This post is going to take a step away from what I usually write about, which is quick updates on sponsors and climbs. Rather, I have decided that it is also important to convey the lessons that I have learned along the way with Summit Up so if anyone decides they want to chase after their crazy goal, perhaps they can learn something here.
To give you an idea of how Summit Up was conceived, we have to take a step back to where I was when the thought first entered my mind. I tagged along on a family hunting trip so I could get the chance to hike around North Dakota. One day while starring blankly at a map while in the vehicle, I realized we were not too far from White Butte, the highest point in North Dakota. I offered we go there with about as much enthusiasm as one would say, "Let's go to Taco Bell." Sure, I wanted to go, but I wouldn't have fought too hard for it. Fortunately, the rest of my family jumped on the idea, and we went there.
Upon climbing the butte, I stood there and looked across the land and the idea popped into my head, "Hey, you should climb the highest point in all 50 states." To me this idea was about as realistic as riding an ostrich across the Mojave, but I liked the way it sounded.
Upon getting home, I researched the idea online, realized that others had done it (this took away some of the coolness, but it also meant it was possible) and started telling people that I was going to reach the summit of all 50 states before I died. I had no idea how, and it didn't really matter, I just decided that I would. Summit Up was created to help me reach this goal, and help make my goal more meaningful. The important point here is that all I had done when I made the commitment is wander up one easy butte and conduct 5 minutes of research online; that's it. Fast-forward two years, and there is zero doubt in my mind that I will have completed this goal before turning 28, maybe sooner.
I will be the first to admit that planning has its place, and that sometimes decisions like these backfire. However, there is something very powerful about looking at the big goal, committing, and then figuring out how you are going to do it. If I would have looked at all the details before deciding if it was "possible" for me to do this, I would have probably been intimidated. Small details such as the cost of climbing Denali was more than I made that summer, or that less people have done this than have climbed Everest, or that there is over 20,000 miles of driving involved at the very least would have made me laugh at the idea. However, since I had already started to tell people that I would achieve this goal, I had to figure out a way to make it happen.
I don't want this to come off as some lame pep-talk, so I hope this isn't the case. I just want to testify to the power of making a goal, and then figuring out the details, as opposed to trying to find out all the facts, and then deciding if you can do it. This is my crazy goal that I am failing my way to success on, what's yours?
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