Lessons from Beaver Creek

As we set out on our recent hike near Beaver Creek, Colorado, the first mistake I made was reading the hiking map. I informed CeCe that it was just three miles roundtrip so we should be able to do this easily in two hours. Thankfully, I did point out that it had some pretty good elevation to it.

About 1.5 miles in and out of breath from the steep trail, we came to a sign: Beaver Lake 1.5 miles ahead. Wow, what do we do—go for it or turn around? After a short discussion, we both said, “let’s do this!” Away we went and away the trail went—straight up. After about an hour, we were both hot and winded from the altitude and considered just shutting it down.

Were we giving in to the trail and mountain or my mistake early on that allowed us to adopt a short-term mindset for a quick and easy hike? Was it the mountain or were we really battling ourselves? Thankfully, we agreed we would not let the mountain (or ourselves) beat us. After a short rest, we jumped back on the trail and finally hit the summit to find this beautiful lake.

We also ended up making a new friend here in this picture. He was almost too friendly for CeCe’s liking. But we were able to experience this beautiful spot in God’s creation because we chose not to give up.

This experience helped me realize that many times today in business, we engage in activities and initiatives that seem routine or easy and they turn out to be anything but easy. When they become difficult, it is easy to quit or forget the benefits at the end. The transformation today challenges us on so many fronts. We are better served when we reach deep for the grit to push forward and conquer this mountain of change that we are climbing. Otherwise, we are going to be regulated to diminishing views that might get steep on their own.

Is the rate of change beating us or are we beating ourselves? Let’s do this!