Did you know in Europe it’s rude to ask someone what they do? This is probably because they have a few more centuries experience than North Americans regarding horrible answers. You see, if you don’t answer this question properly, you’ll end up with unintended confusion.

For example, here’s how cynics interpret the answer to, “So, what do you do?”

Answer                                 A Cynic’s Interpretation

To avoid confusion and cynics looking down their disrespective noses at you – take a page out of marketing professionals everywhere. Lead with value!

First – Think of Yourself as a Brand
If a BMW had lips and answered the “So what do you do?” question with, “I’m a car,” how appealing would that be? Instead, your be-lipped BMW would use the tag line, “I am the ultimate driving machine.” That’s better and more valuable to the listener.

Second – Lose Your Features Addiction
Since a speaker, author and consultant wrote what you’re reading, when I see a person put Speaker, Author, and Consultant under his or her name I get nauseous. (Oops… I’m made myself gag.) Do you have any idea how many speakers, authors and consultants put the "Speaker, Author, Consultant" under their names? A gazillion! Lose your addiction to what you do and refocus attention on what you deliver. Question: “So, what do you do?” Answer: “I help companies reach BIG GOALS in half the time.” That’s intriguing value.

Third – Its Only Valuable Memory that Counts
If you said, lawyer, teacher, motivational speaker or any other profession, the chances are your listener will remember you based on their cynical interpretation. Why leave it up to them as to what they remember? Burn an image into their memory that oozes value. Let’s revisit better answers to the question, “So, what do you do?”

Answer 
I help corporations avoid painful lawsuits.
I teach 8th graders how to speak and read in French. 
I open conferences with a Big Goals in Short Order presentations. 
I help people find affordable and dependable cars. 
I help people reach their financial goals.
I help families find the home of their dreams.
I help people achieve simple wealth and simple health.
I am a doctor and I don’t want to check your prostate.

Sure, it’s easier just to answer with __(insert your job here)__. But who needs to give the cynics, or Europeans for that matter, any more ammunition than they already have?

A number of marketing minds wondering the same thing about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, "How can we create similar success for our cause?" 

The Challenge has raised nearly $42 million to support research into Lou Gehrig’s disease. Heck, there are people doing the challenge without a clue about ALS. Celebrities are looking at creative ways to get on board for a good cause. Grandparents are challenging their grandkids, neighbors are challenging baseball teams.

Below are the elements that have helped make the Ice Bucket Challenge popular. These same elements can be used for a cause you'd like to promote:

• It's Unique, Fun to Watch and Fun to Do. YouTube and Facebook videos continue to experience explosive growth in viewership. Fun is viral. Unique is intriguing. If it's unique, fun to watch and do, then you have triple the probability of it being viral.
• Put a Person in FRONT of a Cause (Not a Cause Before all Else). Last year between July 29 and August 21st the ALS 'Cause' brought in $2.1m. In the same period this year... $41.8 m. Why? One person challenged others. If it were just a cause, the motivational stickiness of the concept is weak. Put a person in front of the cause and you get the motivational ball rolling. 
• People Love to be Noticed. The 'Challenge' is the ultimate selfie. Being relevant and noticed is a central part of the human condition. Look at the power of Yelp. Why would someone want to help or hurt a local business? It ultimately means people want their opinion to matter because they want to matter. Yelp is a magical combination of valuing someone's opinion (of being done right or wrong) and taking notice of who said it.
• When Celebrities Jump In, People Take Extra Notice. Look way, way back in history... to last year. Remember the Harlem Shake? The EDM clip got viral traction in the begining of February 2013, but it went exponentially viral When the Miami Heat did their own video of their Harlem Shake. 
• Celebrities Need to Stay in the Public Eye. Having a good cause made it a short, playful celebrity leap to a 15 second video and a cold bucket of water.

Of course, if going viral was easy, every marketing department would be motivated to get on the same wagon. But the last, and most elusive thing it takes - is to get a little lucky.

This one’s gonna sting. It's about you.

You are naturally wired to avoid doing the things you need to do to succeed. 

If you’re in sales, this ought to cause a tad more than concern. (Oh, and as the saying goes, “If you’re lips are moving, you’re in sales.”)

For those who have a product of service to sell, it’s easier to simply not call. You don’t get up in the morning and seek discomfort. Our natural instinct is to follow that path of least resistance.
Instinct is difficult to overcome. For example, how would you not blink if a beach ball was thrown at your face? Instinct is deeply ingrained into every fiber of your being.

So what’s your antidote to this pesky instinct?

1. Attach Pain to Procrastination – As you instinctively skip down the path to least resistance – use your fertile imagination to immediately play-out all the painful scenarios attached to procrastination. Bring in the 5 senses. Now, add feelings of embarrassment, disappointment, letting others down. Do this right and the pain will be too much to tolerate. You’ll jump to your own rescue.
2. Put an Aikido Move on Least Resistance – Given we instinctively dislike resistance. Use this force of dislike to your advantage. Picture this: Depositing less money in the bank. Getting fired for lack of production. Looking for a new job or new client. Just like a martial arts master uses the momentum of a ‘haymaker’ punch to redirect in a fluid throw to the ground, use the consequences of resistance as a redirect to what you should be doing.
3. Interrupt the Pattern of Least Resistance - When you realize you're slipping into the procrastination pattern, do something so physiologically unusual you psychologically pause for a reset. Example:
   • You get to the office and start arranging paperclips, seeing how many pencils you can hold with your upper lip or poking around on Facebook (same thing as paperclip arranging and lip-pencil holding).
   • Say to yourself, "Uh oh, I'm procrastinating." (with the voice of Rocky Balboa)
   • Pinch your nose with one hand while waving your right arm like a lunatic. Throw in a “whoop, whoop, whoop” as if you’re one of the Three Stooges. You’ve interrupted the pattern. (Feel free to develop your own signature move.)
   • Now, consciously and immediately follow-up this pattern interrupt with the most important thing you need to get done today. 

It’s easier to sleep in. It’s less difficult to turn on the TV than to be proactive on the phone. It’s more relaxing to stay at home than to get in the car and meet a prospect.

Stop being a creature of least resistance. Engage in the three rewiring tactics above and you’ll create an end-game of an easier life. Isn’t that 'easier life' what your instinct wanted all along?

Learning that we had a father-son expedition in the Himalayas, the reaction has been universal, “What a great bonding opportunity.” But “bonding” seems limiting and beyond motivational. Especially with offspring abundantly ready to break free. Let’s wrap our minds around the concept of bonding alongside the rhythm of letting go.

Indeed, an emotional bond was part our journey but we shared so much more. Every second was an onslaught of present-centered focus. This step and the next mattered more than anything else. Each meal was coupled with reflection on the day. Jaw dropping awe trumped exhaustion. A fifty two year-old’s context intersected with a seventeen year-old’s epiphanies. Pride infused routine glances. Quiet conversation was inspiration in the dark. Risk was brushed aside with a smile and a new handhold. 

Parenting, done right, is a climb into the clouds. Uncertainty is the path to perspective. Clarity leads to more questions and discovery. Mountain climbing seemed to be the ideal place for our increasingly rare ‘teachable’ moments. Yet, a mountain in the far reaches of India is not required to have your own tapestry of bonding and letting go.

This tapestry is created by sharing an experience.

An event, a moment, a weekend, a visit, a vista - when shared - leads to bonding. This is easier to do when the “sharee” is your kid who can’t drive off. But come 16, and his newfound wings, the young adult needs to be invited back for an experience.

Memorable experiences sustain an invisible bond. 

Be the architect of shared experience. Creatively craft your experiences.

• Going to a movie isn’t the answer. Making a movie is. 
• Dinner out is too easy. Creating a dinner is deliciously visceral.
• Giving a gift is too one sided. The gift of time lasts forever.
• Playing a board game is okay. Rolling the dice on a new adventure is pure magic.

Dividends from your mutual experience will unfold well after it has passed. 

You secure a bond when letting go is a distant memory.

Adversity is the wellspring of wisdom.

It’s the foundation of character.

Without adversity, your inner power atrophies

and your moral compass can lose true north.

Our team of 13 Westerners set out to follow the steps of devout Hindus who, over the centuries, have set out to climb Shrikhand Mahadev (17,195 ft). Noted as one of the toughest pilgrimages in the world – it became evident how adversity would help us expand possibility.

The thin air of the Himalayas combined with the dramatic terrain coupled for a classic journey of “one step at a time.”

It took three travel days plus three tough climbing days to get to base camp. Well above the tree-line we planned a rest day to assimilate our systems to the 14,000+ altitude.

The day of the climb we were nervous and excited. There were a number of massive glaciers on unforgiving angles which required walking crampons to secure our footing.

As mentioned, pilgrims and holy Sadhus also made the journey. With flimsy shoes and rudimentary walking sticks. Their faith drove them past physical and rational limitations of what seemed possible.

At every turn and 'false' peak, a new height revealed itself. At any given time, it seemed like we were close to the summit but another incline pushed its challenge in our faces.

Finally, we came over another 60+ degree climb to see the summit of Shrikhand Mahadev. When the peak was in view – the final push was on.

At 17,195 feet our guides and our team were greeted by a Sadhu who lit incense and chanted a Hindu blessing.

Together, Max and I celebrated reaching the summit. We thank all our team who supported us. HOPE was our fuel.

Our descent was easier than the climb, but going down was no less treacherous. Each careful step was clouded by exhaustion and some dehydration. We took longer than we expected to summit and descend. This meant we ran out of water and had to finish the 4,000 foot vertical round trip with nothing to drink. The day took over 11 hours. The last of our team descended after 12 and ½ hours.

On the way back through the Kullu valley we came across sheep herders and more pilgrims.

A small town visit was like climbing into a time capsule – straight into the middle ages. Curious heads popped out of windows and doors to see a rare sighting of a Westerner. The question we were asked most often? "What are you doing here?" That was indeed, a profound question. Impossible to answer in just a few words. Although, adversity was thematic in every day we explored.

Most of our team pictured here.

Max and Vince Poscente feeling grateful for an extraordinary experience into the heart of India’s Himalayas.

We experienced the 'right' amount of adversity to grow as son and father, as adventurers and as part of a historic pilgrimage. It was the trek of a lifetime - one we will always share in the corner of our memories.

Thank you for joining us!

Max Poscente - Thanking my sponsors:

Thank you to all the sponsors who joined us to the top of the world.

Father's Heart Project

Thomas Franchise Solutions

Estes, Okon, Thorne & Carr

Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance

Endeavor Configure Price Quote

Goff's Hamburgers

Stagen Institute

American Leather

Aegis Global

Mutual Capital Alliance

First Rate

Which Wich

Crossing Rivers Health

Sewell Automotive

United Airlines

I will be bringing back your flag. It will represent the Sir Edmund Hillary saying, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” I feel luck to have shared this with you and to share this climb with my dad. (He did pretty good for an old guy ;-) Best wishes – onward and upward. Max Poscente

Max reporting from The Himalayan Queen

We left this ‘hill station’ travelling on the Himalayan Queen – a UNESCO World Heritage Train. We connected through Shatabadi to Delhi. Is was a long day but we were all in high spirits. At night we celebrated our success and friendship with an amazing Indian meal.

We reflected on the age-old traditions of the Kullu Valley. We talked about the Kullu Oracle for our blessings to climb the mountain. We smiled as we talked about the holy pilgrims and cultural evenings we encountered. Most of all we were grateful for a once in a life time experience.

Max reporting on the road again...

To complete our mountain climbing expedition we have transitioned into Jeeps which took us from Nirmand to Shimla. We travelled on the beautiful Hindustan Road. Shimla is described as the queen of hill stations and was the summer capital of the British Empire. It is now the administrative and political capital of Himachal Pradesh. We stayed in an actual hotel. The shower was the single best shower I have ever had!!!

Report from Max Poscente:

Last night we camped in Thachru. A pristine jewel of the Himalayas. 

Today we hiked to Nirmand village. There were amazing temples as we camped beside the beautiful village. At a campfire we bid farewell to the porters and trekking staff who had been with us this past eleven days. We leave the trail behind us.

Our porters' beautiful smiles and kind ways complement their amazing strength and stamina. These amazing people would break camp for us as we hiked ahead. They would pass us and have camp ready when we arrived. They are humble, strong, gentle and kind. It was a fond farewell to brothers living across the world.

Did we make it or not? Why not tell you now. One reason, our theme of this climb was based on a Sir Edmund Hillary quote, "It is not the mountain we conquer. But ourselves." I will let you know. In the meantime, I will personally reflect on what I have learned. We Americans put so much emphasis on reaching the top that we forget the importance of our inner journey as well.

Max Poscente reporting:

Every step down is a step into more oxygen. We leave behind us raw and unforgiving nature as we return to civilization.

It is amazing to live without all the comforts we become used to. Electricity. Toasters. WIFI. Board games. Our expedition leader, Jeff Salz (pictured above) told us, “Nature is the lazy teachers’ classroom.” What an education it was – and continues to be!