There are still peaks that no human has touched. Are you going to be the one?
“Everything has been done.”
It can be tempting to think that the era of great adventure is over. You can’t go anywhere on earth these days where some American backpacker with an Instagram following hasn’t been before you.
And no matter what dream you have for your life – no matter what radical vision you have you’re the amazing ground-breaking things you are going to do – someone has already dreamt it, done it, and written a book about it.
What’s the point?
But this isn’t true.
Take mountain climbing for example. This has been a popular pass time since the mid-19th century (if you were some comfortable landed gentry with a small fortune to spend on proving your manliness).
Today, it’s its own tourism genre.
And yet, there are still places on earth where no human has ever set foot. There are still mountains that no one has ever climbed, conquered and stuck a little flag in.
These include the 24,591ft-high Muchu Chhish in Pakistan (Everest is 29,000ft), the 23,691ft Karjiang South in Tibet, and the 12,600ft Sauyr Zhotasy on the border of China and Kazakhstan.
Massive mountains just sitting there, begging to be climbed. A place in the history books (First person with a flag to ever reach the top) just waiting to be claimed. A story for the grandchildren just waiting to be written.
And yet no one has done it. No one has climbed these mountains.
I’m sure there’s probably good reasons for that. Maybe they are just crazy hard, or maybe they’re located in the middle of a war zone. I don’t know.
But the point is that even in the over-done field of mountaineering, there are still challenges. There are still things that no one else has done.
And right now, there are thousands of challenges – really important challenges that are crying out for solutions. Fresh water, pollution, housing. There are problems just begging for someone to come along and apply their creativity and ingenuity and daring.
Maybe it’s going to be you.
And even in your own life, there are still great mountains that remain to be conquered.
Are you going to be the ancestor who made the family’s fortune?
Are you going to defuse your own shyness and start having more fun?
Are you going to thaw the icy walls around your heart, and fall madly in love with your partner, your children, your local pharmacist and everyone you meet?
There is still so much to be done.
And I’m not saying there’s just more ‘work’ to do. I’m saying that there are still challenges – challenges that excite your spirit and have the potential to deliver astounding benefits into your life.
Challenges that will make you jump out of bed.
They’re still there. They’re just waiting you to take them on.
There are peaks in your life that you still haven’t touched.
So what are you waiting for?