Interview with Darren Wise

I recently discovered your blog via Twitter. What would you like to tell my readers about you and your sites?

I love life and adventure and enjoy sharing my stories on the social media sites. It is a way for me to express my thoughts and experiences. I have really only been involved in social media for the past 4 months......so I still have lots to learn. On our next expedition to Aconcagua (South America) and Elbrus (Russia) in Feb 2010, we are taking a full military spec laptop and a satellite broadband modem to be able to share our adventure and live expedition updates with our family, friends and supporters. It is amazing that we can send an email to website that will post it onto our dedicated expedition blog. Both twitter and Facebook will then be updated by the RSS feed from that blog post......really amazing!!!

You are currently doing the 7 summits challenge. What was it like doing Mt Kilamanjaro

Mt Kilimanjaro is a beautiful mountain. Shane a I made the expedition tough – for us, it was a test mountain to go on to climb the other mountains in the “7 Summits” We made Summit up the Umbwe Route, which is perhaps regards as one the most challenging routes up Mt Kilimanjaro. Our total time for summit and return to the starting gate was just under 3 days. We came away with great confidence that the remaining mountains are well within our reach.

How did you get sponsors involved in your expeditions?

Being in the Financial Services industry and having met the people I have over my 17 year career, it is fairly easy to get sponsors excited about being part of the adventure. We do the expeditions for charity, so they see the benefits to the community with their sponsorship commitment.

What are your goals for your Darren Wise wordpress site?

To keep updating our adventures and life stories for other to see. Corporatemonk is quickly growing as a leadership brand. I have a trademark on Corporatemonk and aim to grow it as a brand over the coming years. I am a qualified Life and Business Coach, so it fits into my long term plans. We plan after the “7 Summits” to do a bit on the speaking circuit and some corporate coaching. My blog and social media is a great way to build brand awareness and credibility of your brand. I would like the public to see Corporatemonk as a “can do” brand....the “walk the talk” to personal development and leadership information. It is one thing to tell people how to get the most from their lives...it’s another to show them.

What have you learned about using twitter since you've started using?

Twitter I interesting. Too be honest, with my training for the expedition and building my current funds management business, I find little time to sit down with twitter and engage in conversation. I have no idea how some people find the time t be on it all the time....but my theory is it comes at a cost of something in their lives. It is another story, but I have concerns about the impact that social media is having on other aspects of our lives. We seem to be engaging more online that in person, and spending more time looking at a screen than getting outside. Not everyone would agree, but being a life coach as well, I see the potential issues.

Do you have plans to expand your online presence?

I think I am happy with what I have done so far with social media – what I have developed allows me to share information across various social media mediums.

You have had a lot of experience as a financial planner. Is there a right time to hire a financial planner?

A good Financial Planner is a must, but you need to make sure you find the right one. Financial markets and creating wealth are a minefield if you don’t know what you are doing. Find a Planner that has plenty of experience - who has seen the bad times..... as well as good times.