Chasing your dreams is exhilarating. And hard work.
Its been said that nothing easy is worth having. Perhaps. But achieving your dreams is certainly worth it, so you must be ready to work.
My dream has always been to climb high mountains around the world, and in one week I will get a shot at my dream.
I will soon be leaving for Nepal, and ultimately Tibet. I will be joining seven other climbers as we attempt to summit the sixth highest peak in the world, at 26,906 feet high. The mountain is called Cho Oyu – you may never have heard of it.
Trying to climb Cho Oyu (pronounced “Choy-U”) has been my dream for many years. After a lot of work, saving and sacrifice, I have positioned myself to try and grasp that dream. The effort and sacrifice have come not just from me, but from my wife and my children as well - life may be a bit harder and busier for them while I’m on the mountain. My colleagues have helped wrap up piles of work as I rush out of town and then will forge ahead without me as I become very hard to reach for the next seven weeks. My long time friends and valued climbing partners have cheered me on and assisted in getting me ready.
Its an honor and a privilege to be the lucky front person for such an enthusiastic and supportive team. I will try my hardest on the mountain to be worthy of their generous help, and to make my dreams of climbing Cho Oyu come true. It certainly has been hard work getting ready. I hope to summit under a sapphire blue sky, with the brown Tibetan plateau beneath me, and the white-topped Himalayas reaching into the distance. But summit or not, I will always be a fortunate and grateful man for this magical chance to chase my dream.
As you work toward chasing your dream, I wish you a determined mind, a strong back, and a resilient spirit.