Lei Wang grew up in Beijing, China. She was an excellent student and easily mastered most academic subjects. Lei told me that as a city child, she had no athletic training. So… you may ask, why is this important in a conversation about career transitions?  After earning a B.S. in Computer Science from in Beijing, Lei moved to the U.S. to attend UNC-Chapel Hill for her M.S. in Computer Science. She then worked in IT for a large banking firm and later joined a start-up. Lei’s start-up colleagues were Wharton Business School alumni. They encouraged her to consider a business degree. She applied to Wharton and was admitted... just-like-that.  For new students, Wharton offers outdoor leadership trips as a team-building experience. Lei opted to go mountaineering in Ecuador. By the end of the 5-week trip, Lei swore she would never look at another mountain again.  Fast forward… two years post-MBA, Lei was watching a documentary about two British climbers, The White. Something inside her was sparked with excitement, and in a moment she decides that an ordinary person, such as herself, could climb Mt. Everest. That excitement empowered her not only to climb Everest but to become the first Asian woman to complete a journey to the summit of the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. And to the north and south poles, a feat called the Explorers Grand Slam.  In this week’s hear about Lei’s incredible journey: Lei spent 6 years preparing for her climb of Mt. Everest using all of her free hours and vacation time to train for the biggest challenge of her life. She says that when she sees something new, she picks it up fast and takes action. Today as a coach, speaker, and author, Lei travels the world to empower individuals and organizations to dream big, take a leap of, and tap into the power of excitement to realize their potential and reach the heights of success. Learn more and connect with Lei here:  Listen, subscribe and read show notes at  -