"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." — John Quincy Adams
"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." — Warren Bennis
"As complex as the brain is, the world is more so. The brain cannot process and organize all the data that arrive. It cannot come up with a reasonable course of action if everything is given equal weight and perceived at equal intensity. That is the difficulty with logic: It’s step-by-step, linear. The world is not." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"The trap lay in the fact that they were only halfway to their real goal. They were celebrating when they had the worst part of the climb ahead of them. Climbers are the only sportsmen who do that. Moreover, it is part of the natural cycle of human emotion to let down your guard once you feel you’ve reached a goal." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"To the brain, the future is as real as the past. The difficulty begins when reality doesn’t match the plan. In nature, adaptation is important; the plan is not. It’s a Zen thing. We must plan. But we must be able to let go of the plan, too. Under the influence of a plan, it’s easy to see what we want to see." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"Rational (or conscious) thought always lags behind the emotional reaction." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"We think we believe what we know, but we only truly believe what we feel." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"Fear puts me in my place. It gives me the humility to see things as they are." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"In a true survival situation, you are by definition looking death in the face, and if you can’t find something droll and even something wondrous and inspiring in it, you are already in a world of hurt." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"The first rule is: Face reality. Good survivors aren’t immune to fear. They know what’s happening, and it does 'scare the living shit out of' them. It’s all a question of what you do next." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
"While some accidents are a result of not recognizing potential hazard, most occur because the victims either underestimate the hazard or overestimate their ability to deal with it." — Jill Fredston and Doug Fesler Snow Sense: A Guide to Evaluating Snow Avalanche Hazard
"We realize that every day is a gift. To become who we are and share what we do is a gift. To help one another is a gift." — Lonnie Kauk Alpinist Magazine, Issue 66, "Magic Line"
"Our brain loves to not decide things. We love to default, or revert to the mean, or do what we know." — Sara Boilen Powder Magazine, "Your Heart and Brain Are Working Against You in Avalanche Terrain"
"Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory." — Ed Viesturs
"When we admit that we don’t know, we give ourselves permission to be vulnerable. More importantly, we recognize a starting point from which to gather information." — Dave Richards Backcountry Magazine, "A Certain Uncertainty"
"When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other." — Eric Hoffer
"When I’m by myself, I’m very cautious. Add a trusted partner, and I’m willing to go places I probably wouldn’t before. Add a group of six people and a couple of attractive females, and I’ll do just about anything." — Bruce Tremper via Jill Fredston Snowstruck: In the Grip of Avalanches
"Every day, each of us is an accident trying not to happen." — Dale Atkins via Jill Fredston Snowstruck: In the Grip of Avalanches
"We construct an expected world because we can’t handle the complexity of the present one, and then process the information that fits the expected world, and find reasons to exclude the information that might contradict it." — Charles Perrow Normal Accidents
"'Does anyone not feel good about this' not 'are we all good with this'" — Sara Boilen NSAW 2020, "Your Brain is a Double Agent"
