Keep Climbing

Today, Facebook reminded me of a picture I posted three years ago. It was a special moment.

When our son Chris and I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2009, he mentioned he used the phrase, “Just keep swimming” from the movie Finding Nemo as motivation to reach the top. In retrospect, our climb was a sample of the challenges we all face in our lives no matter how significant they are. We have to meet them head on and do our best to overcome them. We have to keep climbing.

With Chris’ mantra in mind and with my own philosophy to keep going no matter what, I came up with the following slogan: Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep on climbing. It was originally just a personal reminder to my family and I to keep pushing ahead when we are met with challenges. I never foresaw the impact it would have.

Since that time, I have been approached by people around the world asking if they can use the motto on tee shirts, posters and rubber stamps and it is often quoted on social media. It was even tweeted by actor Jared Lehto! The response has been amazing, but the best by far was the attached picture sent to me by a woman in Virginia telling me she was inspired enough by the slogan to have an excerpt tattooed on her arm.

I never anticipated the impact of the slogan. I was floored and truly honored that the words would have enough significance to someone that they would turn them into a tattoo. It’s a reminder that we never know the impact of our words so we should always be aware of what we are saying or writing. People remember and words matter.

As for the slogan. it doesn’t matter what challenge we are facing, or the setbacks that might arise, we have to keep climbing. Whether it’s an illness, the loss of a loved one, a career move or writing the next great novel, we have to keep pushing forward. There are no guarantees. Chris and I could have been stopped by altitude sickness or fatigue or weather or any number of factors, but we weren’t because we kept climbing. No matter what the challenge, perseverance gives us the best opportunity to reach the top.