Everest mountaineer Alison Levine on introversion and finding mentors

“The top of a mountain is just a pile of rock and ice, and it’s really not much different than being a couple hundred feet lower. What’s important are the lessons that you learn along the way when you’re fighting like hell to get up there. And then what you’re going to do with that information to be better going forward.” – Alison Levine

Alison Levine (@Levine_Alison) is an American mountaineer, leadership consultant, and public speaker. She is one of less than 60 people to have ascended the highest peaks on every continent and skied to both the North and South Poles (known as the Explorers Grand Slam). Her 2014 book On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and Other Extreme Environments was a New York Times Bestseller.

In Episode 4 of Deviate, Rolf discusses introversion versus extroversion (1:45); summiting Mount Everest and overcoming obstacles (18:55); respecting culture while fostering progress (37:00); Alison’s career path, and lessons learned along the way (51:20); finding mentors (1:04:30); and Alison’s most important life advice, including the importance of failure (1:16:26).

You can find out more about The Glass Ceiling, Alison Levine’s documentary project about the first Nepali woman to climb Mt. Everest, at theglassceilingmovie.com or via her Indiegogo fundraising campaign.

Notable People Mentioned:

• Pasang Lhamu Sherpa (mountaineer)
• Edmund Hillary (mountaineer)
• Tenzing Norgay (mountaineer)
• Pete Dawkins (businessman)

Links:

• TripScout (self-guided city-tour mobile app)
• Climb High Foundation (teaching women in developing nations trekking-related tourism skills)
• Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point
• “Freedom to Fail,” by Pete Dawkins (from Infantry Magazine, Sept/Oct.1965)

This episode was sponsored by the Paris Writing Workshop, an intensive one-month course in the artistic heart of Europe.

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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