The Wild Advantage: Why Your Brain on Nature Is Your Boldest Business Move

by Jessica DeAngelo

What if the secret to uncovering innovative ideas was simply to step outside?
Breakthrough thinking feels impossible, and it might be because we check our phones 344 times per day and can only focus for 47 seconds at a time. We’ve convinced ourselves that innovation only happens in conference rooms and being trapped behind screens.

Yet innovative thinking at companies like Apple, Nike, and Patagonia may have been sparked outdoors, unplugged, and in motion. We’ve trapped our brightest minds inside and tethered them to technology, then wonder why creativity is dying. What if the real way to compete with advancing technologies is to remember how to think like a human again?

Part adventure story, part business strategy, The Wild Advantage will show you how

- Turn a 30-minute daily walk into your secret weapon with the ridiculously simple HIKE method.
- Unlock breakthrough techniques Fortune 500 executives use when no one’s watching.
- Discover your Wild the unique approach that makes it impossible to compete with you.
- Stop overthinking and start trusting the brilliant answers you already know.

Step outside and unlock your Wild Advantage.

Genres: Leadership, Business

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2025

About the author

Jessica DeAngelo is the Chief Hiking Officer and founder of Hike to Become®, where she guides people to unlock their boldest ideas outside. A TEDx speaker and creator of the Hike to Become Challenge, she’s worked with leaders from Fortune 500 companies like Amazon, Nike, and Uber. Hike to Become offers a science-backed, outdoor approach to solving business challenges and sparking innovative ideas. Jessica creates epic experiences, including keynotes, strategy sessions, and executive retreats that help impact-driven teams trade boardroom burnout for breakthrough clarity. Jessica is the author of the International Bestseller: The Wild Advantage: Why Your Brain on Nature Is Your Boldest Business Move. She lives in Boise with her husband and two fierce little humans who remind her daily that the best adventures always start with good snacks.

Reviews

[H S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful book! The author is funny and down-to-earth. Her unique perspectives offer a refreshing new way to view our relationships with work by harnessing the power of nature.
I’ve had some wildly creative ideas on my daily walks since I’ve read The Wild Advantage, especially since learning about the science associated with leaving my phone behind.
I’d recommend everyone looking for fresh perspectives on their career paths to get copies of their own, jump right in, and share it with friends!

[Anne Rank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book speaks to your soul

This book spoke directly to my soul. I needed to hear the messages in it and already it's changing my life. I decided to do the 31 day hike challenge and everything the book says is true. I have more clarity in my business, I'm more present with my family, and I just feel better about life every day. Read this book! And then go for a hike :)

[Christopher A Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

You are hereby warned…

…that reading this book will take you places, literally and figuratively, that you didn’t realize you needed to go.
To the trail. To the woods.
But also to the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual places inside ourselves that we’ve long forgotten but still long to connect with.
This book was so much more than I expected.
Buy it. And a new pair of hiking boots…you’ll need them.

[Sue Gildea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exceeded my expectations in many ways: it provides fact based information about nature and its importance for human wellbeing, it continually answered my question of “why”, and it is flat out entertaining.

If you are a curious person that needs facts to support theory, are looking for a reset, and are seeking a book that fills your soul…read The Wild Advantage!