Never Underestimate a Summit
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by James Rick
Careful what you start. It’s easy to underestimate a journey before you start but not so easy to go back. Imagine if you were about to hike up a mountain, you underestimate the distance to the summit. After a grueling climb that takes you three times longer than you expected you run out of food and water. What would you do?
You …
A: Keep climbing and hope you find food and water along the way.
B: Jump and hope the fall doesn’t kill you (there’s a good chance it will)
C: Stay in one place and hope its all a bad dream.
The point is – there’s no easy way to stop once you’ve already started a journey.
I have / had what my partner refers to as “Entrepreneurial Attention Deficit Disorder” I began businesses I didn’t care that much about because I thought I’d make a quick buck or two and get out in a year. I learned that any kind of good results in a business you aren’t that passionate about is a bad thing because it lures you into doing something you don’t care that much about. In one business it took six years before I felt married to the business and divorce was not an option. For various reasons (from legal cases that needed resolution to people and projects that needed to be cut to return the company to profitability in ready for a sale to investors) I felt I had started climbing a mountain I didn’t care that much about because I thought it would be an easy summit. Six years later realizing the summit would take more time than I wanted to commit and simultaneously realizing there was no easy way to get down I found myself wondering how many people make the same mistake (doing something they aren’t passionate about because it seems like an easy way to make money in the beginning and then getting “stuck” in some way).
The Lesson: Never underestimate a summit – mountains usually look small on the horizon until you actually begin climbing them. You can only climb one mountain at a time. Pick a mountain you truly care about – ones that are worth your life if that’s what it would take. Not only will that give you the motivation you need to summit, but you’ll find greater fulfillment on your climb to the top.
One Response to “Never Underestimate a Summit”
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February 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 pm
James,
I need to contact you regarding an interview. Your contact form is not working. Please let me know how to reach you.
Michael