Two Mountains, Two Continents, Two Men & 41,000 Feet of Vertical Climbing

A similar headline was used by one media outlet in the lead up to our latest expedition. It certainly sums up the challenge ahead of us over the next six weeks.

Shane and I head off tomorrow morning but you can follow our progress at www.darrenwise.com.au  Our updates will keep you on the edge of your seats, but we hope they will also give a laugh and even inspire you to pursue your goals and dreams.

Many people ask us why we would put ourselves through such a tough physical challenge: not one, but two peaks in six weeks.

There are a few reasons, but first we want to thank everyone who has supported us leading up to this expedition.

Special thanks and love go to our families. When you are pursuing your goals and dreams, it is those closest to you who give the most encouragement and support – they are the wings beneath your wings.

We are very fortunate to have massive gusts of wind beneath our wings, and we are so grateful for that. Our families know us and understand that our adventurous streaks must come out and play from time to time, and they respect that.

We would also like to thank everyone who donated to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Your support has gone a long way in assisting the hospital to provide better care and facilities to help the sick and injured children who are admitted every day.

As we have said all along, the children are our heroes: they deal with pain, adversity and the fear of the unknown every day. To us, they are little brave warriors.

The donation facility will stay open until April 7, 2010, during our expedition. If you would like to make a further donation, or know of others who might support our cause, please pass on the following link.

 http://www.everydayhero.com.au/corporatemonk

We would also like to convey a very special thanks to Raj and the team at Art Equity. Art Equity has generously supported our expedition and cause by donating a beautiful painting that will be raffled during our expedition, with all the proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. We have recently gone through a global financial crisis, but it is generous gestures like this that bring us back to reality and remind us that we can always find a way to help others. Once again, thank you Art Equity. You can find out more about Art Equity at the following link: http://www.artequity.com.au/

The first reason we’re taking on this challenge is one not widely known, but in reality is it how this whole dream to complete the 7 Summits began.

It is my main motivation. Tragically, my sister Sharon was knocked off her bike and killed by a drunk driver when she was aged 12. It is one of those moments in your life that you never forget, but you can chose to move forward with your life and empower yourself with the emotions.

Sharon’s life was cut short before it had really begun. I decided it was up to me to live with enough passion for both of us, and to celebrate life.

Many people have lost loved ones in tragic and unfortunates circumstances, but I think the best thing we can do is to carry on their memory,   to live life with passion,   never forget and remember often, but leave the burden of the loss behind and move forward. As Terry Hawkins would say, “be a STICKMAN, not a pitman”.

About four years ago, I told Shane that I wanted to climb Mt Everest and carry a locket of Sharon to the top – to leave it at the roof of the world. The summit of Mt Everest is a special place on earth that very few visit and I could think of no better place on earth to leave the locket – what a beautiful view of the world.

So, closure for me will be to complete the 7 Summits, to show Sharon how much I love her and miss her, and that she will always be part of my life.

In life it is not about how hard you hit

It’s about how hard you can get hit

How much you can take

And keep moving forward

That’s how winning is done

So next time you feel that life is getting a bit tough, ask yourself the simple question: “Am I a winner?”

The second reason is that I believe adventures, challenges and the unknown are part of the journey of self discovery and personal growth. We commonly call it stepping outside our comfort zone. We achieve personal growth and forward momentum in life when we discover and learn new depths of our own inner character.

It is said that the greatest leaders are born when the headwinds are the strongest. Much of our character, self-belief, confidence and overcoming our fears are developed through our life experiences.

It is difficult to learn and develop these character traits through a text-book.

Life experiences and stepping into the unknown go a long way toward answering the following questions.

1. How do you handle adversity when times get tough?
2. What are your fears?
3. Can you grow beyond and conquer your fears?
4. Are you are team player?
5. Are you a leader?
6. Are you confident?
7. Do you have self-believe and motivated to succeed?
8. Are you persistent?
9. When would you, or would you give up?

The above list is not exhaustive, but these questions can be answered the more you experience in life and the more you step outside your comfort zone. Unfortunately, most of the questions cannot all be answered when times are good and easy, many of these questions are answered when the times in your life or the surrounding environment is the toughest. The more you answer and the deeper you delve into your own heart and soul, the more you will discover about yourself and life.

I think the quote below about sums it up.

“It’s not the mountains we conquer – but ourselves”.  Sir Edmund Hillary.

Both Shane and I have had our own fair share of adversities and challenges in our lives. It has definitely not been smooth sailing, but we have always found the strength to rise above and fight on.

In the end, we are the sum of all our experiences. On our last days, not too much will matter other than the reflection of your own life and how you lead it. Shane and I dream big, but everyone can dream big, you just need the motivation and the passion to make it happen.

I coined the quote, “dreams without actions are just illusions”. If you want something in life, fight for it and be passionate and persistent, but more importantly … take ACTION, if you don’t, it is just an illusion built on false hope.

Dreams without action will burn the motivation candle for a while, but then life will fall back into the same routine. If you want to change something in your life or fulfill a goal or a dream, just do it, take action, own it and remember…. ‘NO EXCUSES”   

Setting and completing challenging goals in your life develops habits of motivation, dedication, passion, persistence and overcoming fear. Completing goals also increases your level of confidence and self-belief. You will find that these character traits are required to achieve success in any part of your life or business, no matter what your goals or dreams are.

The third reason is that through “extreme” adventures, we can help others along the way.

With this expedition, we have thrown our support behind the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. We are still waiting on confirmation of a couple of deals, where we receive donations based on the metres we climb, but we are hopeful that we will raise a significant sum.

Everyday Hero web portal will remain open during our expedition, so we are hoping more donations will flow in to help the hospital.

If you can make a donation, or know others that may like to support our cause, please go to the following link: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/corporatemonk

Live Large,

Darren and Shane