Focus, Dedication, and Discipline – Live Life Like Kit DesLauriers – guest blog by Liz Handlin….

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One of my favorite quotes is “No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined. “ by Harry Emerson Fosdick. In fact when I was applying to graduate school and, later, when I was getting my MBA I kept that quote taped to my computer monitor to motivate me and to help me to focus on my goals. This quote came to mind once again when I recently read an article that truly moved me. When I was done reading the article I had one of those, “Why haven’t I accomplished more with my life?” feelings that I get when I hear stories about some of the amazing achievers with whom I share the planet.

The subject of the article that got me so inspired is a woman named Kit DesLauriers, the first person in the world to ski from the summits of the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. She made history at 11 a.m. Oct. 18, just 37 days before her 37th birthday. That article made me think of all the things in my own life that I either accomplished or didn’t depending on my level of focus.

Think about that for a minute. She climbed to the tops of the 7 tallest mountains (also known as the Seven Summits) in the world (Mount Everest, Mount McKinley,
Kilimanjaro, and Visson Massif to name a few) and then skied down them. The first thought that came to my mind was: crazy. But as I read the article about DesLauriers it occurred to me that she didn’t sound crazy at all.

She didn’t initially set out to climb all 7 peaks and ski down them but once she got started the adventure sort of grew. She was fortunate, as a model and professional skier, to have the financial backing of some corporate sponsors. Once the sponsors found out about her quest they agreed to pay for her to journey to each of the 7 peaks.

Following is an excerpt from a USA Today article in which Kit describes skiing down Mount Everest which offers a vivid and powerful example of true focus:

What they faced the next morning was the Lhotse Face, 5,000 vertical feet of wind-scoured, shimmering white-and-blue ice at a 45- to 50-degree pitch, which is 15 to 20 degrees steeper than a standard stair step or a typical black diamond slope at a ski resort. An earlier avalanche had wiped away several feet of snow. At 9 a.m. Oct. 19, Kit, Rob and Jimmy stepped into their ski bindings and started down the Lhotse Face.

“As we went down the mountain, we would look down the fall line and try to read our line,” Kit recalls. “Everybody was totally focused and our senses were so alert. There were times when you didn’t see your other two partners. Each of us had to find our own best way down, and we were living our own experience. We would check in with each other along the way. It was so icy that at times the ice ax would barely penetrate an inch. Your skis weren’t even leaving a mark.”

They picked their way down by linking up patches of snow. Kit latched on to a mantra while skiing the Lhotse Face: “Like your life depended on it.” And with each turn she uttered those words. Sometimes out loud.

“It was one of the few times in my ski career when it was, ‘If you fall, you die,’ ” Rob says.”

One time Rob asked me how I was doing, and I said, ‘I’m scared and I don’t want to die,’ ” Kit recalls. “He said, ‘Good, let’s get a plan and get out of here.’ It was said almost in a carefree manner at the seeming absurdity of our undertaking.”

Kit makes a strong distinction between being scared and being grasped by fear.

“I have no room for fear in my life,” she says. “Fear is paralyzing. It’s one thing to be scared, but once you allow fear in your life, it is debilitating.

“I don’t make any claims to not being scared. It’s important and it’s healthy. I’ve been scared enough that I’m comfortable with it. When you experience fear, the next thing out of people’s minds is ‘I can’t.’ We are in control of our minds. As much as our minds try to control us, it is important to not let your mind run too far.”

This mind-set has allowed her to set goals and attain them. It isn’t the spotlight that motivates her, she says, though she’s has had more than 20 media interviews since her accomplishment, including a feature in the current issue of Outside magazine.

Are you focused on your goals? If you aren’t ask yourself why not? If a woman can ski down a mountain that is 29,000 feet high by focusing on her goal what could you accomplish by focusing on your goals?

Article courtesy of the www.recruitingblogswap.com a content exchange service sponsored by www.CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for an internship and recent graduates and other career opportunities.

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