Risk & Business Magazine Cain Insurance Fall 2015 | Page 16

Mountain Climbing with Rob Follows We All Have Mountains to Climb The Importance of True Life Planning BY: NEIL WADHWA, RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINE W hile many people might hesitate when presented with the opportunity to climb a mountain due to the sheer level of preparation and commitment needed, Rob turns to challenges, like climbing Mount Everest, as opportunities to grow both personally and professionally. Rather than keep the lessons he learned while climbing Mount Everest close to his vest, Rob stands at the mountaintops and shares his advice for everyone to hear. This is to be expected of the man who founded Altruvest, a charitable service started by Rob to enhance the governance skills of charitable sector boards. For Rob, no challenge is too big when proper preparation and planning is involved. Rob Follows is an entrepreneur adventurer. Not even a mountain can stand in the way of Rob accomplishing his goals—literally. Earlier this month, Rob sat down with us to discuss the challenges he faced while climbing Mount Everest, the lessons he learned along the way, and the concept of a “death day.” Neil: Right off the bat, people have described you as an “entrepreneur adventurer.” What does that mean? Rob: I think maybe the perception comes from the core of what you’ll see in my speech: “Everyone Has Their Own Everest: What is Yours?” Over the years, I’ve articulated something that I feel passionate about: if people do proper life planning by taking a step back and look at the bigger picture, they can fit more into their lives. They can be several things at once. They can be an entrepreneur, a volunteer, an adventurer, and more. People see adventure in all different levels. Some people think drinking a different type of red wine is adventurous and some people think that climbing mountains is adventurous. 16 RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM FALL 2015