NJ Author Talks Parallels Between His Mt. Everest Trek And Business

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ —When New Jersey–based supply chain executive and management consultant Ketul Patel passed his 50th birthday, casual weekend hikes with friends no longer felt like enough.

What began as a relaxed plan for a scenic trip to Nepal quickly became a conscious decision to attempt the 17,600-foot trek to Everest’s South Base Camp—a challenge he, his wife, and a small circle of committed friend hikers researched, trained for, and treated as a once-in-a-lifetime test of endurance and resolve.

Patel is a long-time corporate executive and a supply chain practitioner who runs his own consulting business, helping to transform and turn around small to midsize businesses. During his herculean feat in Nepal three years ago, he discovered some parallels between business, life, and his trek to Mt. Everest’s base camp.

“It was more around just a personal challenge… Something at this stage in my career, as well as lifespan, we wanted to prove to ourselves ‘we can do this,’” Patel told Patch. “But as we went through the journey, apart from just proving to myself as a personal challenge, it turned into a very deeply reflective experience about leadership and transformation.

“As I was walking through the Himalayas, I saw striking parallels between the mountain and the organizations I’ve led and advised over the past three decades,” he continued.

One deep reflection Patel came away with revolved around perseverance. He says his definition of the term has changed since his trek.

Initially, Patel thought of perseverance as “grit” in the business world: pushing through deadlines, solving crises efficiently, and outperforming competition.

While on the trails, however, his perception of perseverance “took on a whole new meaning.”

“At that altitude, every breath feels borrowed, and progress isn’t always about speed, but it’s about rhythm,” Patel said. “You begin to walk very deliberately, one slow, intentional step at a time… The real perseverance is ‘the quiet strength,’ and the discipline to keep moving. Even when you can’t see the summit, you have to trust that the effort compounds.”

A motto Patel and his team found themselves saying during the trek was “One breath, one step at a time.” He says the motto has stayed with him as a business leader, saying, “Progress doesn’t come from heroic bursts of energy; it’s about collective endurance.”

Other parallels Patel noticed during his journey were the importance of teamwork, the benefits of “unplugging” and resetting your mindset, and knowing your limits.

Once he returned to his Morris County home, Patel decided it was time to tackle another daunting task — write a book.

Patel’s book, “A Journey of Elevation: Lessons for Business Transformation from Everest Base Camp,” discusses these parallels and encourages readers to find the same “basecamp moment” he experienced in Nepal in their own personal, professional, and spiritual lives.

The early makings of his book were actually written in Patel’s notes app on his phone during the flight back from Nepal.

“(A Journey of Elevation) is for people who are maybe thinking of climbing their own ‘mountain,’” he said. “I wrote this book to capture those lessons in a way that speaks to both hikers and business leaders, and anyone facing a challenge that seems larger than themselves. My hope is to find in it not just a story of adventure, but a framework for resilience and transformation.”

Patel lends a lot of credit to his wife for providing “anchorage,” from the very beginning of the journey, even as Patel and his group were deciding whether to hike in Nepal or not. He added that she, his group, and guiding sherpas made his trek and “A Journey of Elevation” possible.

“As I often say, the trek didn’t change who I was; it revealed who I had become,” Patel told Patch. “This book is my way of passing on those lessons so others can find their own path to elevation.”

Patel’s “A Journey of Elevation” will be available on Jan. 20, 2026, and can be bought online here.