In a world flooded with books about leadership, this book is not from the same mold. Where most leadership books tell you how to be a leader, how to influence people, or how to be all you can be, Eric Alexander (get to know him here) takes you on a leadership journey...quite literally. You journey to the peak of Mount Everest. But you do not travel alone; or, just with him. You travel with a group determined to ascend the peak with a blind man.
The Summit is full of thought-provoking experiences. The descriptions of the climbs leave you breathless in thin atmosphere and shivering from the bone-chilling cold. You also feel the excitement when the summit is reached, the ice-flow is crossed, and when Erik Weihenmayer (the blind climber) successfully reaches the bottom of Mt. Elbrus after skiing the 9500-foot descent from the summit. But mostly the life lessons from the climbs are what impact you most.
You are faced with the question: "What defines success?" In mountain climbing, most (including me initially) would think that reaching the top defines success. Alexander gives pause to think when he defines success as returning safely to the bottom--even if the summit was NOT reached. My favorite quote from the book details this thinking:
For success, we need to seek the extraordinary, but learn to find joy in the ordinary. It may sound like an aim-low strategy, but what I am trying to understand and apply in my life is I can't walk only on mountaintops. Life is lived in the valleys, and for moments we are able to reach the heights and look out. But these places are inhospitable for the long term.
This book is as much about living life as it is about leadership. But when you think about leadership, it is really about how you live your life. As John Quinncy Adams said:
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.
I highly recommend this book.
Pastor Ric received a copy of The Summit in consideration for this review.
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