John Amatt - Adventure Attitude
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John Amatt knows about tough times and the value of struggle in bringing out the best in teams of people! After all, he was a leader of an Everest team, which suffered four tragic deaths in two unpredictable accidents before putting six climbers on top of the world. His experience on Everest taught him about the danger of falling into the trap of complacency and the importance of always questioning the status quo in seeking new ways of succeeding in a rapidly changing world. He is the perfect speaker to assist your team in navigating through the turmoil of today's global economic crisis.
John is unusual amongst Adventure Speakers in that he did not reach the top of Everest on his celebrated expedition. Instead, he was a leader of a dedicated team that suffered four tragic deaths in two unpredictable accidents before placing six climbers on the peak.
John's mission in going to Everest was to place one of his team on top of the world's highest mountain. In his own words... "It didn't matter who reached the summit, because we believed that when one person stood on the highest point, the whole team had achieved the goal. I was totally fulfilled the day we reached the top and I would never go back to Everest, because my expectation as leader had been fully met".
John Amatt is a superb storyteller, who has delivered highly motivational presentations to some 1,750 audiences in 44 countries worldwide. After a career of 25 years, he is one of the world's most successful adventure speakers. An educator by training, he uses the lessons learned from his own life and death adventures in the world's most remote places to articulate down-to-earth strategies for meeting the challenges of challenging times.
John is the Founder of the world-renowned Banff Mountain Film Festival, Founder and President of One Step Beyond WorldWide, and has been called "The World's Best Adventure Speaker".
John's mission is to encourage people to push beyond self-imposed limitations, to be more personally accountable for the results of their own actions, and to embrace effective teamwork by valuing the contributions of others.
Biography
An educator by training, John established One Step Beyond WorldWide in 1984 and he has since delivered more than 1,500 keynote presentations and seminars to total audiences of over 750,000 people in 35 countries around the world. His mission is to encourage people to push beyond their self-imposed limitations, to be more personally accountable for their own actions, and to embrace effective teamwork by valuing the contribution of others.
For over 30 years, John Amatt has led expeditions to remote regions of Northern Norway, Peru, Nepal, China, Greenland and has explored areas of the Arctic on six occasions, making many first ascents of previously unclimbed peaks. At the age of 20, John spent two weeks lashed to tiny ledges while making the first ever ascent of Europe's highest and steepest mountain precipice - the 5000 foot "Vertical Mile" Troll Wall in Norway.
Later in 1981, he was the leader of the 1st Canadian mountaineering expedition to Western China, which made a lightweight ascent of 24,757 foot Mount Muztagata - the highest peak in the world to have been ascended and descended entirely on skis.
More recently, John fulfilled a lifelong dream by organizing and taking part in Canada's first successful expedition to reach the top of the world - the 29,028 foot summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain.
What people are saying...
"You have left us with a clear vision of what will be required of our managers, present and future: Commitment, resourcefulness, endurance, flexibility to meet the challenge of change, and above all, the courage to keep a clear perspective of the goals in spite of any adversities."
–Air Canada
"I particularly appreciated your insight into the important contribution a team member makes towards the accomplishment of a goal. Your enthusiasm and joy for being part of the process vs. needing to be the one (or two) who were to climb the final steps, was sincere and contagious ... a lesson for us all. Sometimes in our personal pursuit of excellence and attainment of individual goals, we lose sight of the 'bigger picture' — that of the common goal. Thanks for reminding us. John, the demands of your travel must be great, and the compromises many, but you must know that your message touches lives. It reaches into places that some choose to ignore or are too hurried to consider. I am convinced that you, too, are touched each time you share it-you and Everest are of one spirit. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of it and of ourselves."
–Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas City
"One veteran senior executive described your presentation was the best he had ever heard. Other senior executives have suggested that everyone in our organization should have had the opportunity to participate in your dynamic presentations."
–American Express Financial Advisors Inc.
"Our guests were uniform in their high praise for your performance ... Through the skillful use of powerful visual images and an eloquent description of your central theme, you instilled in all of us a sense of what is possible and what it takes to achieve great things. You were terrific!"
–Balboa Life & Casualty
"The dimension you brought was emphasizing that risk is an intrinsic part of life and should be transformed into business in order to progress. The way in which you brought out the effect of teamwork and employing cultural differences to best advantage was most impressive, particularly the way you emphasized that change is an essential part of life."
–Libbey Owens Ford
"You were FANTASTIC, POSITIVE, and MOTIVATIONAL. You were everything we expected you to be. The audience loved you and admired you and received you with great pride as evidenced by the thunderous standing ovation."
– Million Dollar Round Table
"John was an outstanding speaker — prompt, sharp, personable and highly accommodating. Combined with his stunning photos, John’s message riveted everyone's attention to the stage. I can't remember any previous audience following a speaker as intently as on this occasion."
–MetLife
"The tone that you set was inspirational and pertinent. Many of our attendees commented that they could directly apply your message to their everyday operations."
–American Management Systems, Inc.
"Without qualification I can say that your presentation to the attendees at the American Optometric Association's Meeting was the most dynamic even given to an AOA group. Your artful integration of the principles of leadership into your narration of your dramatic mountain climb was superb."
–American Optometric Association
Programs
John's programs will motivate your staff to embrace new opportunities in a changing world, to open up their minds to new realities, and to develop the "Adventure Attitude"™ strategies that will be the key to success in the future.
NO MOUNTAIN TOO HIGH:
Challenging Change With The Adventure Attitude
A New Keynote Presentation from John Amatt. "The challenge of change is forcing us to rethink our values and to rekindle our spirit of adventure. It will take courage, resourcefulness and endurance to meet this challenge — the courage to try, to commit and to take more risks; the resourcefulness to be innovative and creative in finding new ways of doing old things; and the endurance to keep moving forward despite all the setbacks."
John Amatt
In his new keynote, "No Mountain Too High", John uses his amazing storytelling ability and the power of metaphor to address the following themes:
- Setting Realistic Goals and Expectations
- Taking Calculated Risk and Being Adventurous
- Embracing Fear and Anxiety
- Avoiding the "Trap of Complacency"
- Understanding the Values of Commitment
- Learning from Setbacks and Applying the Lessons
- Questioning the Status Quo by always asking "WHY?"
- Building Trust within an Effective Team
- Leading by Personal Example
- Taking Pride in Your Individual Contribution
- Anticipating the Future and Being Prepared
"Adventure isn't hanging on a rope on the side of a mountain. Adventure is an ATTITUDE that we must apply to the day-to-day obstacles of life — facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown and, in the process, discovering our own unique potential."
John Amatt
John Amatt's most popular presentation, the highly innovative and inspirational "Climbing Your Own Everest" explores the metaphor of striving to reach the top of the world. Illustrated by magnificent colour photography from his successful expedition which climbed Everest, and supplemented by music, sound effects, and taped radio conversations, this presentation investigates the qualities we must all bring to bear in climbing to the top today's difficult and unpredictable economic environments. Concepts explored include:
- Teamwork
- Preparation
- Commitment
- Adapting to Changing Environments
- Setting Realistic Goals
- The role of positive attitude
all set against the life and death struggle on the mountain!
By drawing the analogy between the challenge of climbing to the top of the world and the equal challenge of "Climbing Your Own Everest" in a personal and professional sense, this presentation lends special focus to the challenges facing us all in the future. Speaker support for this presentation is available in wide screen, nine projector format, as well as single screen, two projector dissolve.
Straight to the Top and Beyond
Change is inevitable... and increasing! Rapid and radical change is the primary challenge facing corporations and professionals today. We cannot stop this change, nor can we ignore it. But we can increase our ability to adapt, to manage change effectively, and to benefit from the numerous opportunities that change creates. In these rapidly changing times, the metaphor of adventure is the perfect vehicle for articulating the strategy that will help us address this challenge. By definition, adventure involves dealing with the uncertain, the unpredictable and the unknown, just as change involves moving towards a future in which there are no guarantees. To succeed in the uncertain world of the 21st century, we must learn to embrace change, and to become visionary and adventurous in dealing with the economic, social, and political environments in which we must all operate.
John also presents seminars/workshops of three to five hours duration, which focus on the theme of "Meeting the Challenge of Change" in corporate and professional life. Designed as an in-house program, this thought provoking seminar has also been effectively integrated into annual meetings or conventions.
