(Crew of the Endurance, 1915)

At Adventure In, Adventure Out, we’re always looking for new ways to inspire ourselves as well as all the wonderful clients and participants we work with. So, with that in mind, I’d like to share this article from Forbes, 16 Leadership Quotes To Inspire You To Greatness.

And, just for fun, I’m going to pick a quote from this article for each of AIAO’s current core staff members.

For James, our Founder and Director:
“The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good [people] to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” -Theodore Roosevelt

For Ben, our Assistant Director:
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

For Pandora, our Director of Staff and Program Development:
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis

And for myself:
“To lead people, walk behind them.” – Lao Tzu

Visit one of my favorite websites, Wikiquote, for more leadership quotes.

And be sure to visit our website to learn more about our transformative leadership development programs for both schools and businesses.

The field and office staff at Adventure In, Adventure Out are always trying to find the most effective ways to transform groups of individuals into effective teams that have the potential to thrive in any situation. Intriguingly, we regularly find ourselves coming back to the work of Bruce Tuckman.

Introduced in the mid-60s, Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development have remained relevant, and continue to serve outdoor educators and team builders of all kinds. They are: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Other stages, like Adjourning, have been added to his model as well.

To dive deeper into this effective tool, and to learn how the stages relate to each other, check out this article by the University of Washington. And for more information on our team-building offering for both schools and businesses/organizations check out Adventure In, Adventure Out’s website.

When Spiderman/Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben paraphrased Voltaire saying, “With great power come great responsibility,” he probably wasn’t referring to smartphones in the hands of high school students. But, as technology continues to find its way into the hands of children and young people, addressing techno-bullying becomes increasingly harder.

Thus, I say ‘Kudos!’ to the folks at Yik Yak:
“The founders of an up-and-coming anonymous messaging app called Yik Yak, that began to take off among the middle school and high school crowd where it has been linked to both bullying and threats, have taken the unprecedented step of actually blocking younger users from accessing its application while on school grounds.”

But while this is a valuable step, it’s only a small step towards greater inclusion, and the undoing of the underlying culture of bullying that is the painful reality for so many young people.

Click here to read the full Yik Yak article, and click here to learn more about Adventure In Adventure Out’s You Belong, “a bold and transformative program that engages students and teachers in the creation of a physically and emotionally safe environment where courageous action is encouraged, and the true expression of each person is welcomed and celebrated.”

I couldn’t agree more with Jeremiah Anthony’s classmates: he is an inspiration.

Taking the simple idea of challenging bullying with compliments, he has affected his entire high school and created an environment of positivity that impacts students of all ages.

So many of us, including myself, have experienced bullying at some point in our lives. So, it’s heartwarming to know that, in addition to Adventure In, Adventure Out’s You Belong program, there are other individuals, organizations, and schools working to counteract the destructiveness of bullying.

To check out West Side Bros on Twitter go here, and visit our site to learn more about our You Belong anti-bullying program.

This video has been circulating on the web for a little while now, but it is so very relevant to the experience we are creating with our “You Belong” program. It is the many feelings, struggles, hopes and doubts that can feel so isolating when exploring one’s identity. Yet, these very ingredients also create the recipe for belonging. The reason they can make us feel so alone is because we assume that no one else could ever feel this way. I must be the only one. And, so we try to keep them hidden, buried just below the surface of what we allow to be seen.

The problem is, if everyone does this, then we end up operating in a world where it seems like those fears, hopes and feelings don’t exist except within ourselves. This is the power and inspiration of vulnerability and compassion. Together, they help us construct a window where people can see into the real us. It is is there that we can realize we are not alone, we are not the only ones – that we can belong! So, how do we live lives where we can create that window? By doing exactly what Shane is doing here – stepping out with courage and sharing what is real!