As part of my ‘reaching out’ activity, I contacted friends from R.O.X. regarding the possibility of a ‘Talk Event’. Being more party-buddies than climb fans – their first reaction was “Who the h*ll will be interested in this talk?!” Hahaha! “Thanks ha!” and to think these guys co-sponsored my last climb (in Antarctica).
A while after, beers were poured in (during our meeting) and they eventually said Yes. Some Primer Group brand co-sponsored the talk along with Slice who generously provided snacks.
Came the day, and to my pleasant surprise, there were around 100pax filling the limited space of R.O.X.’s 3rd floor. To my horror though, I saw a few foreigners which meant I have to speak full-English (Oh noh!). Well, I think I did 85% English which was not entirely bad for a Math-ComSci person like me. I hope I did ok.
It was good that even non-mountaineers and complete strangers like ClumsyClariss were able to appreciate my sharing.
I offered many thoughts, but let me mention a few here:
1. “Failure is Temporary” – often times, in our journey towards our big goals, we experience difficulties and sometimes failure. The good thing is, failure makes us stronger and tougher. When I failed to summit Mt. Elbrus (followed by another blow on my first attempt on Mt. Aconcagua) – my world turned upside down and almost gave up my Everest dream. I quickly learned from it, got up and just relentlessly climbed on until I won Big. Fail, rise up, change your strategy, fight again – until you win. If you fall down, just rise and fight again.
2. “Get Inspiration” – whatever difficult journey that you’re taking, get inspiration and draw fire from within. You may find extra fighting strength and not just give up easily, or – find a way to rekindle your desire through your inspiration when the going gets tough. I got mine from stories of individuals, people like Amundsen (first to South Pole), Tenzing Norgay, and many others.
3. “Set milestones, but DON’T skip life” – recall the movie Click of Adam Sandler. Goals are milestones, it doesn’t mean you should ignore the “in-betweens”. We always say "Live the Journey" and there’s no better way to do that than living and enjoying every single day and not be consumed by our desire to get or achieve something.
Of course, don’t forget to Dream BIG. Who knows, you might just get it… :)
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