One question to ask yourself is: What’s My Mount Everest? Perhaps 2020 is the year for you to figure out what your Mount Everest is - where do you want to go in life.
On Friday, May 29, 1953, the first confirmed climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest were Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. I imagine it was freezing (no Gore Tex), not to mention it was hard to breathe. After all, Mount Everest is 29,029 feet above sea level. Once they reached the summit there was no one there offering them a hot cup of tea or even a hug.
After years of plotting and planning, Hillary and Norgay only stayed at the peak for a mere 15 minutes.
15 minutes!
I often reflect on what those 15 minutes must have been like. The climb to the top was a lifetime achievement that many expeditions had attempted and failed, with many losing their lives. I am sure there was a brief celebration, a quick fist bump, and perhaps a selfie. The next thing that went through their minds was probably “wow it is cold and hard to breathe,” and then, “let’s get home”.
As you plan your climb to your Mount Everest, whether it’s a climb in leadership, career, or some other personal goals, here are five things to contemplate:
Make sure you want to go on the journey. How strong is your why? Be sure to ask yourself why do you want to make this journey. If your why is weak, it’s best to stay home. When asked about why Hillary wanted to climb Mount Everest, his response was “because it's there.” To me that is not a strong enough reason leave home, but it worked for him. (Note: it’s your journey ignore what other people ‘s opinion besides shouldn’t they be busy climbing their own Everest).
No matter where you go all journey’s usually wind up at home even a trip to the grocery store. So be sure to take care of home before you leave.
Prepare for your Mount Everest – as the old adage states “proper preparation prevents poor performance”. What resources do you need? Become a student and study successful climbers what route did they take? Who do you need on your team?
Do a premortum – you have heard of postmortum where people discuss how the patient died or the project failed. A premortum is a way of studying what would cause failure before the failure happens so you can strategize ways to prevent such a disaster.
Pay close attention on the way up. What you see going up will inform you on the best way to get down. Caution: most accidents happen on the descent.