I built a successful career in law and business, and was the senior partner in a small firm and a millionaire by the time I was 40. I was very engaged with the law and the business side of managing a firm. And, I was a very involved husband and father of 2 children. We had a great life, but in my 40s I began manifesting mid-life crisis symptoms. I already had a sports car and a Harley, but those toys didn't help. I seemed to need something beyond family life, career, and financial good fortune. The existential angst I felt by not having an answer to, "Is that all there is?", began to shake the foundations of the good life I had.

     My wife told me to take a hike. But the therapy she was actually suggesting was to go trekking in the Himalayas and to reconnect with the adventurous and more spiritual self I had lost in the pursuit of "success". It worked, and it changed the direction of my life.

     After that first trek to Mt. Everest at the age of 42, I returned to the Himalayan region 14 times. I took more time off work and adopted a more spiritual and meditative approach to life. I wrote several articles about travel experiences from a spiritual perspective. I also began leading "philanthro-treks", which combined visiting Nepal with culturally sensitive development work. That led to the creation of the Basa Village Foundation (BVF), which serves a remote area of the Nepal Himalayas.