When you’re in your respective valleys that life seems to throw at you more often than you think it should it’s good to keep in mind what it really takes to reach the pinnacle of success.

If you’d like to get to 29,028 feet you can do one of two things:

Go to the nearest airport and plunk down $99 (some restrictions apply) and in about 90 minutes you’ll be at 29,028 feet…enjoying a book, a movie, a nap, the crossword puzzle, a little sip of your favorite beverage..

… along with 154 other flip-flop-wearing, over-worked, under-focused, non-journey-enjoying travelers who are either temporarily going where they want to go or temporarily escaping where they are tired of being.

OR…

• Go to the nearest gym and get in shape for the next 24-36 months;
  • take mountaineering courses to learn about survival, routes, equipment, diet, and more;
  • practice climbing on smaller mountains for 2-3 years and make sure your practice includes steep faces, high terrain, night climbing, ice and snow and rough rocks;
  • plunck down at least $25,000 and up to $60,000 (for extra goats to keep you warm at night);
  • prepare for sudden extremes, even in the Summer, which means winds stronger than Category 2 hurricanes and temperatures cold enough to make Paris Hilton put on clothes;
  • fast forward to actually arriving in country and you’ll climb to 5 separate camps at subsequently higher levels as you…
  • acclimate yourself,
  • test your equipment and
  • monitor the environmentals to increase your chances of success.
  • The day you decide to go you must leave before sunrise with ample gear, a good guide and a belly full of determination.

(And you thought calling on some grumpy prospects was hard! HRUMPH! What time did you get up today?)

Your climb to the top requires, necessitates and demands “base camps,” ledges, plateaus to help you catch your breath and examine your situation and build strength for the effort you must exert to reach the next level.

If you go too quickly your body will not acclimate and you will pass out or get sick and be forced to go down one or more levels.

If you go too slowly you’ll run out of supplies and/or money.

What’s your base camp today? Do you view it as a setback, as a failure, or a place of peace and planning and preparation and excitement and opportunity?

Any fool that’s collected aluminum cans for a couple of weeks can afford a $99 ticket to get a Coke™ and a smile and some honey roasted peanuts while perusing the “Sky Mall” magazine.

Real adventurers take the “road less travelled,” and see the jagged edges and plateaus as toeholds and places of rejuvenation. But they always have a sherpa to guide them.

How high do you want to go…and do you have a sherpa to assist you?

Remember, Life is good. It’s gooder when you’re selling.