Influence

On a recent visit to Edinburgh, I found myself nicely tucked into a café, guidebook in hand, not far from the famed Royal Mile.

Three tables across and two stairs down sat a chatty group of self-professed influencers discussing their latest posts, products, likes, and “how to increase followers.”

As they prattled away,  I couldn’t help but feel a sharp contrast between what I was hearing and that of another group of gals I had recently come to know. 

Jane Inglis Clark and the Ladies Climbing Club

In the early 1900s, a time when society expected women to stay within predefined roles, Jane and friends defied conventions by venturing often into the rugged Scottish Highlands. 

They didn’t go to the mountains and climb to be seen or celebrated; they climbed for the sheer challenge of it, for the sense of empowerment that came from testing their physical and mental limits. 

One of the groups favorite destinations was the Glencoe area, a landscape of raw, untamed beauty.

It’s an area where towering Munros (Scotland’s term for a mountain over 3000 feet) loom large above deep green valleys and where unpredictable weather can quickly turn a serene outing into a treacherous ordeal.

It’s inspiring to imagine the strength of character and resilience it took to scale those peaks, when women were often told they didn’t belong in such places.  And that’s not all.

Since women were not allowed to join the all-male Mountaineering Clubs, Jane, together with Lucy Smith and her daughter Mabel, founded the Ladies Scottish Climbing club in 1908, the first in Scotland. 

As I sat by the window, one ear still tuned to the conversation around me, the differences grew ever more apparent, and I couldn’t help but feel a deepening admiration for Jane and company.

Reflecting on their legacy – hundreds, if not thousands, of outdoor enthusiasts and a climbing club that thrives to this day – I thought more about true and lasting influence and how it most often comes not from the number of eyes upon us but from the depth of our commitment and actions.

In a world where visibility is often mistaken for value, I left  that café grateful for having dropped in and with a renewed sense of what it truly means to be an influencer—and, what it does not.👣