What Rock Climbing Can Teach You About Business
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.
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Smallbizbee said,
Wrote on September 3, 2008 @ 7:20 pm
It’s amazing what our mind thinks of as impossible, thus never allowing our bodies to give it a shot. Driving seemed impossible at first, but I watched my dad do it, took a couple baby steps, and now as with most people driving is so automatic we don’t even think about it. Success in life and business work much the same way as rock climbing or learning to drive…push out of your comfort zone, break down your internal barriers, and sucess can become automatic.
Thanks for the post!
[Reply]
Brian Armstrong reply on September 4th, 2008 2:51 am:
You’re right. We forget how hard driving was the first time. It actually takes a lot of coordination, especially driving manual. Now we can do it without even thinking. Our brains are amazing, and thanks for the example.
[Reply]
raysa16 said,
Wrote on September 29, 2008 @ 11:25 pm
Definitely rock climbing is similar to business , you need to take a risk, it is like testing on what will actually work for you. Not one business will work for everybody we all have our likes and specialty that gives u the motivation to work harder.
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[Reply]
Work From Home Jobs » Uncomfortable Territory said,
Wrote on September 30, 2008 @ 6:47 am
[...] it may seem counterproductive to limit yourself, but like Brian Armstrong from Breaking Free says, it will feel unnatural at first, but just because you’re doing what doesn’t feel [...]