An Introvert's Experience of a Business Conference

Last week, I gave two talks in Nashville, Tennessee at Nerve 2015, a well attended and extremely well organized conference put on by the Entrepreneur's Organization. In my talks, I shared stories from the cycling adventures I've taken with my children and from guiding my friend Dan Berlin as he became the first blind runner to cross the Grand Canyon and back nonstop. Our next challenge is Machu Picchu! See http://teamseepossibilities.com

I told the audience things like, "discomfort is the birthplace of resilience" and "the person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." As I stood in front of a room full of people, sharing my story and offering my philosophy on living, I felt a surge of energy. It's natural to feel pressure when a group is looking at you expectantly, wondering if what you are going to say has value to them. But I didn't mind the pressure. In fact, I felt energized. I realized how extroverted I am, that I derive energy from interacting with others.

That's why I was fascinated when I met Kimberly Novosel, co-founder of Press Management Group. She's using her degree in music business and her background in tour promotions to help new artists create a stronger brand. She's a self-described "fitness fanatic."

She's also an introvert.

Kimberly explained how energy-draining it is to meet strangers and interact with people all day. After a while, she needs to find a place to be alone and recover from all the energy expended talking with others. We spoke for a while over lunch at the conference, and I worried how draining my extroverted exuberance must have been for her. But she couldn't have been kinder. And she just published a great article about her experience. Check it out here.

Pic of me with Kimberly:

Daunted Courage book reading - Oct 3, 5 - 6 p.m.

Here's the media alert that just went out about my forthcoming book, Daunted Courage: A Family's Bicycle Adventure on the Lewis & Clark Trail:

WHAT:  National Geographic-featured adventurer Charles R. Scott will read excerpts from his forthcoming* book, Daunted Courage, and describe how he cycled 1,700 miles of the Lewis and Clark Trail with his 12-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter – including traversing the Rocky Mountains. The event is FREE.

WHEN:  Saturday, October 3, 2015, 5 – 6 p.m.

WHERE: Fifty NYC, an Affinia Hotel, 155 East 50^th Street (at Third Avenue), New York City

WHY:    Charles encourages people of all ages to think adventurously. He believes a kid can do a whole lot more than most adults think and that each of us can overcome even the most intimidating obstacles.

WHO:   Charles R. Scott, National Geographic-featured adventurer and author of Rising Son: A Father and Son’s Bike Adventure Across Japan. His endurance challenges have been covered by The New York Times, NBC, FOX News, CBS Evening News, PBS, CNBC, Outside Magazine, The Huffington Post and many other media around the world.

Charles left a 14-year career at Intel Corporation to become an author, adventurer and public speaker. He gives keynotes and executive workshops about developing an adventurous mindset. Charles has cycled over 7,000 miles with his young children across Japan, Iceland, Europe and the U.S., and also serves as a guide to disabled athletes. In October 2014, he guided the first blind runner to cross the Grand Canyon and back nonstop. He ran a marathon at age 13 and, since then, completed six Ironman triathlons and many marathons and ultra distance races. For more details, see: http://familyadventureguy.blogspot.com

* Daunted Courage will be released on October 20, 2015

COMING IN OCTOBER

I've just finished writing a book about re-tracing 1,700 miles of the Lewis and Clark Trail with my children when they were 12 and 6. I will read an excerpt at the Affinia Hotel in New York City on Saturday, October 3 at 5 p.m. Kids are welcome. Come on out!

Here's a summary of the book:  

Sometimes the best way to understand history is to ride a bicycle through it.  Daunted Courage tells the story of an adventurous father and his two young children who spend a summer re-tracing the Lewis and Clark Trail, first by car then by bike. Offering entertaining insights into the most famous expedition in U. S. history, the story takes the reader on a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

Is 1,700 miles too far to cycle for a twelve-year-old boy and six-year-old girl? Can they really pedal over the Rocky Mountains, all the way to the Pacific Ocean? Charles Scott and his kids were daunted, but decided to try anyway, telling people, “Kids can do a whole lot more than most adults think.”

And like any good adventure, things did not always go as planned. 

Daunted Courage mixes danger, history, raising children with grit, and the travails of exploring the unknown into a grand tale that will leave you wanting to go out and create your own adventure.

Always On Symposium and Do What You Love

In May, I gave a keynote at the Always On Symposium in Providence, Rhode Island, put on by the IT services company Atrion. Click here to see a short excerpt from my talk about "Wow Experiences." I described the concept as an openness to change that need not be external. You can keep everything the same - your job, your hometown, your spouse, your routines - and yet experience amazing growth simply by opening your mind to a different way of looking at the mundane aspects of life.

And the awesome company Do What You Love just published an article I wrote about the value of discomfort. If you're a parent, don't make your children's lives too easy. And if you feel stuck in a rut, maybe the best thing you can do is to start getting uncomfortable. Check out the article here. Do What You Love delivers innovative online courses to thousands of people across the world, providing them with tools, advice and inspiration to do what they love, for life. Check 'em out!

 

 

The CEO and the Student

Is it normal to hear an elementary school student make the same observation as a CEO? That’s what happened when I gave a series of presentations over the past month. My calendar included:

-   Three CEO workshops (entitled “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?”)

-   A speech in Japanese to 100 elementary school students in New York City. I told them stories from cycling the length of Japan, 2,500 miles in 67 days, with my son when he was eight years old.

-   A 90-minute speech on “being adventurous” at an offsite in New Jersey for the pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo.

-   A keynote to ~700 people at the Atrion Always On Symposium in Providence, RI. The thought leadership event encouraged companies to develop a positive work culture built around five pillars: vision, purpose, values, people and “wow experiences.” I gave a 45-minute talk about the last pillar, emphasizing that people who are encouraged to set exciting personal goals will bring that energy to the workplace. I spoke immediately after Maysoon Zayid, a comedian who rocked my world with her presentation. If you haven’t seen her TED talk, you need to.

    Here's a photo with Tim Hebert, the CEO of Atrion, who attended one of my workshops earlier in the year. I was honored he invited me to speak at his event.

-   A presentation with my fellow adventurer Alison Qualter Berna to middle school students at the United Nations International School in NYC. We told them about guiding our friend Dan Berlin last October when he became the first blind runner to cross the Grand Canyon “rim to rim to rim” nonstop. The students were particularly excited by video footage from the thousand-foot drop off as we guided Dan up the Canyon's treacherous North Rim. Here's a photo of Alison guiding Dan next to that drop off. I was immediately behind Dan, ready to grab him if he stumbled:

-   I delivered a graduation address to the high school class of 2015 at the United Nations International School. This was the sixth year in a row I've given a talk to the graduates, and it’s always an honor. I shared thoughts on discomfort (the birthplace of resilience), failure (what is it exactly?), and what I wish someone had told me when I was 18. Crediting the comedian Paula Poundstone, I told them: adults who ask what you want to be when you grow up are looking for ideas for themselves. Here's a pic from my talk:

The question the elementary school student and CEO each asked: “Weren’t you afraid?” The student asked that about my decision to cycle across Japan with my 8-year-old son when I had never attempted such a thing. The CEO asked that about my decision to leave a 14-year career at Intel Corporation to become an adventurer.

My answer to both: “Yes.” Come up with an idea that is meaningful to you. An idea that gives you chills and makes you feel alive. If you’re afraid, that means you’re on the right track. Take a deep breath. Smile. Then dive fearlessly into your own adventure.

Executive workshops, the Boston Marathon, win a trip to Big Sky, Montana, and a lot more…

Every month, I give a handful of workshops for CEOs and senior executives. Entitled “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” the workshops are intended to help professionals develop techniques to combine success at work with personal satisfaction. Easy to describe, hard to do! I’m scheduled to give over two dozen workshops in the U.S. and Canada in 2015, with more on the way. My favorite part of of these workshops is when an executive says, “I just had an epiphany” or “I never realized this until now, but…” There’s something powerful about evaluating where you are and where you want to go, and I love facilitating this process. For a list of upcoming workshops, click here.

I spent two weeks in Tokyo this month, giving a number of talks, book signings and press interviews. I spoke to executives, entrepreneurs and students alike. In each case, I found the same desire to create a life of meaning and explore what it means to truly live. That desire transcends culture and language.

The Japanese timepiece maker Casio and I announced a partnership and released a video about the first blind runner to cross the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim nonstop. Check out the video here and don’t forget to enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Big Sky, Montana.

On April 20, I served as a guide to my blind friend Dan Berlin in the Boston Marathon (the same guy who ran across the Grand Canyon). Three others joined as guides: Alison Qualter Berna, Brad Graff and Ellen Silva. It was a windy, wet and cold day, but we sure did have a lot of fun.

Finally, if you’re interested in seeing some fabulous photos of some iconic U.S. national parks and hearing my tips on which ones to visit, check out the series of videos I made for about.com. Here's one about the best national parks for children, and there are many more, including Mt. Rainier, Yellowstone, Zion, etc. Scroll through the list of videos at the bottom to see each one.

A Spin-a-thon, a school talk, and Yomiuri Shimbun

It's been a stimulating week. On Sunday, February 8, I rode a spin bicycle for 4 hours straight. This is the third year in a row that I've joined the Team Zoey spin-a-thon to support research to find a cure for the rare and fatal "rapid aging" disease Progeria. Children with Progeria typically die of a heart attack or stroke in their early teens. I learned about this disease after a friend's niece was diagnosed. She is 5 years old and her name is Zoey (see pic).

The research done so far has extended the life expectancy of kids with Progeria by a year and a half, from 13 to 14 1/2. You can make a donation here: 
http://tz.dojiggy.com/ng/index.cfm/13971/regPages/pledge/scott1

On Wednesday February 11, my friend Alison Berna and I gave two presentations to Kindergarten through 4th grade students at the United Nations International School in New York City. We told them about our experience last October guiding Dan Berlin, the first blind athlete to run across the Grand Canyon and back nonstop. Dan became a marathoner and ultra athlete *after* going blind in his 30's. 

Alison and I put on blindfolds and asked some students to guide us across the stage and around obstacles. But instead of cooperating, we intentionally went in the wrong direction, making our guides struggle to keep us on track. Afterward, we told the students to think of their teachers and parents as guides who can help them learn. Not listening to your guides only keeps you from getting where you need to go. We also encouraged the students to emulate Dan's resilience by coming up with their own adventures and looking for ways to improve the world.

Finally, over the weekend, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, which has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the world, published an interview with my son Sho and me about our 67-day cycling trip across the country. Cool! Here's the article:

Being Adventurous

The Nikkei Shimbun Newspaper, which is analogous to the Wall Street Journal of Japan, published a book review today about the Japanese edition of “Rising Son: A Father and Son’s Bike Adventure Across Japan.” The Japanese title is “スコット親子日本を駆ける,” (Scott oyako nihon wo kakeru) which translates to “The Scott father and son pair zoom across Japan.” Not as catchy as “Rising Son,” but native speakers tell me the title actually works great. 

The Nikkei reporter interviewed Sho and me (with translation help from my wife Eiko) when we were in Tokyo last week. The piece included a quote about why I've cycled over 7,000 miles with my kids: “Children grow up so quickly. I wanted to give them the gift of my time.” Here’s a pic of the article:

The article ends with my hope to share the joy of being adventurous with many people. I did a lot of that this week! Immediately after returning from Japan over the weekend, I flew to Dallas, Texas to give a 3-hour workshop to a group of executives. Entitled “What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?” the workshop includes exercises to encourage adventurous thinking and promotes the value of “meaningful discomfort.” I then flew to Rochester, New York, where I gave the same workshop to a different set of executives. After another flight, I gave a 90-minute evening presentation to parents in the school district of Pleasantville, NY. We talked about various approaches to raising resilient kids, and I used anecdotes from my family cycling trips to make the point that “a kid can do a whole lot more than most adults think.” The conversation was stimulating, and I appreciated the willingness of so many parents to stay out late on a school night to analyze ways to raise children with grit.

The next day, I gave three 1-hour talks to hundreds of students in Pleasantville, ranging in age from Kindergarten through High School. I could not have had more fun! I told them the story of guiding 69-year-old triathlete Charlie Plaskon in the NYC Ironman Triathlon. Charlie’s quote, which I repeat in all my talks, is “No one is interested in your best excuse. Just find a way.” I also asked rhetorically whether a 6-year-old girl can pedal over the Rocky Mountains. Answer: Yep! My daughter did just that, riding on a trailer cycle attached to my bike. 

After each of my talks, students approached me to share their own adventurous goals. I loved their ideas and enthusiasm. It was stimulating to be around their positive energy. Special thanks to Sam Aidala for arranging the Pleasantville talks. Here are a few pics.

Sam Aidala (on left) and I

Sam getting the K-4 students settled before my talk

Talking to Pleasantville High School students. The slide reads, "A few years ago, I created a list of life goals. The list included this: Dream up adventures with my kids."

Playing a blindfold game with middle school students. The purpose was to illustrate how teachers are our guides. And it's important to pay attention, or you must just fall off the stage... I nearly did!

Big in Japan?

I just returned from giving a series of talks, interviews and book signings in Tokyo. Kinokuniya, the country's largest book seller, just published the Japanese translation of my book, Rising Son: A Father and Son's Bike Adventure Across Japan, which chronicles a 2,500-mile bicycle ride across the country with my 8-year-old son I did back in 2009. Here's what the English version looks like: 

And here's the Japanese version (available here):

Publishing a book feels like sending a child out into the world on her own. You do your best raising the child from baby to adult (the writing process), then hope everything turns out alright. The book has already received several very positive reader reviews in Japan, and three articles will come out this month from two major newspapers (Nikkei and Yomiuri) and a bicycle magazine (FunRide). I thought Kinokuniya did an excellent job with both the book jacket and the translation. Here's a pic of my family with the people most responsible for such a great product.

L to R: Arima-san (Manager at Kinokuniya in charge of my book), my wife Eiko, my son Sho, my daughter Saya and I, Sasamoto-san (literary agent at Japan UNI Agency), and Kojima-san (translator).

Kojima-san translated the book in about 3 months and, from all accounts, turned my prose into beautiful Japanese. He's in demand thanks to his high quality work, and I'm lucky that he was willing to take on my book. Sasamoto-san was my primary contact over the past year and patiently responded to all my requests for information and support. She was great to work with.

Arima-san read, fact checked and edited every word of the Japanese version of the book. She even tracked down the organizers of a sumo demonstration Sho and I happened across in the Japan Alps during our ride. Sho and I challenged the wrestlers, and the fiasco that ensued makes for a humorous story in the book (Hint: it's a bad idea to challenge a sumo wrestler). I didn't know the name of the town where the fiasco occurred or the sumo stable, but like a police detective, Arima-san was able to figure it out using my hazy memory of our general location and a few clues in photos I had taken. 

Arima-san put together last week's book signing event at Kinokuniya's flagship bookstore in Tokyo, and over 50 people attended. I gave a 45-minute presentation in Japanese, describing the bike trip across Japan and encouraging people in the audience to be adventurous. I'm not native fluent in Japanese. I speak with an American accent, and I make plenty of grammatical mistakes. But the audience was forgiving, and whenever I faltered, my wife Eiko stepped in to translate. In the Q&A, the first two questions were directed to my son, Sho. One questioner asked how the trip had affected him, and Sho said, "I learned not to give up when things get hard, a lesson that has been really useful when I play soccer." What a great answer! He sure knows how to make his dad feel proud. A YouTube video of the event is in the making, and I'll post the link when it's ready.  

Here are some pics:

Poster announcing the book signing event

Readers lined up waiting to get their book signed

My son Sho (on my left in this photo) signed books too. The guy on my right held the page open for me, then slipped a thin white piece of paper into the book so that the ink wouldn't smudge. This is the kind of customer-oriented detail you often see in Japan, and one of many reasons I like the country so much. 

My 8-year-old daughter Saya got bored during my talk and wasn't sure what all the fuss was about ("He's just my Daddy. No big deal."). She perked up, though, when a few people asked her to sign books too.

Here I am with my wife and trusty interpreter, Eiko.

Anyone who reads "Rising Son" knows about Saito-san (aka Mr. Saito). He's an important character in the book and has become our good friend. He lives in Yamagata, 3 hours away from Tokyo, but made the effort to attend the book signing event.

Eiko, Sho, and I got to meet with Takai-san, the President of Kinokuniya. I first met him at the LA Times Festival of Books nearly 2 years ago, and I'm honored that he thought my book was worthy of publication in Japan.

I also gave talks last week at Sophia University, to the Fletcher Club of Tokyo, and met with representatives from the Mayor's office in Chiba prefecture to discuss urban cycling. Here's a pic:

The meeting was organized by Watanabe-san, second from the right. He has helped many foreigners and locals alike discover the joys of cycling all over Japan.

I'll return to Tokyo March 23 - April 3 to give a series of talks at schools and businesses. I tell students that a kid can do a whole lot more than most adults think. And I encourage adults to enhance their personal and professional lives by being adventurous and embracing the value of discomfort. I can't wait to go back to Japan.