1. It’s HARD to get to Basecamp!
Business Translation: Just getting yourself into position to pursue your goal takes A LOT of time and effort, so don’t be surprised……keep going and you will get there.
You always think of basecamp as the place where the mountain climb starts, at least I always did. That is until I went to the Himalayas and Mt Everest basecamp.
It turns out that just getting to basecamp on the Nepal side of Mt Everest is an 8 day trek. It starts when you land on a VERY short mountain runway at Lukla (commonly called the most dangerous airport in the world) at 9,383 ft/2860m. Then you walk and walk and walk, while you wind up steep mountainsides, through high altitude valleys filled with huge glacial rocks, and over windy cable suspension walkways strung across raging glacial rivers, until you finally get all the way up to Mt Everest basecamp at 17,598ft/5364m. And the part that’s not in the “travel brochure” is the higher you go, the harder it is to sleep and the less you want to eat – just when you need lots of sleep and food. So you’re pretty much tired and hungry every day.
In short, it’s REALLY hard work just getting to basecamp.
But the truly amazing thing is how unbelievably spectacular and magnificent the journey to basecamp is.
The scale and majesty of the mountains is incomparable. The intensity of the fresh air and sunshine at high altitude is powerful in a way that makes you feel fully alive. The overnight stops at tea houses for meals and lodging can never be forgotten. And it never even occurred to me that just getting to basecamp would in itself be a journey to remember and reflect on.
What I learned about Business from all of this is that it takes a LOT of time, effort, and perseverance just to get to a position to START.
So……I say to you who are starting a company, or to you who are pursuing a life goal – don’t be surprised at how much time it’s taking and how much work you’re having to do before you can even start. It’s all part of the journey. A very important part. So relax and enjoy the “extra” part of the journey. There’s a lot to learn and experience in the “preparation phase”. Keep working on it and before you know it, you’ll be ready to start pursuing your dream!
