Climbing 10% of the Mountain

“…climbing 10% of the mountain ten times is not as useful as climbing to the top once.” – Adam Mastroianni

This quote reminds me of the old adage about project resourcing: sometimes projects can’t be completed faster merely by adding more people to it.  After all, the story goes, nine women can’t make a baby in a month.

Does this climbing quote ignore our preparation?  Route scouting, equipment testing, and countless workouts that make the summit climb possible.  Not to mention the like-minded team we built to support the climb.

Maybe it’s not about preparation.  Maybe it’s about the false-starts, the simulated progress, the big talk and no action that we engage in to make it seem like we’re climbing when we’re not.  We think we’re fooling everyone, but we’re only fooling ourselves as we take the comfortable way out and choose not to climb at all.

It’s easy to climb 10% of the mountain or achieve 10% of the goal.  It’s easy to get 50%.  60%.  Even 75%.  But as the challenges compound near the top, we let doubts creep in.  The grinding effort becomes exhausting.  We lose sight of the summit or forget why we’re climbing in the first place. 

We make excuses.  We can come back another day and try again.  The summit will always be there, and maybe next time… 

That’s just it.  We’re rarely “ready” for the climbs that matter, whether in business, fitness, or life’s hardships.  Waiting for the perfect time often means waiting forever. 

You have the power to choose the summit run every time.  Committing 100% effort, even when you feel 60% ready.  Trusting that you’ll figure out the rest along the way. 

Life’s summits rarely wait for us to feel ready. The question is: will you take the first step…and then push beyond 10%, all the way to the top?

Photo by Paolo Feser on Unsplash