Motivation

  • Motivation

    Slapping Motivation Upside the Head with a Wet Noodle

    Recently a friend of mine posted in a social media site something about how food is the fuel that runs your body and you don’t want to be starving your body of the nutrition it needs. I thought this was pretty good motivational commentary, so I added the following paraphrase of a Brian Tracy classic: “Imagine you’ve just spent $500,000 on a race horse. What would you feed it? Would you cut corners? The cheapest stuff you can find? Your body is even more valuable.” Almost immediately there were a few demotivational comments. Something along the lines of crippled old horses needing good food, something along the lines of can’t…

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  • Motivation

    Jim Whittaker Quote – On the edge

    “Being out on the edge, with everything at risk, is where you learn and grow the most.” — Jim Whittaker I took Todd Gilles out ice climbing at Lincoln Falls – story HERE and HERE. I led the first pitch and ran it out to the end of a 70M rope. That left about 25M of route that I offered to him as his first lead. It was awesome being his mentor and helping him to learn how to lead. Best of all was inspiring the confidence in him that he could lead, and was ready. He did a great job, and like the quote said, that’s where you learn…

  • Motivation

    Inspirational Quotes: Hills to Climb

    Inspirational Quotes: Hills to Climb… After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. Nelson Mandela I have a notebook full of inspirational quotes and this is one I reflect on frequently. I’ve been to the top of so many hills in my life. From that lofty vantage, I realize that there are indeed many more hills to climb. I’ve gone from success to failure to success so many times and so fast, that I’ve begun to enjoy the uphill journey as much as the time on top. I wrote about one of the lowest days in my mountaineering life in my book…

  • Motivation

    Inspirational Sayings: Man on Top

    Inspirational Sayings are one of my favorite “down-time” activities on Pinterest, like MY INSPIRATIONAL SAYINGS BOARD which is one of my favorites. The photo I used to create this inspirational sayings poster was from my summit of the Carstensz Pyramid on 30 April 2013. At the time I thought I had a cracked rib, but it was damaged sternum cartilage and torn intercostal muscles (as diagnosed by physicians in Tembagapura, Papua, Indonesia, and Orem, Utah, USA). It was a tough upward battle of mind over muscle as each pull upward with my right arm, and each downward rappel braking motion shot waves of agony through my chest. I wrote about…

  • Motivation

    The Secret of Life: Conquer Some Fear

    An awesome quote drifted past my desk today, and I had to share it with you. In climbing and training and in all of life, we have to face fears every day. Or live in denial. Sit down with a beer and a bag of chips and watch some WWE on pay-per-view. It’s a lot easier anyway. Not a lot of risk. When I first began climbing, I was really afraid. I couldn’t go up more than 15′ on my first few toprope climbs. I struggled and worked and overcame my reaction to my fear, but allow the fear to exist as a constant reminder to stay safe in the…

  • Motivation

    Inspirational Sayings: Never Been Before

    One of my favorite inspirational sayings, and the one that I am most stoked about at the moment as I sit in the hotel room in Ouray Colorado for the Ice Fest, is in this image I put together quick. It’s a photo of my wife, who is a great figure skater reaching out of her box with this great stemming move in the Scottish Gullies area of the Ouray Ice Park. In my life she’s like a living breathing inspirational saying. I took a lecture session with Steve House, who spent almost three years writing a book on Training for the New Alpinism [Pre-Order HERE]. As a former certified…

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