“This is called a compass,” the experienced mountaineer addressed myself and my peers in the remote wilderness of Montana, facetiously holding up the orienteering object to a crowd of smiling teenagers and twenty-somethings.

If you are like me, you have grown accustomed to the comforts of your smartphone and its convenient GPS features and would also find yourself laughing at the idea of having to use the archaic device. But soon, it would be no laughing matter.

As part of a youth leadership development program, I would spend the next week in the captivating beauty of Montana’s Tobacco Root mountain range, sometimes having to go off trail to scale summits and traverse valleys.

View from the top of Horse Mountain in the Tobacco Root mountain range.

Before embarking on our adventure we would spend the first day in teams, testing our orienteering skills with a map and compass to find and collect flags spread across a fenced off terrain pocketed with forested areas and small mountains. Every flag was worth a varying number of points and being late to the finish line meant those points would degrade every minute.

Although young and fairly athletic, the day proved to be a challenge for all of us. As a team, one of the greatest challenges was respecting each other’s opinions and strategies. Strength and determination are essential qualities on a competitive path to accomplish any goal, but without a clear sense of purpose and direction and the humility and wisdom to see from alternative perspectives other than your own, we waste valuable time and energy wandering around.

This is true when we’re out in the wilderness with a map and compass and when we attempt to navigate our everyday lives.

Moral compass is a common phrase used to reference our ability as human beings to judge what is right and wrong and take action accordingly.

When our teacher showed us how to find “true north” using our compass, he also explained how adventurers could wander from their direction by greater and greater degrees simply by not consistently checking their compass as they went.

This lesson is relevant for our own journey in life. What is your vision? What is your goal? What is your True North?

Checking your compass means a lot of consistent (and honest) reflection. If you’re off by any number of degrees, you better adjust or you are in danger of losing your way.

There are times to simply enjoy the breathtaking views around you. But the sun feels so much warmer and the water so much more refreshing when you know exactly where you are and where you are going.

This testimony on the power of nature in leadership development is contributed by a participant of True North Adventures Outdoor Education: a week-long leadership program held in the wilderness of Montana.

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For centuries, poets, authors, religious leaders, scientists and great minds from around the world have acknowledged the irreplaceable lessons on leadership, self-discovery and self-mastery provided by nature.

A select group of young leaders from around the world discovered just how transformative the wilderness can be, surprised to discover their innate passion to become global citizens and their extraordinary leadership potential in an outdoor adventure as part of the Global Peace Youth Exchange (GPYE) held in Nepal last April.

Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon credits the natural world as one of the best classrooms for leadership and reflection. “In the wilderness, one comes to understand that there is an essence to life far greater than things in our material lives. That is why I go to the mountains when I want to reflect deeply and renew my spirit.”

The youth division of Global Peace Foundation (GPF) challenges young leaders with outdoor adventure programs like the most recent one in Nepal as an essential tool for leadership and character development. Nature treats every human being the same, no matter our nationality, ethnicity, or religious or political beliefs. In nature, we learn to see each other and ourselves for who we really are, growing as individuals and as members of a larger team.

GPYE delegates meet villagers living out of tin and wood houses

Beginning with a cultural and service expedition to Nepal’s Patle village, a remote community hit by the devastating earthquake in 2015, one GPYE delegate was deeply touched by the kind welcome of the villagers, many of whom were living out of temporary houses made of tin and wood. Their attitude was so overwhelming that Isha Poudel could easily overlook what the villagers lacked and instead pointed out their wealth of compassion and happiness saying, “You don’t always need a house to make it a home and you don’t always need books to learn lessons.”

The GPYE adventurers were sure to learn many new lessons as they took on the rapids of Trishuli River and the steep heights of Poon Hill. Facing their challenges and fears together, the delegates rafted for three hours through the rushing river, learning the importance of teamwork and recognizing the unique value of each member of their team. The rapids seemed to wash away the Global Peace Volunteers’ differences and bring them even closer together.

Joyce Cuerbo from the Philippines described the outdoor challenge as the greatest way to discover her strengths and weaknesses. “The experience of meeting everybody, from the locals to different nationalities, broadened my perception and vision of the world.”

Joyce Cuerbo pauses during the GPYE hike to reflect

Upon reaching the summit of their mountain challenge after four long days, Farah Afzan Faridi from Malaysia reflected, “It is not about the success of reaching the top but how all of us could manage to reach the top together through our leadership.”

Filipino delegate Yussef Paglas was transformed by the adventure. “Traveling with people from across the nations and sharing stories about each other’s lives has made me realize how amazingly connected we all are. This program gave me inner strength to face the obstacles in my life.”

The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God.  GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

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Nature is one of humankind’s greatest classrooms. In nature, we are tested physically and mentally. We learn who we really are as leaders and spiritual beings, and how we are connected and responsible for each other as part of one human family.

We face our true selves in an environment that has no regard for race, religion, wealth and position in society, and treats us exactly how we are. This is what makes nature a prime space to reflect, learn and grow.

Here are four lessons on leadership from nature:

1. Challenge is good

The gnarled branches of a Bristlecone Pine reach out in the Sierra Desert

The Bristlecone Pine is the oldest known organism on Earth, living for over 5,000 years in extremely harsh conditions year-round in the Rockies and Sierra. What is the lesson?

As human beings, we face our fair share of struggles in the natural world, however, as former United States first lady Abigail Adams stated, “It is not in the still calm of life that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties.”

Facing challenge with a negative mindset can easily set you up for failure and pain, not only physically, but especially mentally. However, when we approach challenge positively focusing on our goals, we become resilient, capable of withstanding tough situations and coming out the other side stronger in body and mind.

Challenge helps you discover who you really are and where you are at as a leader. We learn what we are capable of, what is most valuable to us, and where we want to end up and how to get there.

2. Innovation

Engraving of Martin Luther King Jr. at his memorial in Washington DC

Nature is wild; life is not always predictable. We can’t always foresee the circumstances that will affect our life everyday, but we can control the way we respond. Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed the importance of facing challenge with the flexibility of creative solutions when he said, “Our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.” With a positive attitude and our creative and unique qualities as individuals and members of a bigger family, we have the capacity to pull together people and resources to forge new solutions to the challenges presented to us.

In nature, there is a continuous cycle full of transitions that allow balance and harmony. As a leader, it is essential to recognize how to move forward, transitioning from one stage to the next for the benefit of the whole.

3. Leadership is living for the sake of others

Everything in nature contributes to the life of others, even in death. As one organism passes away, it leaves behind nutrition and sustenance for another. Wildfires help to release nutrients in the soil and improve nutrient cycling. Animals and plants together recycle oxygen and carbon dioxide to breathe.

As stated by an Indian poet, “Nothing in nature lives for itself. Rivers don’t drink their own water. Trees don’t eat their own fruit. Sun doesn’t give heat for itself. Flowers don’t spread fragrance for themselves. Living for others is the Rule of Nature.”

Leadership is about living for the greater good, and gaining vitality in doing so. True Leadership considers not the survival of oneself, but ensuring the survival, happiness and quality of life for generations to come.

4. Have a clear vision

Whether you are in the wilderness alone or in a group, having a clear long-term vision is not only important for the proper frame of mind that enables you to glean the knowledge around you, but it is also essential to your survival.

A well-prepared mountain climber nears the summit of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps

Leaders need to convey the greater vision to others consistently and through their own actions as a role model. Without a clear vision, we risk making unnecessary mistakes, missing valuable opportunities to learn (even from our failures), wasting valuable time,  and losing our capacity to take on perspectives that could save lives now and in the future.

In addition to preparing the knowledge and supplies to face the possible dangers of the harsh environment of the great outdoors, experienced mountaineers outline a clear vision and goal that gives them mental toughness to tackle challenges along the journey.

For a seasoned mountain climber, vision does not just involve summiting a peak or reaching a specific destination. The summit is merely a marker along a grander journey that may include multiple mountain ranges, and countless experiences, including some failures, all of which become lessons for the seasoned outdoorsman that carry over to the next great adventure. Every experience is a lesson contributing towards a bigger vision.

As the Dalai Lama once said, “In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.”

While these are four critical lessons, the most important takeaway from our experience with nature is our ability to nurture an attitude of positivity and resilience in becoming leaders with both moral and innovative capacities to contribute to a better world.

So get out there. Nature is waiting.

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“When we live in accordance with universal laws and in harmony with the natural world, we can best tap the resourceful energy of human creativity. Innovative leadership focuses that energy to find new and inventive approaches to solve problems and create new opportunities.” –Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon

We may all be equally affected by the elements of our natural world, but it is the code we live by that determines how we react to our environment. It takes innovation to come up with creative solutions that address the challenges at hand.

Nature can be seen as one of the greatest classrooms for people to experience self-discovery and provide inspiration for innovative solutions to the challenges humanity faces every day. In facing harsh elements, people must adjust to survive, using critical thinking and reflection to take action.

Innovation alone, however, is only one aspect of the new kind of leadership desperately needed today.

“A true leader’s position should not reflect any self-serving personal or political interests but benefit ‘the greater good’ of humanity. The moral aspect of leadership provides a vision rooted in universal aspirations, principles and values, while the innovative aspect of leadership provides the methods through which the vision can be realized. They are like two sides of a coin.” -Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon

No matter what our background, ethnicity, religious or politic beliefs, as human beings sharing this planet, our lives are governed not just by the natural laws surrounding us, but also by the principles that guide our everyday actions and reactions. This moral aspect of leadership provides focus and purpose behind innovative solutions that address the greater good of communities and societies.

Through our experiences with nature, we have the opportunity to reflect on these natural laws, including the most basic: the cycle of life and death. From the changing of seasons to the habits of wildlife, there are many examples. Salmon is one example of a species that plays a key role in spreading nutrients between the oceans and rivers, ensuring healthy future ecosystems. New fish migrate from rivers to the sea, where they spend the majority of their lifespan before returning again to riverbeds to spawn. This journey back to freshwater drains the salmon of fat and muscle storage. After preparing a bed for the fertilized eggs, both the male and female salmon die, supplying the river habitat with the nutrients it will need to survive so that future generations may continue the cycle.

Moral and innovative leadership at its essence is the idea of using power, creativity, and energy for the sake of improving the lives of others. When individuals live with transparency and selflessness in their positions of influence, living by a code that puts the needs of others before their own, they build trust and respect. This will inevitably lead to infinite potential for further influence, creating a chain reaction of positive change.

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“In the wilderness, one comes to understand that there is an essence to life far greater than things in our material lives. That is why I go to the mountains when I want to reflect deeply and renew my spirit.” –Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon

As one of humankind’s greatest classrooms, nature has challenged, tested, and molded great leaders for centuries. From Genghis Khan to Mahatma Ghandi, influential figures have shaped their way of life through experiences in the natural world.

Going out and experiencing nature places determined individuals on a fast-track for self-mastery, allowing them to receive immediate feedback in an environment that treats all people the same, no matter their ethnicity, religion, or political background. It rains and snows on everyone the same. This feedback forces the person exposed to the elements of nature to react and adjust, growing constantly for their own survival, not only physically but also emotionally and even spiritually.

Avid mountain hikers know the importance picking proper clothing and footwear to withstand harsh weather. Other proper equipment, like a compass and maps, are essential to reach your goals and destinations. However, the most experienced hiker will tell you that beyond all the proper equipment, the most important preparation is their mind. Applying the lessons they learn from nature encourages leaders to understand how to adapt to new situations and challenges, fostering qualities of creativity and confidence.

This is why mastery over oneself is essential in the development of a new paradigm for leadership that encourages ownership and places responsibility in the hands of individuals instead of placing emphasis on having a beneficial environment, which can lead one to over-rely on external factors like organizational structure or resources.

Programs like Global Peace Volunteers of the Global Peace Foundation is an example of how young leaders utilize nature as a classroom. Through these platforms, volunteers not only contribute to their community through service projects, but also actively develop their character and teambuilding skills through challenging experiences in the outdoors. This is an intentional strategy to develop moral and innovative leadership qualities and sensibilities that secure an attitude that they can and will be the change they envision for their future.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” –Mahatma Ghandi

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In the lore surrounding Genghis Khan: his life, the rise of his empire, and perhaps the fall of the empire through succeeding generations, there is an enduring presence of the Eternal Blue Sky and the Burkhan Khaldun, or God Mountain in Mongolian.

When he was still known as Temujin, without tribe and seeking to retake his kidnapped wife, Genghis Khan went to Burkhan Khaldun to pray. He stripped off his weapons, belt, and hat – the symbols of a man’s power and stature – and bowed to the sun, sky, and mountain, first offering thanks for their constancy and for the people and circumstances that sustained his life. Then, he prayed and fasted, contemplating his situation and formulating a strategy. It was only after days in prayer that he descended from the mountain with a clear purpose and plan that would result in his first victory in battle.

When he was elected Khan of Khans, he again retreated into the mountains to seek blessing and guidance. Before every campaign against neighboring tribes and kingdoms, he would spend days in Burhkhan Khandun, fasting and praying. By then, the people of his tribe had joined in on his ritual at the foot of the mountain, waiting his return.

Burkhan Khaldun, God Mountain, casts shadows on Mongolian landscape

Each time he approached the mountain alone, without his belt, hat, or weapon. It is said that during those pilgrimages, he would lay out the reasons for the upcoming military campaign, weighing out carefully whether he was justified in his attack and recognized in his victory.

In those moments of solitude, naked in front of the harsh elements of nature, without title, fanfare or even bow and arrow, Genghis Khan contemplated the future of his family, his Empire, and wrestled with himself to define a vision and the values that would unite his ever-expanding tribe.

His empire would go on to become one of the largest in history, united by a vision that he came to express as “One tribe under the eternal blue sky.” His empire would set precedents such as freedom of religion, a merit based system, free trade agreements, and spurred innovations in everything from agriculture to medicine to technology that would only be seen again hundreds of years later.

A nation forms through a shared vision and understanding of a shared history or identity. At the heart of such an undertaking is a leader who is willing to set aside his or her own ambitions to champion a greater good and to stand by the values that underpin that vision. To become such a leader requires constant self-reflection, deference to the higher principles of the universe, and gratitude for the blessings that have placed them in such a position of responsibility and power.

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