Thoughts from the Road (and Mountains)

I’m writing this morning from Revelstoke, a gorgeous ski town located on the mighty Columbia River between the towering Monashee and Selkirk Mountain ranges. It’s freezing here, but I’m happy.

It’s week one of a seven-week journey that will take us to Banff, Montana, Utah and Idaho… stopping at the biggest mountains, as well as at interesting spots along the way.

But the best part of all is meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends.

For example, last week in Redmond, Washington we had coffee with Ewandro Magalhães, who has been a longtime member of Bend Reality. To use his self-description, Ewandro has been a Chief Interpreter in the United Nations system and served in virtually every other role in Language Services, such as interpreter, translator, speechwriter, proofreader, reviser, program manager, data analyst, and localization expert.

He got me thinking about the valuable insights an interpreter possesses that would be of great value to the general population. In his profession, the interpreter often speaks and listens at the same time, translating what has already been said while also keeping track of what the speaker is currently saying.

Imagine the focus, discipline and creativity this takes. I’m hopeful that Ewandro will expand his offerings on this subject in the near future.

Yesterday, I skied and dined with Charles Vogl, author of the classic book, The Art of Community. While others talk about the power of community, Charles has actually studied not only what it takes to form strong and supportive communities, but also the often misunderstood practice of forming deep friendships. The updated second edition of his book comes out next month, and I urge you to keep an eye open for it.

I’m telling you this in part because I’d love to find more people along our travels to meet. If you live in the areas we’re visiting—or know a fascinating person who does—please let me know.

Being outdoors always brings me closer in touch with my heart as well as my head. In the past week or so, the word attention has been floating near the surface. One of the most critical decisions we ever make regards to whom or what we give our attention.

On social media, this decision is often taken out of our hands, which is why it can be so insidious. The medium is designed so that other people, not you, control your attention.

But when we step away from the screen, we regain control of our attention. Yesterday, for example, I got to decide whether to quickly ski down the mountain once I got off the ski lift… or to linger at the top and be grateful for this view:

Lingering won.

Attention is a complicated subject. We can give our attention to a book, our breath, the needs of a friend, innovation, creativity or… the latest text message. We can focus on prestige or impact.

There are no single right answers, but the more we cherish our attention, the better decisions we will make.

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Thanks in advance for letting me know who deserves my attention in the next seven weeks as we wander through mountain towns.

And thanks for reading this!