I have been anxiously following a friend who has been on Mt Everest, the highest mountain in the world, for the last 30 days preparing for a summit attempt.
My friend is an endurance athlete having competed a full Ironman Triathlon, several ultra-endurance events and he has climbed on the highest mountains on every continent. He is a serial entrepreneur and I watched him build a company in the last six years from ground zero to selling it for multiple millions of dollars a year ago.
He is very accomplished and will tell you he knows how to fail forward.
Despite his preparation and skill sets, he pulled himself off the mountain yesterday and aborted any thought of a summit bid this year.
This was a tough decision for him, and my respect grew even stronger with his decision.
For whatever reasons; altitude, preparation, sickness, inadequate training, or whatever – things were not working and making a mistake in that environment will likely have a deadly outcome.
Reading his posts and following his daily activities, it was easy to see his internal conflict. He wanted to summit the mountain and achieve his dream. He had a positive expectant attitude. He tried everything he could, yet it was just not happening
He admitted to himself, and the rest of us through sharing his posts, that he was in trouble. He faced his ego and took decisive action to get off the mountain and back home, get support, regroup, refocus, prepare for a different outcome another day.
My friend is unique in the types of challenges he pursues, but we are like him in the struggles we face and how we manage them on a daily basis.
So many people have lives, or businesses, that just aren’t happening according to what we really want. We may think it’s different on the summit of Mt. Everest than in our lives or businesses, but it’s just a question of degree.
How many people have the courage to face the reality of the their situation and take decisive action? Or as Emerson said, do they simply live lives of quiet desperation. The top 3% take decisive action.
The most interesting thing is how available help is, and becomes more available, as soon as we open ourselves to making a positive change.
Where to start? Books, seminars, training events, and trade organizations are a great place to start. But the ideal, and my #1 choice, is to have an exploratory conversation with a business mentor. It costs nothing.
The easiest and quickest first step is to take advantage of our free Executive Report.
Don’t stay stuck in a rut (also described as a comfort zone) if you know deep down that you would like to see things change.
Your business is your Mt Everest, until it returns to you exactly what you want from it.
