Alan Hobson

Biography

At the age of 29, international bestselling author and worldwide adventurer Alan Hobson set out to realize his greatest childhood dream. It took him 10 grueling expeditions to high altitude, three to Mt. Everest, and a decade of intense fundraising, training and organizational effort before he finally stood on top of the world. As he gazed out from the highest physical point on the planet, tears froze to his face. He could see the curvature of the Earth as the horizon bent in his peripheral vision at 29,035 feet.

“Half the dream is done,” the then 39-year-old radioed to base camp as his voice cracked with emotion. “If we’re persistent enough, we can do the dreams.”

In August 2000, Alan set out on his ultimate adventure to date. At 42, he was diagnosed with cancer of the blood and given less than a year to live. Using the hard-won lessons he learned on Everest, he chose to ignore solid medical evidence that there was an 85 per cent chance he would die and thanks to raw courage and the miracles of modern medicine, he not only survived but thrived. He is now one of less than a dozen people to achieve an elite level of fitness after a blood transplant for acute leukemia, is more physically fit than he was prior to his last Everest expedition and has been cancer-free for over five years. He is now considered to be medically cured.

“My ‘Inner Everest’ has dwarfed the outer one,” he says quietly, “I see life now from a new perspective. Success isn’t about height. It’s about depth.”

The story of Alan Hobson’s life is a breathtaking portrait in passion, persistence and peak performance spanning four decades. He is not only an Everest summiteer and worldwide adventurer, but an Adventrepreneur™, a serious businessman who has successfully trademarked his own business niche. He has appeared on many national television talk shows, including Oprah. His expeditions have required millions of dollars to finance, organize and execute, and they have stretched Alan’s leadership, team-building, sales and communications abilities even more than they have his physical attributes. He has proven his talent for transforming the apparently intangible benefits of high-stakes adventure into tangible results for his sponsors’ and suppliers’ bottom lines.

“Everest is 97 percent preparation and three percent execution,” he says. “If you want to climb the physical mountain, you must first climb the organizational Everest. That requires a mountain of money and that means finding out what corporations need to succeed in their own climb – and marrying the two expeditions together.”

Alan’s achievements go far beyond the business of Everest. He is the international bestselling author of half a dozen books, a former nine-time All-American gymnast, marathon runner, hang glider pilot, white water kayaker, parachutist, journalist, and winner of the prestigious William Randolph Hearst Award for Excellence in News Writing. He has scuba dived beneath the ice of frozen mountain lakes in the dead of the Canadian winter, visited sunken wrecks in Lake Geneva, and executed numerous night dives in the frigid and turbulent waters of the north Atlantic. He is a tough man for tough times – an expert at overcoming adversity, managing cataclysmic change, and enduring hostile and life-threatening operating conditions.

Alan’s first expedition to Everest ended 3,000 feet short of the summit when a fierce storm ripped his team’s high camp right off the mountain. Undaunted, Alan was back on Everest three years later, this time with half the budget of the first trip, half the personnel, and no bottled oxygen. His team missed the summit by an excruciatingly disappointing two city blocks when their lead climber came down with high altitude sickness and they elected to rescue him rather than continue blindly going for the goal. Finally, on his third expedition, Alan changed his strategy completely, attacked the mountain from its southern, Nepalese side, outsourced the organizational and leadership aspects of the climb, and focused exclusively on training and fundraising. The plan worked. His team put six expedition members on top – almost half its climbers -- a feat achieved by likely only a handful of teams in Everest’s storied 80-year climbing history. Little did he know then, that an even greater challenge lay ahead – the Everest of illnesses.

Alan’s next expedition is the one he’s currently on – to continue his miraculous climb back from cancer, and help as many other cancer patients as possible do the same. Together with his wife, Cecilia, they have written a landmark new book, Climb Back from Cancer – Introducing The 10 Tools of Triumph for Survivors and Caregivers, Alan’s sixth. It chronicles their uplifting true story and pinpoints what they consider are The 10 Tools of Triumph™ for survivors and caregivers – the key psychological skills necessary to survive life-threatening illness and thrive beyond it. They have also formed The Climb Back from Cancer Foundation. It is developing the ground-breaking Climb Back from Cancer Protocol™ that is helping patients and survivors overcome chronic fatigue – the biggest single challenge faced by North America’s millions of cancer survivors. The foundation’s mission is to help patients, survivors and caregivers climb back to better lives.

“We not only need to save lives,” Alan says. “We need to return them.”

Alan mesmerizes every audience with a custom-built presentation. His exhaustive preparatory process results in every presentation being a one-of-a-kind program that speaks directly to the needs of each group. This approach is unequaled by any other presenter in the world and has earned him the distinctive title of “The Best Adventure Speaker in the World.”

Publications

Three years after reaching the top of Mt. Everest, Alan came face to face with “The Everest of Illnesses” when he was diagnosed with acute leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood, and given less than a year to live. With the help of his then fiancée, Cecilia, he not only survived, but thrived, and the couple emerged all the stronger from their shared trial. This is their inspiring true story of commitment, teamwork and triumph. The first book in the proposed Climb Back from Cancer™ Collection, it offers not only a living example of how to climb back from cancer, but demonstrates how to transform adversity into opportunity. It also includes The 10 Tools of Triumph™ for survivors and caregivers – what Alan and Cecilia consider are the key psychological skills required not only to survive life-threatening illness, but to thrive beyond it.

Titles

Rising to the Challenge of Change
The hostile operating conditions on Mount Everest change by the minute with changing wind conditions, snow conditions and weather conditions. With ever-increasing competition, technological innovation and sudden market shifts, so does the landscape of business. Three years after standing on the top of Everest, Alan was faced with the most cataclysmic change of his life when he was diagnosed with acute leukemia and given less than a year to live. Today, he is more physically fit than he was prior to his last Everest expedition and is considered officially medically cured. He shows audiences how to rise to the challenge of change, and profit from it.

Achieving R.O.I. through Risk
To get to the top of Everest, you must risk your life – repeatedly. Although the risks in business may not appear as severe, the livelihood of thousands of people and their families can be at stake. Alan knows what it takes to risk it all and he shares his winning strategies from stage.

Harnessing the Power of Preparation
A typical Everest expedition takes three to seven years to finance, organize, train for and execute. A good business plan can easily involve a similar amount of time, but may have to be implemented in days, weeks or months. Before stepping on stage, Alan prepares by extensively researching the unique needs of each group and then smoothly integrating his knowledge into each presentation. When he combines this knowledge with vivid descriptions of the exhaustive preparatory process he followed prior to each of his three Everest expeditions, the picture is powerful – and powerfully relevant to everyone in the room.

Triumphing through Teamwork
None of Alan’s three Everest expeditions or his climb back from cancer could have been achieved without a massive team effort executed over many years. The greater the complexity of a business goal, the greater the need for a concerted and coordinated effort as well. Alan shows the triumph in teamwork during his three Everest expeditions and his climb back from critical illness. The lessons garnered along the way are immediately applicable to any organization or individual reaching for the top today.   

Focusing on Execution
All the preparation in the world will not help us if we cannot deliver the goods when the moment comes. Alan’s summit window on Everest lasted just twelve hours and his life-saving blood transplant took just 20 minutes. Yet, in both instances, he achieved virtually flawless execution. On Everest, his team put almost half its climbers on top. On his Everest of illnesses, Alan’s medical team performed a textbook blood transplant with virtually no side effects. During his presentations, Alan shows how to achieve excellence in execution – every time.    

Learning from Setbacks
Success in business is never instantaneous. It is always the result of continuous improvement and an ever-refined process. Alan’s team was unable to make it to the top of Everest on their first two attempts but they learned volumes about how to be more efficient and effective each time. During his presentations, Alan tells the tale of his three expeditions to Everest and how we can all emerge victorious if we mine the priceless knowledge from the depths of our experiences.

Overcoming Unexpected Obstacles
Alan’s first expedition ended when his team’s high camp was blasted off the mountain by high winds. His second expedition missed the top by two city blocks when one of his team members came down with life-threatening high altitude sickness and had to be rescued. Finally, Alan stood on top of the world on his third trip to Everest, only to later face an even bigger mountain. The unexpected is just as commonplace in business. How fast we react and how effectively we adapt can be the keys not only to survival, but to success. Alan offers precious keys to both.

Turning Adversity into Opportunity
After being diagnosed with cancer of the blood and given less than a year to live, Alan not only survived, but thrived. The acid test of an organization is no less so. Alan offers a living example of how to transform trial into triumph.

Adapting to Shifting Priorities
It happens to everyone. We set out toward a goal, but suddenly, a competing priority forces us to shift our focus and resources. When one of Alan’s teammates came down with life-threatening high altitude sickness just two city blocks from the top of Everest, his team had to choose between their objective and their teammate. The choice they made and how they implemented their sudden shift in focus provides a stirring example of peak performance under pressure. It resonates forcefully with every organization today.  

Getting Back on Top
The true test of an organization is not how it performs when times are good, but how well it bounces back when times are tough. Twice, Alan was denied the summit of Everest. Then, critical illness almost took his life. He can show you not only how to bounce back, but how to climb back – to the top and beyond.

Patching into the Power of the Mind
When times are tough, the separator is not always strategy and tactics. It can be psychology – the ability to focus in the midst of adversity. Alan gives you the psychological tools to develop the laser beam intensity needed to triumph in business and in the business of life.

Peaking through Persistence
Twice denied the summit of Everest on two separate expeditions and later told he had less than a year to live, Alan courageously persisted. He not only reached the summit of Everest, but also survived to thrive beyond his Everest of illnesses. He is living proof of the power of persistence, the capacity of courage and the ability we all have to achieve our dreams no matter what the obstacles.