The Failure of Failing
4.15.2010 | Motivation, My Blog
After my brother recommended it, I’m reading the book “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson. It’s a real-life story of Mortenson’s quest to build schools in the wildest, most remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. I’m reading through it pretty quickly – the writing is pretty good, but the story itself is excellent.
Basically, Greg Mortenson is/was a mountaineer who attempted to climb K2 in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range, but was not able to summit. He dragged his weary bones down the mountain, lost, confused, hungry and delirious and stumbled across a village called Korphe. After the gracious villagers cared for him and helped him recover, Mortenson made a promise to them that he would return and build them a school.
The book then follows his adventures as he tries to make good on his promise.
I find the book inspiring, and I respect the fact that Mortenson has the drive and the heart to make life better for children on the other side of the world. But it got me thinking…
What if I fail to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro? Then the pressure is REALLY on! I’m going to have to build a school, or a hospital or something! Maybe ship in 450,000 mosquito nets, fund a boatload of malaria clinics, find a cure for HIV…
This is really stressful! Even if I do summit, well… it’s just a mountain, really. That’s not all that worthy, is it? In order to succeed, I need to fail!
I need to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, because I’m not sure I have it in me to fail.
I’ve GOT to stop reading non-fiction!
4.15.2010
You *will* summit. You better do cause I just put 100bucks on it. And that could have bought me a dozen Yak bones for the dogs who is making a din in the background now, precisely because – take a guess – they have no more yak bones to chew on.
4.16.2010
$100?! THANK YOU! That’s so rad!
Ok, ok… for the love of yak bones, I will summit Mt. Kilimanjaro.
xo