One of my favorite activities is planning mountain routes with my friends. We get together several times to discuss and decide which summit we will conquer. Through these back and forth, we finally select our mountain and get to work.

The days leading up to the climb are full of anticipation. We look at the weather forecast, read blogs from those who have already hiked these trails, and call each other constantly to discuss every detail. Without a doubt, these preparations greatly enrich the experience.

But I want to focus on the day we actually climb the mountain.

Although our destination is clear and well-defined, the starting point is often the opposite. We generally have an idea of where to start, but the exact location is usually vague. However, this uncertainty never prevents us from starting our march. We focus on where we want to go, not so much on where we start. Sometimes, when we are on the route, the path is clear. Other times, we have to ask and assume that, although we know where we want to go, how to get there is not so clear.

On occasion, we get stubborn about following a trail or a wall only to realize that we need to go back and start over. When this happens, how we handle the mistake makes all the difference: it can turn the route into an ordeal or an adventure.

I like to tell these stories because they help me express recent learnings that have marked a turning point in my life, hoping that they will also be useful for others.

Just as in the mountains, in life, as William Wordsworth said, «to start, start.» You may not know what the best trail is, if it’s the best place to park the van, or if the job or idea you’re considering is really what you’re meant to do. But one thing is clear: if you don’t start, you’ll never find out. Often, things make sense as we move forward, gaining clarity and perspective as we progress. Also, sometimes we find ourselves on unknown paths that take us to unexpected destinations and completely change our plans.

Over time, I have seen how many times not knowing exactly how to start has been an excuse for not doing anything, for not taking responsibility for acting and, sometimes, for making mistakes. In retrospect, maybe it’s not that I didn’t know how to start, or that I didn’t have the resources, but that I was afraid to do it or simply didn’t believe in it at all. If you don’t start, you stay where you are, waiting for the perfect conditions and the guarantee of not making mistakes.

«Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do» – John Wooden

In life, as in the mountains, I like to go with a keen and curious eye, looking for the trails and asking humbly to those who have passed before. Accepting calmly that I am going to make mistakes, that there are others I can ask, and that this brings learning and growth, has been tremendously liberating for me.

Jimmy Cliff sings:

You can get it if you really want 

You can get it if you really want 

You can get it if you really want 

But you must try, try and try 

Try and try, you’ll succeed at last 

Look here Persecution you must bear 

Win or lose you’ve got to get your share 

Got your mind set on a dream 

You can get it, though harder they seem now 

You can get it if you really want

You can get it if you really want 

You can get it if you really want 

But you must try, try and try 

Try and try, you’ll succeed at last 

I know it, listen 

Rome was not built in a day 

Opposition will come your way 

But the hotter the battle you see 

It’s the sweeter the victory, now 

You can get it if you really want 

You can get it if you really want  

You can get it if you…

Rome was not built in a day, and just as in the mountains, the challenges we face in life are what sweeten victory.