10 Lessons for Life & Business from 29029 Everesting

This past weekend, I had the privilege of participating in an event called 29029. If you’re not familiar with the concept, here’s the quick overview. 29029 is an endurance event inspired by the iconic height of Mount Everest—29,029 feet. Participants have 36 hours to repeatedly hike up a mountain (and ride a gondola down) until they've ascended the equivalent vertical elevation of Mount Everest. Not sure how high that is? Next time you see a commercial plane flying over head at cruising altitude, that's about 30,000 feet.

The event I participated in was held at Snowbasin Resort in Utah, and it required participants to hike up the mountain a total of 13 times to reach the 29,029 of elevation gain over a total of 29 miles of hiking. The reward? A red 29029 hat that is a cherished possession of anyone familiar with the event. Below are my 10 biggest takeaways from the event, which are equally applicable to physical challenges as well as business.

1. Everest-Size Goals Work: Over the last few years, I’ve immersed myself in the writings of author Dr. Benjamin Hardy, including 10X Is Easier Than 2X and The Science of Scaling. The basic idea is that huge, seemingly impossible goals are more effective than incremental goals. Huge goals are more exciting, which leads to greater motivation. In addition, there are fewer pathways to achieve them, which creates more clarity and focus on the things that you must do (and stop doing) to achieve them. One of the other key things is to set a deadline that forces action now. Saying you want to earn a red hat for completing a 29029 event “someday” or in 10 years doesn’t require you to change what you’re doing now, so it's not an effective goal. Registering for a 29029 event that will take place in 10 months forces you to start taking action now. It forces you to look at some of the things you’re currently doing that you need to stop doing. It requires you to implement new habits and behaviors. Your processes become more defined in terms of physical training, nutrition, hydration strategies, etc. It’s these changes that truly transform your life, and they don’t happen until you commit to something big. In business, the idea is the same. What's one seemingly impossible goal (your "Everest") that excites you? If you were to strive to achieve that goal in 1-year or 3-years (rather than 10), what would you need to do differently starting today? 

2. Declare Your Everest to People You Care About: Once you’ve defined your Everest, share what you’re striving for with people you care about (as long as they’re the type of people who will support you and not discourage you from taking on challenges). Why is this important? Because when you’re in the messy middle of a truly hard challenge, the voice of doubt in your head is going to show up. It’s going to start saying things like “Why are you even doing this?” and “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.” It’s easy to give in to that voice and quit. Knowing that you’ve already declared to friends and family that you’re going to do something big is a powerful motivator to keep you going.

3. Know Why You’re Climbing: It’s almost cliche these days to say, “know your why,” but it’s crucial to know when the going gets tough, as this is the most powerful motivator to push through the pain. For me, endurance events are an opportunity to invite my weaker self, the part of me that I’m not proud of, into the ring. We’re going to have it out. In the case of 29029 Snowbasin, that meant 13 rounds of all-out battle, as it was going to take 13 ascents up the mountain to earn my red hat. Instead of ignoring that weaker side or pretending it’s not there, it’s an opportunity to confront it head-on. When you achieve what you set out to accomplish, you get to do the Connor McGregor "billionaire strut" around the octagon, letting your weaker self know that you just dominated it and came out on top. The more times you do that, the less of a chance it has of derailing you in life. Similarly in business, the more times you show yourself and your team that you can overcome obstacles, stay focused on your goal, and achieve, the more confidence you have to achieve great things in the future.

4. Mental Toughness Is There If You’re Willing to Tap into it: When things got hardest at a few points in the event, I tapped into my mental toughness to get it done. The biggest moment for me was at the end of day 1. It was around 10:30pm (we started at 6:00am), I had gotten through 8 ascents, which was 1 short of my goal of 9 for the day. I was exhausted and had a blister starting on the bottom of one of my feet that I had to get taped up so it wouldn’t get worse. While I sat there tired and worn-down waiting in line for a physical therapist to get it taped, I was fighting the urge to call it a night, take a warm shower, and go to bed, one climb short of my goal. Instead, I dug deep and pushed myself to get it done, knowing my future self would thank me in the morning. I made it to the top of the mountain around 12:30am in what was my toughest ascent of the day. I went to bed telling myself I had given it all I had, essentially using all the mental toughness I could possibly conjure. What struck me as I started climbing again on day 2 and talking to people I encountered along the trail, was the number of people who had climbed throughout the night to stay on pace for their red hat. It made me realize that mental toughness is relative and there when we need it. The greatest examples of mental toughness on the mountain were the people who weren’t as physically positioned for success (either because of age, their physical starting point, or issues that arose on day 1). To see them grind it out, giving everything they had was truly inspiring. The lesson I took away was that we can tap into whatever level of mental toughness we need if we’re truly determined to achieve a goal. Don't sell yourself short.

5. We Need People in Our Corner: The coaches at 29029 are second to none. They were there before the event to discuss strategy, fueling, hydration, and any other questions we had. They were on the mountain to check on us as we went up, and to offer words of encouragement and advice at the end of each climb. At the bottom of the mountain, we were greeted by the "Voice of the Mountain," Colleen Rue, to celebrate our achievement by branding the ascent board. When you have people who have done it before guiding you, helping you navigate setbacks, and cheering you on, you can accomplish much more than you can on your own.

6. The Words You Speak Matter: This one goes back to number 4 above. During events like 29029, you’re going to have two voices fighting for control in your head. By affirmatively choosing the words you use, you can take control of which voice is loudest and getting more of your attention. Before and during the event, I watched this short keynote by Jessie Itzler, one of the founders of 29029, explaining this concept. It’s truly a game-changer. Give it a watch and next time someone asks how you’re doing, say “outstanding!”

7. Just Focus on the Next Step: This idea was stressed by the 29029 coaches over and over heading into the challenge. While it’s simple, I didn’t truly get it until halfway through day 1. The morning of day 1 went great - I was ahead of pace on my goal to complete three ascents before lunch by getting in four by 12:30. It was during that fourth ascent as I closed in on 10,000 feet of elevation gain that I started to feel the toll of all that climbing. My hamstrings felt fatigued and like they could cramp up at any moment. As I talked to Coach Jarrod about it at the bottom of the mountain, he basically said, “Yeah, that’s how it’s going to feel from here on out. You just need to keep going.” That’s one of the biggest lessons of 29029. You don’t stand at the bottom of the mountain and ask, “Can I get to the top?” Rather, you ask “Can I take another step?” If so, great! Do that, and then take another. As long as you can take another step, you can keep going. Don’t get overwhelmed by everything that lies ahead. Just focus on the next step.

8. Make Friends Along the Way: One of the best parts of 29029 is the people you meet along the way. This is not a race. No one is competing with anyone. We are all trying to achieve the same thing and experiencing similar challenges along the way. We’re all pulling for each other. When people pass each other on the trail, they’re quick to check-in and offer words of encouragement. When you come upon someone going at about the same pace as you, you quickly become friends, learning about each other’s families, why they chose to take on this challenge, and more. It’s those conversations that take your mind off the pain and get you through each ascent. As the African proverb tells us “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In business, make friends with people trying to accomplish things in line with your goals. You'll go farther together.

9. Don't Linger in the Recovery Lounge: One of the great things about 29029 is they have an amazing recovery lounge to help participants stay on the mountain despite set-backs. The key, however, is that you only go into the recovery lounge when needed and that you go in knowing exactly what you're going to do and for how long. Otherwise, it's easy to sit reclined in a comfortable chair with massaging leg sleeves on and fall asleep. If you get too comfortable, the thought of getting back out on the mountain becomes more and more daunting. In business, the equivalent of the recovery lounge is the planning lounge. It's easy to get stuck in planning/strategizing mode and never actually move on to the execution phase where you do the work. As a Certified EOS Implementer, I'm a firm believer in the power of leadership team off-sites for planning. But keep it to one day a quarter (two days for annuals). Use those days to get aligned with your team and hash out a plan, and then get back out there and execute. If you find yourself working on strategy throughout the quarter, you might be spending too much time in the recovery lounge and not enough time on the mountain.

10. There’s More Fuel in Your Tank than You Realize: When you complete your penultimate ascent in a 29029 event, you’re given a red bib for your final climb. This lets everyone on the mountain know that you’re on your final ascent. Prior to the event, you hear from coaches and alumni that the final ascent is the easiest, but it’s hard to believe until you experience it. In my case, as I was riding the gondola down the mountain before that last ascent, there was still a part of me questioning whether I had enough in me to get it done. My legs were feeling really fatigued and I was worried that I would finally cramp up on that last climb. When I got to the bottom, the staff put that red bib on me, congratulated me and told me to enjoy my last climb. So off I went, slowly at first, just focusing on taking one step at a time. As I made my way up the mountain, everyone I came across cheered me on and congratulated me on my achievement as if I'd already finished. I felt my energy pick up as I went. I was now moving at a pace that I hadn’t seen since my first 2 ascents on day 1. As I approached the summit, I could hear cheering and see a crowd of people waiting to welcome me. That last quarter of a mile, I was cooking up the mountain, passing people left and right. I could have run the last couple of hundred yards if I wanted. I'd learned that I had way more fuel left in the tank than I thought. This is a common phenomenon in endurance events, as our brain acts as a governor trying to conserve our energy by playing it safe. The lesson here is to know that, whenever you feel like you’ve given it all you have and you have nothing left to give, the truth is that you have a lot more to give, and it's going to become apparent as you reach your goal. Just keep going.