The most important lessons from Everest

In 2004, inspired by the movie “Touching the Void”, I had this daydream of climbing Mount Everest. Yet, growing up a book nerd in Beijing, I never expected I would really climb this mountain one day.

Six years later, when I finally started hiking towards Everest Base Camp, I was considered, by almost everyone on my team, the least likely person to succeed. I was the smallest, the weakest, and the slowest. Yet, among 4 women on my team, I was the only one who summited. Among our team of 25, only 16 made it to the summit.

Since my return from Everest, I have always been asking myself, what are the most important lessons I learned on Everest?

This year is the 10th year anniversary of my Everest summit.

In the next few weeks, I will share the most important lessons I learned on Everest, and how that helped me thrive today. I hope they would inspire you and help you thrive in your own life!

First, why do I climb mountains, or more specifically, Why Everest?

… coming sooner than you expect … stay tuned!

P.S.
The picture is not Everest … I’m sure you’ve got it! It’s Mount Rainier from the top of the hill on my daily run near my home. That’s the only glimpse I can get during the past few months. Each sight of Mount Rainier is quite emotional for me. It’s so far away, yet always occupies a special spot in my heart. It’s where my heart belongs; it’s where my tender memory rests; it’s where I experienced pain, tears, and struggle, as well as laugh, joy, and excitement. It is the first mountain I attempted when I first dreamed of climbing Mount Everest more than 15 years ago.