People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.
– Sir Edmund Hillary
I have always been fascinated by Mount Everest. There is something about the sheer magnitude and deadly brilliance of the mountain that makes it a drawcard for my imagination, a bucket list item almost against my will. Would I make it? Would I have the stamina, the determination, the personal drive to conquer Sagarmatha (let alone the lung capacity or the ability to survive on freeze dried rations)? I’d like to think so, but I am also realistic enough to know that one Tough Mudder and some climbing in the Welsh peaks does not a world-class mountaineer make.
It also makes me think a lot about where we sit on our own personal business journeys. For some of us, we are proudly planting the flag in the snow and ice and taking that photo, proclaiming to the world ‘I am here, I’ve made it!’ For others? We think we have reached the summit, just to have the cloud base clear and realise that we have only made it to the halfway mark and the end of our journey is still an achingly long way off. Because obstacles do appear, let’s face it. Real life gets in the way of conquering the world. Family. Flu. Housework. Budgets. Competitors. Fickle customers. An avalanche of everyday hazards that can stop us from reaching the top. It’s enough to make you give it all up and reach for the tracky-dacks and ugg boots, if you allow yourself to sink into that mindset for long enough. But you don’t – because you’re a leader.
And it doesn’t actually matter where you are on your own climb to success; because the truth of it is, for a genuine leader, there is always another mountain to climb.
There is always another Everest to conquer.
Real leaders are always looking for the next opportunity. Another idea. A great chance to shine, to engage, to be the best – and to become an even better version of themselves, whether that is commercially or personally, within their company or their team.
The best, the most innovative leaders want to find that undiscovered peak.
Also… they understand something incredibly important.
Every climb is a victory. Every success should be celebrated, no matter how small. We are so good at seeing the failures – or in other words, at seeing how far we have to go to reach the summit – that we forget to see how far we climbed – and to look out at the view.
Which is breathtaking. So go on. Take a look.
What do you see? If it’s not what you want – then keep climbing.
The summit is just ahead.
