Yesterday I went rock climbing with my friend James.

About half way up the last run I hit what looked like a dead end. The next handhold above me was WAY out of reach. The piece of rock I was holding onto with my hands was right around my waist…but I couldn’t reach anything above it, just a smooth rock face.

How was I going to go up?

It seemed like I’d have to put my left foot where my hands were (near my waist) and stand up on my left foot. But with nothing for my hands to hold at that point, I’d surely fall backwards, right?

I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to work, but with encouragement from below I decided to give it a go. I’d start to step up…and then stop. Then I’d start again just a few inches, and quickly retreat back to my handhold.

It just felt terribly unnatural…i mean, imagine how it would feel if you tried climbing to the top of a high ladder with no hands. Then take the last step with just one foot, where the rung of the ladder was about an inch wide with no hands. Yeah…it felt sort of like that. It just wasn’t going to work, I could FEEL myself starting to fall.

I belayed back down to the ground convinced that this one was beyond my abilities. Then a strange thing happened: James went up the same route, got to the point where I was stuck, stepped up on his left foot with no hands while hugging the wall, and somehow didn’t fall backwards. Damn! That broke my theory.

Being the competitive person I am, I was none too happy about this. I decided to try it again. This time, the same feelings in my head were all saying “this is not working, you’re falling, you’re falling, NO YOU’RE REALLY FALLING NOW!” but I forced myself to ignore them, and kept inching up on that left leg. Lo and behold, I DIDN’T fall and managed to reach the next handhold.

I was as surprised as anyone. I’ve never done a complete 180 from “I am absolutely sure this is impossible” to “I am absolutely sure this IS possible” so quickly.

It occurred to me that most things worth doing in life play out like this the first time you try it…including starting a business.

• It’s going to feel very unnatural the first time you try it
• What at first seems impossible, later is not only possible but can become easy
• Having more experienced people around you can be an amazing motivator

I bet the first time you make a million dollars it’s the hardest. It probably doesn’t even seem possible at first. But then you see someone else do it right in front of your eyes and it changes everything.