Conquer Your Path to Greatness
Becoming great at anything requires work. It requires a lot of work. This isn’t a novel concept and is generally accepted by most people. Yet for some reason few people truly appreciate what that work looks like. There seems to be a disconnect from the work and path to success that is in our minds and the actual path we must travel. I’m not entirely sure why that is, or the best way to begin to address it, but I know that until we accept it as truth achieving our most extreme goals won’t happen. There are no shortcuts to greatness, not secret doors or hidden pathways, because even if you find a way around the difficult steps to get to a certain goal, that success will be short lived and ultimately you won’t stay there long. Embrace the challenges that lie ahead and move through them with purpose and focus. Forge your own path up the mountains in your life.
When thinking about goals, dreams, and pathways to greatness I like to think of them as different paths up a mountain. We all have mountains to scale in our life. We all have things we hope to achieve and dreams we are chasing, and thinking of them as mountains to climb is the perfect metaphor. This is because mountains come in different sizes and shapes with different challenges and obstacles. Some are one day climbs while others take multiple days. This is also true with the goals we have. The other thing about climbing a mountain is that getting to the top is only part of the journey, because once you’re there you can see other mountains to climb and new journey’s that you will pursue next.
When you take time to dissect the goals you have what kind of mountain are you climbing? Is this a small one day climb to get you started to a bigger goal or is this a massive dream you have that will consume multiple days and years? That is going to determine how you approach your climb. We need to determine kind of equipment and planning will you need to make your climb a success. Is there anyone else with you on this climb? How important is it that you reach this summit? What is your why for making this climb?
Climbing a mountain is an incredible experience. One that challenges you to dig deep into your mind, to overcome obstacles and forge a path that sometimes has never been taken before. Even if the mountain your climbing has been scaled a hundred times before by many different people, you must find your own path. Maybe the person who came before you was a better climber, maybe the weather wasn’t as harsh for them, or maybe they had a better guide. If you only set out with the mindset that I must follow this path and you don’t allow yourself an option to change course you may never reach your summit. We must be willing to adapt our path and evolve our strategies when working our way up the mountain.
Take a minute and imagine that you're at base camp for your climb of Mt. Everest. You’re standing there looking up toward the peak knowing that the climb ahead is going to challenge you in every possible way. There is no direct path to the summit, there is no easy way or shortcut. The only way to get there is to continue to put one foot in front of the other and to keep climbing. As you set off on your journey a group next to you begins their climb as well. They take off fast and jump out ahead of you charging up the mountain. In your mind you think I’m already falling behind and I need to speed up, but this is your climb. Don’t feel that you must move at the pace of those around you.
As the climb continues, you see the group that left before you in the distance moving further ahead as you feel the air change and if forces you to slow down even more. The climb has already taken its toll on you and you’re just in the first phase of the climb. Thoughts begin to bubble up; “there’s no way I can do this.” “I’m only just started and I can’t even keep up with the other group for a day.” “Why am I doing this?” The negativity in you says that it’s impossible and you should quit. There’s no way you have what it takes to make it. As the thoughts of negativity push against you, you grasp at your why. The power of your why gives you strength to keep moving, it motivates you to continue on. Before you know it, you have a second wind and are moving quickly up the mountain.
At the end of several days while setting up camp and the thoughts of doubt creep back in. You can no longer see the group that left at the same time you did. The peak doesn’t look any closer and the the path ahead looks more treacherous than anything you’ve faced to this point. While looking up at the peak a storm rolls in blocking the view of your final destination. The storm erases the footsteps of those who came before you. All of a sudden your task has become even more daunting. Looking into the empty space before you, there is no end in sight and no guidelines to help you on your way. Do I really have what it takes? In this moment of doubt, you turn away from your goal and look back down the mountain. In the distance, what looks like tiny little fleas move about at the base of the mountain and tiny lights flicker. For the first time you realize just how far you’ve already come and a new surge of energy fills you with hope. Sometimes we lose sight of how much we’ve accomplished when we’re always looking forward at a target that lies ahead of us. Take time to appreciate everything you’ve accomplished on your journey.
The next day you set out again moving toward the peak. As you begin your climb it isn’t long before you reach a part of the path that has been washed away by the storm that rolled through. For several hours you move laterally around the mountain searching for a path to take upward. This is a part of every climb. There will come a time where you feel stuck or plateau. But remember that a plateau isn’t a stopping point, it’s just a time where you are searching for a new path to the summit. A storm has altered our path and it up to us to continue to move, even if it is laterally. During our search for a path we come across the group that left when we did. They are heading back down the mountain. “There’s no way up, the storm has blocked our path.”
Disappointed you think your journey is over. However, instead of stopping yet you continue to navigate around the mountain. After a few more hours you see a small opening that leads up the mountain. The path is very steep and not very wide, but you decide for the first time on this trip that nothing is going to stop you. The climb is hard and very slow, but you forge on with everything you have. With your head down and a steady on foot in front of the other mentality you chip away at your climb. After what seems like hours, body aching and mind reeling thoughts of quitting surface once again. This part of the trek has taken its toll on you, and you’re not sure you have anything left. Slowly you push through the thoughts and pain, one step, then another. Then before you know it the path widens and levels out and you find yourself upright. The clouds part and the skies open up and you find yourself at the top.
You look out over the world around you. Everything seems so far away as you take in all you’ve accomplished. You did it. You made it to the top, and achieved all you set out to on your journey. As you stand there taking in your accomplishment, you see a new peak in the distance. One that looks even taller and more challenging and the next phase of your journey is revealed. This is how the journey to greatness is, because it never ends. We are constantly striving to achieve more and become better. Once we conquer one mountain, we find a new one to climb. The learning and growing and testing ourself never ends.
With each mountain we climb a taller one emerges with more obstacles and new challenges. Depending on how we look at the world around us and our willingness to take on challenges ultimately determines our final destination. Don’t try to move at anyone else pace, or try to follow in someone else’s footsteps. This journey is yours to take and yours alone. People will help you, and you don’t have to isolate yourself from those around you, but nobody can climb for you. Nobody can overcome the obstacles and clear the path except for you. And when you feel like you can’t go on, remember that you might be almost to your destination so keep going. It is in our toughest moments that we make the greatest strides. We only fail when we quit, so keep searching for a path even when all the routes ahead seem impossible. Scale as many mountains as you can in this life and always keep climbing.
