by Michael Lewis
Saul has read this book
Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization On the Growth Track--and Keeping It There
by Les McKeown
It's Not Just Who You Know: Transform Your Life (and Your Organization) by Turning Colleagues and Contacts into Lasting, Genuine Relationships
by Tommy Spaulding, Ken Blanchard
Influencer: The Power to Change Anything
by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart, and Emerge from the Downturn on Top
by Andrew Winston
Monday, November 1, 2010
Business Lessons from the Movies - Keynote Speaker Kevin Coupe
I just met Kevin Coupe, co-author of a hot new book called The Big Picture; Essential Business Lessons from the Movies. Kevin has been very active on the speaking circuit already, delivering as many as 10 speeches in a month to various well known corporations. I didn't have a chance to view the entire presentation but he did walk me through a short version which I found very interesting.
His book (and speech) covers business lessons showcased in a variety of hollywood movies. Kevin and Michael have done a great job choosing choice scenes to explore further. It must have been quite entertaining and enjoyable to put this together. So here is the short list of movies covered (among others), can you guess what the lessons are?
His book (and speech) covers business lessons showcased in a variety of hollywood movies. Kevin and Michael have done a great job choosing choice scenes to explore further. It must have been quite entertaining and enjoyable to put this together. So here is the short list of movies covered (among others), can you guess what the lessons are?
- Local Hero
- Bridge on the River Kwai
- Hoosiers
- Tin Cup
- Tucker
- American Gangster
- Big Night
- The Hunt for Red October (not listed in the book)
- Jaws
- The Godfather
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Next Generation of Speakers Bureaus
The internet has impacted the speaking industry in many ways. For one, access to talent has become increasingly transparent. Ten years ago a speakers bureau may have successfully relied upon, and benefited greatly from, its employees' and speakers' collective rolodexes for access to top speakers - and consequently may have developed a reason for clients to rely on them. As the internet grew, the value of this protected rolodex diminished as consumers gained easier direct access to talent through Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. Secondly, the rise of blogging and social media has provided tech savvy speakers the opportunity to promote themselves online and gain even greater visibility without the need of a bureau to promote them; speakers such as Gary Vaynerchuk and Chris Brogan have even written books about how to best leverage these web publishing tools for self-promotion and speaking opportunities. For a speakers bureau, the days of protecting information about how to find access to speakers are gone.
For a speakers bureau to win business today and remain competitive, there are two angles on which to focus:
First, do an excellent job at covering the basics. You will put yourself in an excellent position to win business by providing excellent recommendations for your client, providing these recommendations swiftly and accurately, and including all necessary tools for your client to best review your ideas amongst their internal team. Be sure to provide up-to-date fee information, availability, and quality video of each speaker’s recent speeches. Gather all necessary information needed (When is their next committee meeting? When are they looking to make a decision? Who is the final decision maker? etc...) from the client in order to follow up with them in a timely and effective manner. Call your client prior to and immediately after their next scheduled committee meeting and take note of any potential changes in their direction leading up to, or as a result of, their meeting. This attention to detail will allow you the opportunity to re-align your recommendations and have the first shot at winning any potential business. Repeat this process until your client's team has decided (with your help) which speaker would make the most sense for their conference's or meeting's desired outcome. If you have protected yourself throughout this process by keeping all potential speakers in the loop about your client's progress, you should soon be in a position to secure the booking for the speaker and your client.
Secondly, you must have an engine dedicated to the recruitment of new talent. Traditionally, in order to be effective in talent recruitment your team needs to keep a close eye on current events, and again - move quickly. When the BP oil spill made international headlines earlier this year, former CEO of Shell Oil, founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy , and author of Why We Hate the Oil Companies, John Hofmeister became a sought after panelist and speaker for news outlets and conferences. Adding new talent to your agency’s roster is extremely important in today's competitive space ,as it not only drives inquiries to your account reps (therefore providing more opportunities to deliver excellent customer service), but it also raises your awareness inside the marketplace and differentiates your team from the hundreds of mom-and-pop speakers bureaus.
Executing these two facets well (along with quality branding, marketing, leadership, and relationships) should provide the engine needed to remain competitive.
However, with that being said, I have seen indicators for new platforms of speaking bureaus all together.
If an organization can find ways to automate activities required for either providing quality service or building a talent roster, we may see some interesting advancements in the industry.
There are two sites that come to mind when I think about this development: 1) SpeakerSite and 2) SpeakerWiki. Both have found ways to automate the development of their talent rosters and put the publishing tools in the hands of the speakers or their end clients.
SpeakerSite is a Ning based social networking platform dedicated to the career advancement of speakers. The Ning platform lends itself naturally to this idea and SpeakerSite founder Artie Isaac has done a tremendous job customizing the platform to mesh with the industry.
The advantages: For speakers looking to gain more exposure in the marketplace and build a book of business, this seems like a great place to start. Artie's slogan “Because everyone has a message. And every message has an audience” plays well into this idea. The old days of speakers having to beat on the doors of bureaus in order to be listed on bureau websites, or for a chance to pitch the bureaus on why they should recommend the speaker to the bureau's clients, are fading into the past. SpeakerSite has gained exposure within industry publications, and Ning provides web 2.0 tools for the speakers to easily share their profiles and activity elsewhere on the internet. There is a menu item to "book a speaker" across the top of the website, and if you are a client looking for inexpensive speakers to fill out your conference, this may be a source to add to your list.
The drawbacks: Although providing speakers an opportunity to boost their exposure in a collective effort may benefit the group and ultimately bring in business, the "behind the scenes" mechanics of booking a speaker and providing customer service is not any different than if you were to deal with a traditional speakers bureau. In other words, the automation on SpeakerSite clearly has everything to do with the networking of speakers, and nothing to do with the mechanics of securing a booking itself or providing quality service.
SpeakerWiki uses the open source platform OpenWiki (similar to MediaWiki which is used to power Wikipedia.org) and the idea behind SpeakerWiki is to accelerate the advancement of industry transparency around fees, contact information, and quality of individuals on the speaking circuit.
The advantages: SpeakerWiki founder, Andrew Brooks, has spent some time in the agency world and the efficient structure of his site shows it. SpeakerWiki's welcome message states:
Speaker Wiki is a free-content speaker encyclopedia that has been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Speaker Wiki exists to help speakers and event planners by providing clearer information about speakers and building stronger community.
I have seen this site build momentum, and as it continues to snowball, it may become an effective industry resource and collective talent roster for clients, speakers, and agents. Although there is no invitation on the site to submit an inquiry for actually booking a speaker -- and no indication elsewhere that it has any interest in functioning as a speakers bureau -- the organic growth of the site demonstrates the value in targeting an unfed appetite in the industry for people to contribute to a collective talent roster.
The drawbacks: SpeakerWiki is a site that greatly upsets me. Not because it's bad, but because it is so good at what it does, and because I wanted to do something like this last year but was unable to do so for multiple reasons (I guess there's a bit of the green monster coming out).
So where does this leave us?
The speakers bureau of the future should marry self-generated talent rosters (as seen on Speakerwiki and Speakersite) with a system that automates the booking process. This includes serving up recommendations and reviews from multiple speaking agencies and sources, while also empowering the end users to take the drivers seat as it relates to the logistical necessities of securing talent, (sourcing, reviewing, checking availablity, submitting offers, negotiating contracts, making payments, and promoting the event) thereby creating an environment where the account reps deliver excellent customer service by helping the clients to navigate an already user friendly experience.
For a speakers bureau to win business today and remain competitive, there are two angles on which to focus:
First, do an excellent job at covering the basics. You will put yourself in an excellent position to win business by providing excellent recommendations for your client, providing these recommendations swiftly and accurately, and including all necessary tools for your client to best review your ideas amongst their internal team. Be sure to provide up-to-date fee information, availability, and quality video of each speaker’s recent speeches. Gather all necessary information needed (When is their next committee meeting? When are they looking to make a decision? Who is the final decision maker? etc...) from the client in order to follow up with them in a timely and effective manner. Call your client prior to and immediately after their next scheduled committee meeting and take note of any potential changes in their direction leading up to, or as a result of, their meeting. This attention to detail will allow you the opportunity to re-align your recommendations and have the first shot at winning any potential business. Repeat this process until your client's team has decided (with your help) which speaker would make the most sense for their conference's or meeting's desired outcome. If you have protected yourself throughout this process by keeping all potential speakers in the loop about your client's progress, you should soon be in a position to secure the booking for the speaker and your client.
Secondly, you must have an engine dedicated to the recruitment of new talent. Traditionally, in order to be effective in talent recruitment your team needs to keep a close eye on current events, and again - move quickly. When the BP oil spill made international headlines earlier this year, former CEO of Shell Oil, founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy , and author of Why We Hate the Oil Companies, John Hofmeister became a sought after panelist and speaker for news outlets and conferences. Adding new talent to your agency’s roster is extremely important in today's competitive space ,as it not only drives inquiries to your account reps (therefore providing more opportunities to deliver excellent customer service), but it also raises your awareness inside the marketplace and differentiates your team from the hundreds of mom-and-pop speakers bureaus.
Executing these two facets well (along with quality branding, marketing, leadership, and relationships) should provide the engine needed to remain competitive.
However, with that being said, I have seen indicators for new platforms of speaking bureaus all together.
If an organization can find ways to automate activities required for either providing quality service or building a talent roster, we may see some interesting advancements in the industry.
There are two sites that come to mind when I think about this development: 1) SpeakerSite and 2) SpeakerWiki. Both have found ways to automate the development of their talent rosters and put the publishing tools in the hands of the speakers or their end clients.
SpeakerSite is a Ning based social networking platform dedicated to the career advancement of speakers. The Ning platform lends itself naturally to this idea and SpeakerSite founder Artie Isaac has done a tremendous job customizing the platform to mesh with the industry.
The advantages: For speakers looking to gain more exposure in the marketplace and build a book of business, this seems like a great place to start. Artie's slogan “Because everyone has a message. And every message has an audience” plays well into this idea. The old days of speakers having to beat on the doors of bureaus in order to be listed on bureau websites, or for a chance to pitch the bureaus on why they should recommend the speaker to the bureau's clients, are fading into the past. SpeakerSite has gained exposure within industry publications, and Ning provides web 2.0 tools for the speakers to easily share their profiles and activity elsewhere on the internet. There is a menu item to "book a speaker" across the top of the website, and if you are a client looking for inexpensive speakers to fill out your conference, this may be a source to add to your list.
The drawbacks: Although providing speakers an opportunity to boost their exposure in a collective effort may benefit the group and ultimately bring in business, the "behind the scenes" mechanics of booking a speaker and providing customer service is not any different than if you were to deal with a traditional speakers bureau. In other words, the automation on SpeakerSite clearly has everything to do with the networking of speakers, and nothing to do with the mechanics of securing a booking itself or providing quality service.
SpeakerWiki uses the open source platform OpenWiki (similar to MediaWiki which is used to power Wikipedia.org) and the idea behind SpeakerWiki is to accelerate the advancement of industry transparency around fees, contact information, and quality of individuals on the speaking circuit.
The advantages: SpeakerWiki founder, Andrew Brooks, has spent some time in the agency world and the efficient structure of his site shows it. SpeakerWiki's welcome message states:
Speaker Wiki is a free-content speaker encyclopedia that has been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Speaker Wiki exists to help speakers and event planners by providing clearer information about speakers and building stronger community.
I have seen this site build momentum, and as it continues to snowball, it may become an effective industry resource and collective talent roster for clients, speakers, and agents. Although there is no invitation on the site to submit an inquiry for actually booking a speaker -- and no indication elsewhere that it has any interest in functioning as a speakers bureau -- the organic growth of the site demonstrates the value in targeting an unfed appetite in the industry for people to contribute to a collective talent roster.
The drawbacks: SpeakerWiki is a site that greatly upsets me. Not because it's bad, but because it is so good at what it does, and because I wanted to do something like this last year but was unable to do so for multiple reasons (I guess there's a bit of the green monster coming out).
So where does this leave us?
The speakers bureau of the future should marry self-generated talent rosters (as seen on Speakerwiki and Speakersite) with a system that automates the booking process. This includes serving up recommendations and reviews from multiple speaking agencies and sources, while also empowering the end users to take the drivers seat as it relates to the logistical necessities of securing talent, (sourcing, reviewing, checking availablity, submitting offers, negotiating contracts, making payments, and promoting the event) thereby creating an environment where the account reps deliver excellent customer service by helping the clients to navigate an already user friendly experience.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Collaborative Impact Speakers
Am looking for interactive speakers that can speak to how collaboration can make an impact... any ideas??
Nando Parrado Documentary Premiers Wednesday on HISTORY
Nando is in high demand for groups looking for a keynote speaker on leadership, teamwork, crisis management, friendship, family, love and the power of the human spirit. He recently was on the cover of Speaker magazine, and I highly recommend him. I hope you get to view this documentary. 
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Ambassador Jim Glassman - Speaker, Moderator, Writer, Analyst, Economist
We just had a panel at the US Chamber of Commerce yesterday and Ambassador Jim Glassman was our moderator. A few notes on what he brings to the table:
Ambassador Glassman provides a unique combination for audiences. His subject is The Political Economy. He explains, in up-to-the-minute fashion, how the economy will influence politics, and how politics will influence the economy. He has a unique perspective. He’s not just a political speaker, and he’s not just an economic speaker. He does both – and shows how politics and economics are intertwined and what their interaction means for business.
Ambassador Glassman knows Washington politics and policy – having served as editor of Roll Call, the congressional newspaper, and having been a high-level government official and a think tank scholar. AND he knows economics – having written an economic and financial column for more than a decade, testified in Congress many times, and served as a trusted advisor to such companies as Intel and AT&T.
Here is what he can tell you organization:
- Will taxes rise? What is the shape of new tax policy?
- How will unemployment affect the results of the 2010 and 2012 elections?
- What are the chances for regulatory changes on Wall Street, and what will those changes mean to you?
- How will health reform play out in practice?
- What will happen with trade and immigration?
- Will America regain its technology edge?
- How will politics affect competition with India and China?
Personally I found him to be incredibly insightful and entertaining, he did a terrific job maintaining the flow of the conversation with the other panelists and incorporating the audiences questions into the dialog.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Paul Collier: Developing Markets Economic Expert Speaker
PAUL COLLIER is one of the world's leading experts on developing markets and financial opportunities within the poorest countries. Director for the Centre of the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, Collier is currently Advisor to the Strategy and Policy Department of the IMF and advisor to the Africa Region of the World Bank, where he previously served as Director of the Development Research Group.
Collier is a particularly important speaker for businesses and organizations concerned with emerging markets, as he effectively demonstrates the value, and the virtue, in combining compassion with wise investment strategies.
Collier writes a monthly column for the Independent, and his commentary also appears regularly in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. His bestselling book, The Bottom Billion, which has been compared to Jeffrey Sachs's The End of Poverty and William Easterly's The White Man's Burden in its scope and impact, identifies the four traps that keep such countries mired in poverty, and outlines ways to help them escape. He is also the author of Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places. His most recent book, entitled The Plundered Planet: How to reconcile prosperity with nature, was published in May of 2010.
He has twice been presented as a TED Speaker, a testimony to his unique importance in the global economy and his skill as a speaker.
ONLINE VIDEO CLIP (from TED Conference)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Erik Weihenmayer: Soldiers to the Summit Update -- Today Pheriche, Wednesday Lobuche
From the desk of Ed Weihenmayer:
Friends and Supporters:
If you haven't been following the climb of Erik's Everest team and 11 wounded warriors to Lobuche, you are missing a great story. Go to www.soldierstothesummit.org.
Today was a rest day in Pheriche before the team heads to Lobuche Base Camp tomorrow. Weather permitting, the team will summit on Wednesday mid-day Nepal Time.
Didrik, our team photographer, has provided hundreds of great photos at World Team's Flickr page.
There are many intriguing posts on the site. Erik Weihenmayer just posted Trials on the Trail about the challenges some of the climbers face:
October 10, 10:30am PHERICHE – I’m writing from Pheriche, 14,200 feet, and I’m blown away how well the team is performing. No major altitude sickness or injuries. In Namche Bazaar, we had a team discussion and each of us devoted the next day’s hike to someone on the team. I picked Katherine Ragazzino (aka: Rizzo). A couple months ago on our Colorado training hike she guided me for the 1st time ringing a bear bell in front of me and pointing out obstacles. Out of Namche we hiked together again up the long steep hill into Tengboche. She’s super positive and thrilled to be a part of this team. Her enthusiasm is infectious. Towards the top of the hill she started to get pretty tired. Chris Morris and I worked with her on finding a balance and a rhythm that she’ll need to sustain her. It’s about finding a good physical pace but also staying peaceful in your mind and not allowing your worries and anxieties to sap away your vital energy. At the top of the hill Cody Miranda, having reached the tea house, circled back and met us with high fives and a smile. It reminded me of 10 years ago when my Everest team would circle back for me, waiting along the trail with a candy bar and a soda.
This steep, rutted terrain is tough on Matt Nyman (single leg amputee). By the end of each long day his stump is rubbed raw from all the massive steps up and down and all the awkward angles of the trail. Descending is the toughest on him. Even though he is missing one leg, it’s his other foot that gives him equal trouble. That foot has major nerve damage from his helicopter crash and gives him pain with every step. I brought some new innovative mountain crutches called sidesticks, which were generously donated, and Matt says those are helping him a ton.
The day up to Pheriche was tough on blind vet Steve Baskis. The trail was endless, narrow, and very rutted with big jumbly piles of boulders. The day worked him, but he’s very fit with a big heart. Cody, Ike, and Brian had been guiding him all day. At the top of the long hill coming into Pheriche a group of us waited for him. It was getting chilly and we were covered in a cold fog. Jeff Evans helped him get his shell jacket out of his pack. I gave him my fleece hat. I could tell he was tired and frustrated. He said it’s not the blindness that frustrates him but his left hand which he can’t feel and suffers from severe nerve damage. His hands were cold and he was having trouble rifling through his pack for food and clothes. Later in the tea house I said to Steve, “This may sound stupid, but there’s a reason why you don’t see a lot blind people up here… because it’s freakin’ hard. I can relate. After you trip over your one thousandth boulder of the day it’s natural to get frustrated.” I told him it was a tough thing to stay disciplined in your mind, to stay positive, and to even embrace the miseries.
Today is a rest day and tomorrow we’ll be heading up to Lobuche base camp.
The day up to Pheriche was tough on blind vet Steve Baskis. The trail was endless, narrow, and very rutted with big jumbly piles of boulders. The day worked him, but he’s very fit with a big heart. Cody, Ike, and Brian had been guiding him all day. At the top of the long hill coming into Pheriche a group of us waited for him. It was getting chilly and we were covered in a cold fog. Jeff Evans helped him get his shell jacket out of his pack. I gave him my fleece hat. I could tell he was tired and frustrated. He said it’s not the blindness that frustrates him but his left hand which he can’t feel and suffers from severe nerve damage. His hands were cold and he was having trouble rifling through his pack for food and clothes. Later in the tea house I said to Steve, “This may sound stupid, but there’s a reason why you don’t see a lot blind people up here… because it’s freakin’ hard. I can relate. After you trip over your one thousandth boulder of the day it’s natural to get frustrated.” I told him it was a tough thing to stay disciplined in your mind, to stay positive, and to even embrace the miseries.
Today is a rest day and tomorrow we’ll be heading up to Lobuche base camp.
Here is Didrik's first good glimpse of Lobuche yesterday morning.
You can post public messages of encouragement to individuals on the team by writing a comment on their profile page. Here is the link to the list of soldiers: http://soldierstothesummit.org/category/the-vets/ .
You can participate in a webinar with Erik and a few soldiers at 11:00 a.m Eastern Time today, Monday; and Thursday, same time, after they summit. Contact me if you would like to participate.
Ed Weihenmayer
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez Speaking Videos......
Jim Donald - Coffee for troops
We have a friend overseas in Afghanistan where the troops on tour had no coffee…zero
We asked Jim Donald if he could help…
See below…
We asked Jim Donald if he could help…
See below…
He is one of a kind and a man of his word. RARE.
Erik Weihenmayer's Soldiers to the Summit Expedition takes off!
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Black History Month Speakers
October 8, 2010 | |||
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