Training for Aconcagua opens a longer horizon toward Everest 2031, where ordinary disciplined mornings become preparation for an enormous dream.
Yesterday, I was out again with a heavy backpack strapped to my back, putting in the kilometres as part of my preparation for Aconcagua. Somewhere along that long walk, my thoughts drifted beyond Aconcagua. To Mount Everest.
A couple of weeks ago, I quietly started what I consider the beginning of my Everest preparation. The target is 2031, about five years away. That may sound like a long time, but five years suddenly feels very short when you are trying to prepare yourself to stand on top of the world.
Yesterday, my shoulders felt the weight. My legs felt the distance. But every uncomfortable step reminded me that I was making another small deposit towards that enormous dream.
Everest will not care whether I was tired, busy or unmotivated. When I eventually stand before that mountain, my preparation will speak for me. My body will answer. My mind will answer. My discipline will answer.
Brian Tracy said, "Your ability to discipline yourself to set clear goals, and then to work toward them everyday, will do more to guarantee your success than any other single factor."
That is what these ordinary mornings mean to me. No summit. No applause. Just a heavy backpack, a long road and the discipline to keep moving.
Aconcagua comes first, and it has my full attention. But beyond it sits an even bigger dream. My greatest challenge over the next five years is not simply climbing Everest. It is becoming the man capable of climbing it.
And perhaps there is an Everest in your life too. A dream that looks too big, too distant or even a little frightening. Don't allow the size of it to stop you from taking the first step. You don't have to achieve it today. You just have to do something today that moves you closer. Then wake up tomorrow and do it again.
Because eventually, those ordinary days become extraordinary years. Those small steps become enormous distances. And the person who once wondered "Can I really do this?" becomes the person who is ready to say, "I did it."
Whatever your Everest is, start climbing. One disciplined day at a time.
Misha - The Navy Seal in the Making.