One of the things I absolutely love about my new home state of Oregon is all the beautiful mountains and rivers. There’s a mountain hike about 20 minutes from my home called 
Spencer’s Butte. I’ve hiked it 4 times now and it has kicked my a_ _ each and every time! I’m determined to master it and will continue doing it until I can make it to the top in a more dignified way!
I’ve come to realize that my hikes up that mountain are quite symbolic of my own life and business journey. Each area of “mastery” in my life has looked a lot like my climbs up that mountain! The lessons I’ve learned might just inspire you in your own journey as well!
Lesson #1: It Ain’t Always Pretty. Ok, so each time I’ve gotten to the top of that mountain I am a sweaty, panting, undignified mess. And the last quarter mile, which is kind of a series of uneven stone steps, is a real challenge for me. The first time I climbed it, I was practically crawling by the end. But I was challenging an old story about myself being a quitter, and I decided I would keep my commitment to myself to make it to the top even if I DID have to crawl!
This is what it can be like as you grow your life and business. If you’re constantly growing, you often find yourself way out of your comfort zone. At times you may find yourself in tears, a nervous sweat, or totally frustrated. That’s all natural! And like my beautiful mountain, there is a view at the top that’s more spectacular than anything you’ve yet experienced in your life! But sometimes ya gotta be willing to be a sweaty mess on your way up!
Lesson 2: You Don’t Have to be the Fastest. The first time I did this particular hike, I did it with a local Meetup Group. There were 5 of us who started out and 3 quickly figured out the other two of us (both newbies to this hike) were going to slow them down. So they went on ahead of us. And the last time I hiked there a woman passed me near the top running up the mountain!
Here’s the thing. As you start and grow your business, you’ll hear all kinds of stories about “overnight successes” – people who made it to the million dollar mark in year one or two of their business. Don’t try to compete with that, or you may end up stopping before you get your own momentum going. In fact, I’m a true believer that our vibration is like a rubber band – if you stretch it too far too quickly it will break. And we see examples of that all the time in the business and entertainment worlds – people who made it big too quickly for their own consciousness to handle, and end up broke and in dire circumstances only a few years later. (You see this with many lottery winners as well!)
You don’t have to be the first one up the mountain in order to get what you want! Just keep moving!
Lesson 3: Taking Small Breaks Can Really Help! By the end of this 5.2 mile mountain hike, I find myself stopping frequently. And what I’ve found is that even stopping for 30-60 seconds makes a huge difference in how I feel when I start up again. And that I need to take them more and more frequently the closer I get to the top!
I’ve found the same to be true as I grow both my business and my life. I can tend toward being a pretty intense, driven kind of person. In fact, I have experienced bouts of total burnout at times because of these tendencies. That can bring me to a total halt, where it’s very hard to regain my momentum! So for me, it’s important to remember that taking short breaks often is the way I can quickly recover without losing any valuable momentum I’ve created. Are you remembering to do that for yourself?
Lesson 4: You Will Trip and Stumble Along the Way. I have not done my mountain hike even once without tripping and stumbling on rocks, tree roots, and even my own feet a few times. And this really does remind me of my life and business journeys. A good example is sales mastery. After years of study and practice, I’ve now gotten to point in sales mastery where I’m routinely asked by biggies in my industry to sell for them, and I do a lot of workshops and coaching with people on sales mastery. To me, sales mastery is a never-ending life journey – there is always more to learn. AND – there is no way to become more masterful in it without countless trips and stumbles as you grow. The trick is to keep going anyway.
Lesson 5: Keep Going Even When Others Stop and You End Up Alone. So – back to my first time hiking Spencer’s Butte. I mentioned that I did it with a small Meetup group, and that 3 of the people left us other two in the dust right away. What I didn’t mention was that the 4th person quit before she and I got to the top. (I joke with my friends that I can even end up alone at a Meetup activity!) So I went on by myself, determined to make it to the top no matter what, and was quite proud of myself when I did!
But here’s the thing. Because you’re one of my readers, I know that you want more in your life and business than most people will ever achieve. When I reached 6 figures in my business, I became one of only 5% of people in the world who achieve that level of success. And since then, I’ve become part of an even smaller group. Not to mention that when I made a bold move out of a relationship that wasn’t feeding my soul a few years ago, I ended up being alienated from even my own family members for over a year.
So, yes, there will be times when you end up alone on your journey to what you want. But what I’ve learned is that alone does not have to equal lonely. Some of the biggest development you will ever experience will be in learning to connect with and trust the only person who will always be with you – you! And soon enough you will find your new people and reconnect with the old ones who really do love you enough to support you in the life you want to create for yourself. Are you willing to allow yourself to do that?
I can’t even tell you how amazing the view is at the top of my incredible mountain hike. And that’s how beautiful your life and business can be! These are the lessons that have gotten me over 2/3 of the way to my 2016 Soul Goals. Take them on and see what you can create!
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