That success can be defined many ways is an old truism. For many people, I think, success in climbing means reaching the summit--getting to the highest point of the mountain they intend to climb. But for me, climbing has always been about much more than just reaching summits because, you see, I was the kid who couldn't do the monkey bars. I was that kid who got stuck between the first and second rungs during recess and either waited for the bell to ring or until my arms got tired and I fell off. I was that kid who dreamed about making it the full distance to the other side but was unsure if I could and seldom tried because I was too afraid to fail finding out.

But I also was a kid who dreamed about having big adventures when I grew up - especially when I learned in reading class about these things called "pyramids" and big mountains called the Himalaya. Then I dreamed not so much about the monkey bars as I did about pith helmets and how I might become a far-flung adventurer.

So when I joined an expedition to Nepal, two things were clear to me: 1) I was fortunate to have a chance to live my dream; and 2) it would take a lot more than dreaming to actually climb Singu Chuli. I knew that I would have to focus, commit, and discipline myself almost completely to get to the top. So I resolved to give as much of myself as required to preparing. I decided I would get to the summit by doing the best I could, every step of the way between Seattle and the top of the mountain. And this, I decided, would be "success."

As so often happens, though, I had no idea how much the resolutions I made at home would be tested in the real world and how (or even if) they would hold up. At least not until we reached Machupachare Base Camp at 12,000'. At Machupachare, I finally had to accept the fact that despite spending hours every day for over a year in intensive training, despite forsaking time with friends and family and other life priorities, and despite leaving my job and my home and traveling to and trekking so far in a foreign land, I probably was not going to be able to climb this mountain after all. Not with the persistent chest cold and rib-crunching cough that I had picked up in Bangkok on our way to Nepal that would only get worse the higher on the mountain we went. I had to accept that getting to the summit would not be a reality for me after all.

So one night, sitting on the rocks above Machupachare Base Camp, I was overwhelmed with disappointment and despair about this unexpected fate. I struggled mightily to find comfort in my idealistic definition of success. But then I remembered that I never started climbing to prove something to anyone else and that I never had any assumption that I might be the strongest, the fastest or the best. I had only made the commitment to myself that I would DO my best. And that I had. In the year of training, planning, and preparing for the expedition, I had worked harder and learned more about myself, about climbing, and about being part of a team than I ever anticipated. And in the weeks of trekking in Nepal, I had experienced a vastness and generosity of spirit that I never imagined. I realized, sitting on those rocks, that no matter how high I got, that just the experience of being there - of being able to walk among some of the most amazing scenery on earth - was more than the stuff dreams were made of. It was a miracle. That was enough.

My message, if you will, is perhaps one of our oldest and simplest lessons. You need not be a superhero, superhuman, or godlike to climb--if I can do it, I think almost anyone can. To succeed, you must only be willing to know yourself and to commit yourself completely to your dreams. You must be willing to face and not be limited by your fears; to discover and live from your strengths; to be open to and draw support from others' camaraderie; to embrace extreme uncertainty; to risk the possibility of utter failure. And, more than anything, you must believe that in doing so (regardless of the consequences), you will be your best self and find the greatest and most unexpected of wonders--mountains higher than the mind can reckon; skies bluer than the eyes can see; and air crisp with the breath of knowing that you have it in you to go after even bigger dreams. You can truly do more and go much farther than you ever imagine.