What Happens After You Reach Your Pinnacle?

I met a man a few years ago that was speaking about his achievement of making it to the top of Mount Everest. He detailed the risk and dangers that his group went through, failing the first two attempts and finally reaching the pinnacle. The pain and remorse that was felt by coming so close, only to be forced to turn back. The time it took to plan another expedition and the cost involved to reach a goal only a few had achieved before. A goal that had cost many people their health and some the ultimate sacrifice, their lives. I went down to the front of the auditorium once he had finished his talk and got the opportunity to ask him a few questions. The first thing I wanted to know was would he plan another climb, and he said "no", which surprised me a bit. When I asked him why not, here's what he said.

" I have had one main goal in life since I was a kid, and that was to climb Mount Everest. I am only in my mid thirties and now that I have accomplished this feat, I struggle each morning with the idea of what will I set as a goal next" It's kind of hard to top climbing that monster. I am reaching deep inside to find another way to find satisfaction in my life, but I struggle with this"

I just had to let what he said sink in and I thought about it for a few weeks. I never have looked at success and failure the same way again. When you have a goal and you fall short, you still can try again and again, learning from mistakes and finding a way to victory. Once you have made it to the top, what comes next?

The answer is that you must have new goals and aspirations to reach out for. You must open your mind up to new things or you will just be going through the motions. That, my friend, is no way to find happiness.

My mother's goal after Germany fell, was to make it to America, which she did. The hard part for her was to keep on dreaming and setting new pinnacle's to reach for, otherwise, it would have been hard for her to find happiness. Happiness is a state of mind that each person must choose themselves. A great way to start this process is to have definite goals that you want to strive towards, and failure along the way is to be expected, as long as you pick yourself up and keep moving on.

Are you cheating yourself out of the chance to fall because you are afraid to reach for your pinnacle? Failure makes the taste of victory very sweet, but you have to have aspirations in order to know when you have reached the top.

I hope that you reach that pinnacle and enjoy the ride!!

Love John