Final Friday Thoughts for 2009
FINAL FRIDAY THOUGHTS FOR 2009
By Fabian De Marco
The Most Important of all
As we approach the end of the year I took a moment to look back through our collection of Friday Thoughts. Many topics were discussed such as the value of Discipline, Ambition, Taking Action, Patience, Persistence, Success, Goal Setting, Motivation plus many more.
However there is one topic I have neglected to mention, perhaps the most important of all - HEALTH!
We sometimes take for granted that good health is a privilege and to a certain extent well with in our control. Now there are certain elements of health that are unfortunately out of our control, however the elements that are well with in our control include diet, fitness and exercise. Now I am the first to put my hand up in guilt here, in saying that however, I am beginning to realise the following;
“Good health is the starting point of which all success begins. Make 2010 the year of good health and we may find success showing up on our door step unexpectedly”
CONTINUED FROM (PART TWO ) – It was a day that would not turn out as expected…..
Shane and I had a restful sleep that first night….but with the day that was in store for us, we were going to need it. Around 6am, we rose and began our trek to Barranco Huts, a staggering 13,074 feet above sea level. It was still dark, and the air had a crisp chill about it. At this altitude, very little wildlife survives on the mountain, so nature was eerily quiet as we took our first steps into the darkness.
The Umbwe Route is not a common route for climbers given the steepness and limited time for altitude preparation. Compared to some of the other more common routes, the Umbwe Route rises far more quickly towards the summit. Our spirits were high after a good night’s rest, and the excitement of moving higher towards the summit push came over us.
As we pushed higher, daylight finally arrived revealing the sheer enormity of this magnificent mountain. Kili is one of the largest dormant volcanoes in the world and the highest peak in Africa. Its summit stands out like a magnet to climbers.
The jungle was getting noticeably thinner with the increasing altitude. Soon the vegetation disappeared and we scrambled over rock and dust.
Our climbing pace was fast and the track that wound up the side of the mountain was still steep. Our accent was so fast we hit Barranco Huts by about 11am.
Park Rangers occupy Barranco Huts to sign climbers through to the next camps. We needed to make a critical decision: head to the Lava Towers Camp site and make a push for the Summit from Arrow Glacier via the Western Breach, or push across to Karanga to make our summit attempt via Barafu Huts.
An avalanche had recently killed several climbers on the Western Breach, so we decided to push on to Karanga which was another 6-8 hours of climbing. With Karanga at the same altitude as Baranco Hut, the risk of altitude sickness would also be considerably less. The path to Karanga traverses around the side of the mountain. We had only been climbing for a day and a half, so as long as we remained below 13,200 feet, we had a good chance of avoiding severe altitude sickness.
We lunched at Barranco then pushed on towards Karanga. We were still feeling fresh, but we knew this next leg would test us our fitness. We pushed higher from Barranco Huts towards an altitude of 14,150 feet – at this altitude you 
could start to feel the effects of the higher altitude given our rapid accent. Breathing was getting harder and our heads were feeling light.
It now looked like we were walking on the moon, the vegetation had disappeared and the landscape was made up of dark volcanic crushed rock. The traverse through the cliffs high on the mountain was a little hairy. Our heads were light and our 25kg packs were tipping us off-balance on some of the outcrops.
We made it through the cliffs unscathed and started to descend. The descent was a welcome relief to our heads – we started to feel strong again. It was now a matter of just completing the traversed walk – another 3 hours hiking to Karanga.
We could now see Karanga in the distance, but what was between us and a good night’s sleep and a meal was a massive canyon. It was extremely deep and very steep but we had to cross it to get to the other campsite. We were both totally exhausted, but we knew this was the only obstacle we had left for the day. It was time to dig deep into the energy reserves and get it over with.
We put our heads down, dug deep and powered on. It was a massive canyon and we thought we would never get to the top, but we finally made it. We set up camp and settled in for the night to reflect on what was a huge day.
From Karanga, we could see the summit behind us. We both sat there and stared at the peak. As the sun set, it was an amazing and beautiful sight. Again, butterflies and a sense of excitement came over us knowing that our summit attempt was within days.
This day was a demanding push, but tomorrow was a fairly easy climb to Barafu Huts, an altitude of 15,360 feet. There we would set up camp, rest for the day and go for the summit at 12.30am in the morning.
That was how the next day was meant to play out, but it did not go quite to plan. It would turn out to be one of our greatest challenges of the climb with plenty of drama.
TO BE CONTINUED….. (Make sure you subscribe by email or RSS feed to receive the rest of the series)
If you would like to view more photos from our adventure, please go to the Corporatemonk facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/corporatemonk/58164569715
Friday Thoughts
FRIDAY THOUGHTS
By Fabian De Marco
The Unseen Value of Patience
What is the true value of patience? In a recent discussion with friend and mentor Mohamed Hage something was brought to my attention which hadn’t previously occurred to me. In order to achieve true success and happiness in life, whether it be in sport, business, relationships or even self-development, you must understand the importance “patience” plays in the process.
Imagine the patience involved for a gold medal winning athlete. We are fortunate enough to join in the journey at the final stage and share in the excitement of victory. However only the athlete themselves truly understands the amount of patience required to train seven days a week, for over ten years, including strict eating habits and constant disciplined sleeping patterns, all for a moment that can be decided in a split second.
Remember;
Next time you feel like things just aren’t happening for you, remember the gold medal winning athlete and the amount of patience required for true success!
Friday Thoughts
FRIDAY THOUGHTS
By Fabian De Marco
Don’t Become a Prisoner of Hope
Something that I learnt from the University of Hard Knox is that while hope is a very powerful emotion, when in pursuit of a goal it must never be relied upon for success. In the past I found it easier to focus on hope, forgetting that in order to achieve success I needed to take action steps EVERYDAY!
I often found myself staring into the ocean watching eagerly for my ship of success to come in, when all along I knew deep down it had never even left the port. Ask yourself, “am I staring in Hope or am I taking action steps everyday?”
Remember;
Very rarely if ever will success be handed to you on a gold platter, if you want it, you’ll have to come get it!
Friday Thoughts
FRIDAY THOUGHTS
By Fabian De Marco
The Punishment for Complacency
For anyone who has ever had to drive and park in the city on a week day you would know just how expensive it can be. I was in the line preparing to pay for my parking last week when I noticed a lot of commotion coming from the guy in front of me.
It was a little hard not to over hear what was being said as the guy was now virtually yelling at the cashier. It turned out that the car park had a strict policy on their parking rates. which were;
1 Hour = $19.00
2 Hour = $45.00 etc
The guy in front of me happened to have his ticket scan up as 62 minutes and was asked to pay the full $45.00. He was not a happy chappy, however the cashier refused to negotiate simply stating, “Sorry Sir, but the cut off is 60 minutes.” Eventually the gentleman had to face the reality that if he wanted his car back anytime soon, he would have to pay the full $45.00 – Which he reluctantly did!
What have we learnt from this?
Whether it is in Business, Relationships, Health or Friendship if you take your eye of the prize, even for just 2 minutes, the punishment for complacency severe – Always, Always keep your eye on the prize!
Friday Thoughts
FRIDAY THOUGHTS
By Fabian De Marco
Life is like an all you can eat Buffet
Have you ever eaten at one of those all you can eat buffets? The main difference between eating at a normal restaurant and a buffet is that at a restaurant, you eat first and pay at the end. Whereas with a buffet, you must pay first, then your free to enjoy all the food you can handle.
I believe that success in life should be viewed in this way. We must get into the habit of first paying the price with hard work, persistence, determination and most of all passion, before we can claim the prize of success.
Many times we find ourselves standing in front of a fire-place saying “Please give me some heat first, then I promise I will put some wood in you.” Or “Please give me a pay rise, then I promise you will see results you are after.”
Remember;
You can literally have anything you are willing to work for, the only question is, what will it take to get you started?”
Friday Thoughts
FRIDAY THOUGHTS
By Fabian De Marco
If you need to, unplug the machine!
Today’s Friday thought is inspired by one of the most determined, focused, driven individuals I have ever known. My two and a half year old nephew Matthew. On a recent trip to the Gold Coast with the family, Matthew came across one of those Skill tester machines. You know the one with the claw where you have to pick up the Teddy bear to win. As soon as he saw this machine he decided that he wanted to take it home with him.
Now being two and half years old he could not understand why he was not allowed to take the whole machine home with him. After my sister and brother-in-law (Matthew’s parents) convinced him he was not going to be taking the skill tester machine home with him they turned the back for a second to pay for their groceries.
When they looked up they saw something that would shock anyone. Matthew had gone back to the machine, unplugged it from the wall and began wheeling the machine down the street to what he was thinking would be home. When confronted by his parents to try and bring the machine back before they all spent the night in the joint, Matthew refused to let go of the machine and said again in a loud voice, “I take home Mummy!”.
So what have we learned from this story?
How many times have we tried to achieve something only to be told no. Next time you are told no in the pursuit of something you want, think about unplugging the machine yourself and wheeling it away!
Friday Thoughts
FRIDAY THOUGHTS
By Fabian De Marco
The Best Contribution you can Make
We often tend to associate doing things for ourselves as selfish. However in the world success the opposite is actually true. Allow me to explain what I mean. The greatest contribution you can make to your Family, Friends, Work Colleagues, Associates is through the art of Self Development.
What if you become 5 times more Smarter
What if you become 5 times more Stronger
What if you become 5 times more Powerful
What if you become 5 times more Courageous
What if you become 5 times more Motivated
Remember;
“When begin to develop your own ability through Self Development you become increasingly more valuable to those around you”
‘WANTED’ – Expedition Sponsors
We are currently looking for corporate sponsors who would like to support our team on this exciting ‘7 Summits’ journey.
Just imagine a photo of your company brand on top of the highest mountains in the world hanging in your reception and displayed on your website.
It would be a statement to the world that your company supports the pursuit of excellence, as well as the wider community with worthwhile charity endeavours.
Read about our next exciting expedition coming up in February 2010 at:
http://darrenwise.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/7-summits-a-double-header/
Giving back to help the community that supports your company is a strong message of integrity, honesty and a caring culture.
Your company profile and brand would benefit from the structured marketing plan that has been put in place to raise awareness for the expedition to support our charity endeavours. Your company profile and brand would receive broad community exposure across various media outlet and targeted social media applications.
The Westmead Children’s Hospital and Enough is Enough are valuable and worthwhile charity organisations, so you would be supporting valuable hospital care and support services and in our community.
You can read more about The Westmead Children’s Hospital and how they support and care for children with injuries and illness. Our children are our future: http://www.chw.edu.au/
You can read more about Enough is Enough and their valuable community programs and how they make a positive contribution to people’s lives at: http://www.enoughisenough.org.au/
If you are interested in discussing the opportunity, please contact Darren through this blog.
Friday Thoughts
FRIDAY THOUGHTS
By Fabian De Marco
The 3 Questions we should all ask
It’s great setting goals for yourself and I am a strong believer that goals are the major determining factor in what direction you are travelling in. However I asked myself a question the other day. Why is it that even with a detailed written list of goals we still sometimes find ourselves falling short?
After a lot of thought and some careful research the following 3 questions stood out to me.
- Are we capable of achieving the goals we set for ourselves?
- Should we attempt to try and achieve them?
- Will we commit 100% of our efforts to making them happen?
My research has lead me to believe that the reason we so often fall short of our goals is because we only ever answer yes to two of the three questions above – There for the conclusion is simple!
