Conquering your mountains

If you are a living human being, you probably have faced and will face obstacles, sometimes mountains, on the path to realizing your destiny (whatever that is). Two weeks ago I went on a hike to Mount Baldy in the Los Angeles County. It was a great memorable experience. It was my first time on a mountain hike. I found it very exciting and challenging.

Lionnel Yamentou - Mount Baldy
At the beginning of the trail leading to the top of Mount Baldy.

As always, there are a few lessons I learned from that mountain climbing adventure. These lessons, as it turns out, will apply to climbing any type of mountain you might be facing, physically or emotionally. Here we go:

  • Show up! About 7 people signed up for the mountain hike, but only 3 showed up. If you want to conquer your mountains, you must show up at the bottom of the mountain. Brian Tracy said: “I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.” Guess what? If you don’t show up, you can’t win.
  • Believe you will win. Your mountain might look like a 100 story building in the heart of New York but it does not matter if you believe you can get to the top. The same power that created the mountain is in you, and that power will equally help you get to the top of the mountain. Before showing up, you must believe you can get to the top. Once you believe and start climbing to the top of your mountain, you will need another special ingredient.
  • Endurance. Set your mind not to give up, regardless of anything you encounter on your way up. Climbing the mountain, you will feel weak at times, you will feel like giving up more than just once, but you must NOT GIVE UP. Descending Mount Baldy, I realized that going downhill was not as easy as I thought when I was going uphill. Build endurance into your spirit and no matter how much effort and resources it takes, make the unbreakable commitment to reach the top of the mountain. Nothing less than full commitment and persistence will work.

If you show up, believe you will win, and persist throughout the process, you will certainly reach the top of your mountain. I am sure you have faced and conquered or are currently facing or conquering a mountain as you are reading this. Would you share your mountain climbing experience? Your turn. 🙂