This post is inspired my Mother who is in declining health. She told me she was asked by her doctor, Where are you on the mountain, if your life is the mountain? Was she going up? Was she at the top? Going down? My Mom answered that she was on the backside of the mountain, but she had her heels dug in. Good answer Mom.
But this led me to a broader question about what we all do and how we do it, and it is this.
If you’re career is a mountain, where are you? On the way up? In a holding pattern? Trying to find an alternate route? Or have you given up and turned back, satisfied by how far you’ve gotten. Satisfied that you at least tried. Or are you going to recharge the batteries, reinvent, re-plan, and give it another go?
If you are a marketer, where do you guage your level of experience on the mountain? You are a social media marketer, how well do you know the space if your map is the mountain? Do you forge on? Do you try and follow the path? The road less taken? Do you do what the Sherpa tells you? Are you a team player? Or are you in it for yourself?How much do you help people tethered to you? Are you pulling them? Are they pulling you? Or are you pulling your own weight?
It’s funny but when you get to the top, you really can’t stay there too long. But some like going to the top so much, they do it over and over, and they are successful a majority of the time. However, sometimes, there are things that are out of their control that prevent them from reaching the summit. But it doesn’t stop them from trying again. Why is that? How does this reflect on you, and what you are doing now? Where are you on the mountain?
Direct Marketing Observations 
Marc
I had to respond…because you have the picture of Mt Everest and the beautiful ridge of the Nuptse on the right. Brought back tons of memory.
Funny enough the picture is taken from a spot where you don’t see the main route which is through the icefall. So, when you engage in something new, like climbing a moutain or starting a company or starting a new job, generally you can see the top and the beginning of a route but you can’t see all of it. Everything is in context and as you progress you see more of it which may lead to a change of plan or, period, to go back to the starting point. Back where you started, you have more knowledge than when you started but you haven’t been to the top. In circumstances like that, we, human being will try again. and again. Because we’re driven, action oriented, stubborn and we can’t stay where we are because it feels like the end. We don’t like the end.
If you’re curious, read about the myth of sysyphus….talk about climbing a mountain again and again
Good post, Marc, but sorry to hear about your Mom’s health. Sounds like she’s got the right attitude though.
As for me, I’m definitely on the way up career-wise, but TBH I hadn’t anticipated the boulder being quite so large. So to speak.
@ecairn, I love your comments. Especially this line…”Everything is in context and as you progress you see more of it which may lead to a change of plan or, period, to go back to the starting point.”
Very true..
@Derek would that be the current boulder??? 🙂
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