Stepping into the Leadership Fire, Part 3: Fuelwood – Burning Through Barriers

By now, you’ve cleared space and gathered fresh energy. You’ve reconnected with yourself, your breath, the earth beneath your feet.

But there’s still something old smoldering in the background:

A pattern. A belief. A way of leading that no longer fits.

Welcome to Day 3 of the retreat—where the fire burns hotter.

This is where transformation stops being theoretical.

This is where you move.

(Note: This is part of a 4 part series about going on an individual leadership retreat with me.)

🔥 Read part 1

🔥 Read part 2

Into the Wild, Into the Work

When the inner fire is strong, it’s time to test it.

We leave the comfort of camp and step into a physical challenge in nature—one designed not to break you, but to wake you up.

Think cold rivers, unfamiliar terrain, altitude, or navigating without a clear path. The exact form varies.

What matters is this: it's real, it’s a stretch, and you can’t think your way through it.

This is not about performance. It’s about presence under pressure. It's about accessing parts of yourself that don’t often get airtime in meetings and strategy decks.

You begin to feel what you're truly capable of when you meet fear with curiosity, and resistance with breath.

You begin to remember something ancient.

“Adventure is the antidote to the society we've created. The variety, novelty, engagement, and uncertainty of adventure are such important factors in inducing joy. We can't go back to being hunter-gatherers to experience these joy-inducing feelings, but we can find them in the adventures that we opt to take part in.”— Belinda Kirk, Adventure Revolution

Minakami: No better place for adventure

There’s a reason I host this experience in Minakami, Japan.

Minakami is a rare gem—a place where fast-flowing rivers, alpine peaks, and dense forests coexist in a tightly packed, wild ecosystem.

Within just a short drive, we have access to a wide range of terrain and weather conditions, offering unmatched flexibility to tailor the challenge to the moment and the individual.

Here, nature doesn’t just surround you—it demands your attention, and offers something in return: clarity, perspective, and deep connection.

I work closely with seasoned local adventure guides who bring decades of experience in this landscape. Together, we co-create a physical challenge that is aligned with your energy, your growth edge, and your safety.

They handle the logistics and risk management, so I can stay fully focused on you—tracking what’s alive for you emotionally, mentally, and somatically as you move through the wild.

This blend of local wisdom, professional safety, and coaching presence is what makes the day so powerful—and why Minakami is unlike anywhere else for this kind of leadership work.

Why Challenge? Why Now?

As an executive leader in Asia, you carry a unique mix of expectations—cultural, corporate, and often internalized.

There’s pressure to be composed, strategic, and unshakably competent. But true leadership isn’t about performing perfection. It’s about expanding your range.

That range doesn’t grow in safety. It grows in stretch.

This is why the third day of the retreat focuses on voluntary discomfort—not for the sake of suffering, but for the sake of shaking loose what no longer serves.

Because once you move through the edge, you don’t come back the same.

You return more grounded. More alive. More clear.

What You'll Take Back with You

This part of the experience gives you more than a rush. It gives you:

• A deeper relationship with your inner resilience

• A reawakened sense of adventure and creativity

• Embodied clarity about what needs to change in your leadership

• The confidence to move through uncertainty—not around it

Most importantly, it reminds you that your edge is not your enemy—it's the starting point for growth.

Are you ready to meet your edge?

Part 4 of the Leadership Fire series will explore what happens when the fire stabilizes, and what it means to return with clarity, ready to build something new.

✨ If this speaks to you, reach out to me about the Adventure Partner individual leadership retreat, where you’ll experience firsthand what it means to lead with clarity, ease, and deep purpose. cory.mcgowan@adventure-partner.net