In the last couple of years, I have gotten into hiking — as a workout, a way to clear my mind, and simply for the pure enjoyment of being in nature.
I started with short and easy hikes, but gradually worked my way up to the grueling mountain peaks here in town, like Camelback Mountain.
These are serious workouts—I’ll burn over 1,000 calories in an hour. And boy, do I love it!
There’s just something about hiking up a small mountain that brings me to the present moment like no other.
It doesn’t matter what is going on at home.
It doesn’t matter what is going on in the world.
My portfolio doesn’t exist.
It’s only me and that mountain.
And when you finally reach the top of the peak – no matter how big or small – it’s a moment that can’t be beat.
Because in that moment that you realize just how far you’ve really come.
Journey Over Destination
When you reach the peak, you see the journey for what it really was:
Hard.
Strenuous.
Exhausting.
Worth it!
You take that deep breath.
You survey the panoramic views.
And then you sit on a flat rock and you take it all in.
But what I love most about these hikes? They make me feel alive.
It’s Never as Easy as It Looks
One thing that always surprises me is how often the mountain looks small and insignificant—at first.
It might seem like nothing in the beginning.
But then you hit your first obstacle.
Then another.
And each one proves harder than you expected.
It’s sooooo easy to look at that small hill and think, “that won’t be too bad”.
Oh, but it is.
It never is as easy as it looks!
But just because it isn’t easy, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
I will often see 70 or 80-year-olds climbing some of the hardest peaks.
I’ve seen 8-year-olds do it, too.
It’s a strange phenomenon: the mountain rarely looks daunting until you’re deep into the climb.
That’s what tricks you into starting in the first place.
Hiking Is Like Building a Business or Investing
When you start a business, your brain fools you into thinking it’s going to be easy.
And maybe it is—until that first setback slaps you in the face. Then another.
It’s the same with investing.
You can see the mountain you want to climb, but it’s hard to anticipate the market downturns, the disruptions, the doubts from others—and lets be truthful….from yourself.
But when you get to the top?
It’s always worth it.
But not because you made it to the top.
Making it to the top gives you perspective. It reminds you that you CAN do hard things.
Why is it worth it? Because you took action.
You overcame your fears.
You chose to take a journey in the first place.
You don’t win by making it to the top of the mountain.
You win because you started.
Climb That Mountain
They say you don’t regret the things you do—it’s the things you don’t do that haunt you.
So go climb your mountain.
Start that business.
Invest in your future.
Take the first step.
Because, as my man Brandon Sanderson says in the Stormlight Archives: “Journey over Destination.”