Go for it!

George Lee Mallory, may or may not have been the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest in 1924, more than 30 years before Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was officially credited with this astounding achievement. Mallory and his hiking partner Andrew "Sandy" Irvine were last seen disappearing into the clouds somewhere high on the North-East ridge of Mt. Everest.

Mallory is most famously credited with coining the phrase "Because it's there", which was a retort to the question, "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?"

Besides this catchy one liner, which in all honesty was probably paraphrased by some 1920's New York Times reporter, Mallory was transcribed to say something of even greater significance, he said, "If you cannot understand that there is something in man that responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life, upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just shear joy, and joy after all is the end of life. We don't live to eat and make money, we eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and that is what life is for."

Ultimately, his ambition and willingness to sacrifice all, in order to attempt the unthinkable by most, speaks deeply to a certain part of me. Mallory was not a man who spent most of his time thinking, or talking about his ideas. He spent his time doing. Doing the things he loved. Living the way he wanted. Encouraging all of us to carefully consider the tiny amount of time we each have on this planet.

This simple truth inspires me, as I hope it does you, to challenge yourself, to take those leaps of faith necessary to shake life up and make it interesting. To step away from what's comfortable and familiar, and step out into the unknown. Take those risks and make those moves that may be unconventional today, but by tomorrow will seem like part of the routine. Growth only comes from adversity and from challenge, and it is here that the bonds of life are forged. 

I encourage everyone to strive for something more with the time they have, even if a personal goal is undefined, or crude, go for it. Know that you will not be alone on your quest. You will meet so many great people along the way that just seem to "show up" at the right time; either to help, teach, or just have fun with, because once you set sail from your safe and familiar harbor, and head out on the open ocean of endless possibilities, you will blissfully find yourself amongst family. A family that is strengthened by all its members, and whose lineage is timeless.


“To experience, to engage, to endeavor, rather than to watch and to wonder — that's where the real meat of life is to be found.” -Ben Saunders: Artic explorer