Being on the summit doesn't change you ...

Life is full of ups & downs. Don't you just wish that sometimes we could be like Mary Poppins and snap our fingers and everything would fly into place? That would be lovely!! But as we all know, unfortunately, things don't work that way -- at all! Usually if someone snaps their fingers at us, we're probably more than likely in trouble!

Life throws tons of curveballs at us. We can either sit back and get hit with the curveball, or we can get out our bats and hit that curveball as far as we can and try to overcome all our obstacles. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. We question everything that happens to us, but in the end, we need to realize that whatever the situation we're going thru, God has allowed this to come upon us. He is molding us into what He wants us to be like. He will teach us a lesson and help make us a stronger person if we allow Him to guide us throughout the journey.

Friday, I was able to attend the Chick-fil-A Leadercast. It was an event held in Atlanta but simulcasted all over the USA and several other countries. Chick-fil-A brought together a lot of well known speakers who each challenged us into being voices of change or being a better leader. I was really impacted by several of the speakers and challenged by several.

One of the neatest ones I remember was by Alison Levine, who was filling in for Robin Roberts whom I really wanted to see. Alison talked about her journey of climbing Mount Everest and coming within a few hundred yards of reaching the summit before having to return to base camp. She said she would never climb again because she didn't want to fail. But in the end, she did climb Mount Everest again and even with the bad weather looming, she still faced the challenge and reached the summit. But she made a great point:

"Being on the summit doesn't change you or who you are, rather it's what you learn all along the journey"

That was such a powerful statement. So many times we set goals and want to reach our highest potential and reach that ultimate summit, but what happens when you reach that summit and you're on the top? You've made it -- great job, but where do you go from there? Many times no where. So you have to reflect back on all the things you learned on that journey to make it to the top or to reach your goal.

So even in our darkest days when we feel that the our friends or even the world has turned their backs on us, we have to realize that the dark clouds are only temporary. There is always going to a mole hill, a foothill or a mountain that we have to climb. We have to be a risk taker and try to climb those hills and not be held back by any thoughts of failure. God is in control; He will help us along our journey.

Get yourself a journal and write about everything you do -- even if it's just note taking. Write about your daily experiences or just little things that happen to you. Write notes for a friend in a journal and give it to them as a present. Any little things will help us on our long and winding road. Just go at it full force!

Cross the bridge or mountain one step at a time ... you never know what may be awaiting you on the other side! Enjoy the journey!!