This past weekend I elected to hike a number of Colorado Fourteeners – it was awesome!  When you hike 5-8 miles a day there is a lot of time to think about things.  In this post I want to share 5 things that I learned about business by accomplishing my crazy goal of summiting 7 mountains in 3 days.

1.)  Although many of us want to start our own, unique, never before thought of business when we’re young, sometimes it’s easier to stay with an existing trail.  Many people have been successful financially and professionally by going the same route that others have.  I had many options to trail blaze this weekend, but the US Forest Service and the many volunteers in Colorado have done an excellent job maintaining and keeping great trails.  The wheel has already been created, find someone doing a great job at something and living the life you want, and ask them how they got started – I think you’ll be surprised by the help you might get.

2.)  Have a solid respect for nature.  In the picture above I’ve come down Mt. Democrat (14,148′) and am on top of Mt. Cameron (14,238′)on my way to Mt. Lincoln (14,286′) – see http://www.14ers.com/photos/photos_14ers1.php for more stats.  At the summit the wind was blowing consistently at 80-90 MPH.  I have never been in wind as crazy as this, nor been as freaked out.  The gentleman taking the picture was there with two other friends.  I took their picture after they took mine.  Afterward they left the way they came, and I pushed on to the next peak.  Their iPhone almost flew right out of my hand it was so windy.  In business you need to have a solid respect for how things work.  If you’re not prepared to pay your taxes, or respect your relationships and the people you work for you probably won’t be in business very long.  Like nature there are mores and rules in our society that have to be respected to insure your company can grow properly.

3.)  Stay true to your goals no matter what!  About a month ago when I first started talking with my wife about this weekend, I wanted to hike five over 14,000′ peaks in 5 days.  It sounded cool and I thought it was a strong goal.  Things changed a bit and I ended up hiking 7 fourteeners in 3 days.  A bit more challenging and an exciting accomplishment that is now in the books.  I was careful not to tell too many of my friends, because I didn’t want to get slammed and lose interest.  Have you ever shared a goal with someone and had them rip the idea to shreds?  I bet in most of those cases, you did not accomplish that goal.  In business it’s the same way.  If you have lofty goals of things you want to accomplish, be very careful who you share those goals with.  There are many dream rippers out there that want to bring you down -  no fun!

4.) You have to bring the right gear:  I was wearing multiple layers of clothing, ski hat, ski gloves, a few gallons of water, food bars, small first aid kit, Blackberry and most certainly my digital camera.  In business you need to have the right gear to succeed – without it you’ll die on the mountain.  Some of the things I can think that every business person needs to get started: laptop, cell phone (one that works in your area), relationships in your chosen area of expertise, an accountant, and a lawyer.  Without these you should stay at the trailhead!

5.) Do your research!  Thankfully Colorado has an incredible website which is current, and outlines all routes on all 53 peaks in the state.  It provides all of the information you need to hike these peaks.  See above for URL under #2.  I spent about 2 weeks determining which routes I would take and the order that I would hike.  In business you want to make sure you do tons of research before diving into a field – it’s almost preferable to work in that industry for at least two years before starting off on your own.  Today I’ll spend about 2-3 hours researching to be prepared for an appointment I have tomorrow.  If you’re prepared in life, doors will open!