Teh Chad

Today shall be a grand day! Foundations will be set and infrastructures rebuilt. The tasks performed shall put us in place to not only beat the competition, but kill it!
Today the things that have been eating at us will be eaten. The burdens on our minds shall be lifted. The filters that have been choked will be cleaned out.
Today we will learn something that makes us better at what we do. We will learn something that makes us better with people. We will learn something that helps us put things in perspective.
Today the efforts of the past will show their fruits. Friendships of old shall remind us of how important we are to them. Someone will bring us something small that will brighten our afternoon.
Today opportunities for greatness will present themselves. And we will see them! We might even go after one of them!
Today we will accomplish things worthy of dead cow!

Rereading my last post, I felt like I lost the purpose of the post. There were two points I wanted to make.
Take risks! Take risks safely.
Most people are afraid to take risks. Taking small risks teaches you how to deal with it. We all will take many risks in our lives. We will drive cars. We will go swimming. We will make financial commitments when we have jobs that may not last. We will open up to people about who we are. We may even do something fun like go to a Denver Donkeys game. Yet even football games have risks (I seem to remember a CU football game a couple years ago). Taking risks is part of our being. People need to do it.
The part that I don’t believe came across real well was my second point. Take risks, but take them as safely and simply as you can. When I did Long’s for the first time, I trained my butt off for a good couple of months. There was no doubt in my mind that I could physically do it. I took the real risk out as much as possible. People knew where I was. I had more than enough protection from weather. I had too much water. I had plenty of food. I would have to get hailed on before I’d have a bad day and I had done my homework on that too! As many variables as there are in a task like that (or anything for that matter), I wanted as many of them on my side as I could get.
Small business owners must take huge risks to keep their business running. Their employees depend on them to make the correct decisions. These things are not easy. However, these are the people that become great. These are the Mark Shuttleworths and Richard Bransons.
Go take risks! However, take the danger out of them where you can. You’ll be amazed what you are capable of!

As some of you may have heard already, one of my heroes was killed over the weekend.  When I heard, I was a bit dumbstruck.  I wasn’t real sure what to think.  Death comes unexpectedly.  As I’ve had a couple of days to put a thought together, I realize that I don’t have to say anything.  It’s really already been said.  He did the job really well.

I only met Craig less than a handful of times.  But I’m sensing that it didn’t take much to see how great this man was.  Greatness is a unique thing.  Few have it.  Those who do are not only remembered, but respected.

I’m still not real sure which words to use to articulate my thought.  But as I was coming down the stairs to my desk a few minutes ago, I remembered a line I used at the end of my last blog.

From one death comes many a life.

It’s funny how you rarely visit someone during your life and then you can travel thousands of miles to their funeral.  The reason is that we don’t realize the impact that we have on each other.

I’d bet money that his funeral will be overrun with climbers from all over the country.

I know death is a part of climbing, but dammit, it still sucks.  He was one of the great ones.