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I’ll never forget the first time I cycled to the top of Vail Pass.
I did it to ironically celebrate the 10 year anniversary of being told by a doctor that I only had a 3% chance of a full recovery and that my days of being an athlete were over.
As I slowly made my way to the summit, other cyclists were at the top cheering me on. When I reached the top, they celebrated with me and offered their congratulations.
Here’s something that I learned that day that reminds me of something that I heard Denzel Washington say in a speech he once made. He said something along the lines of this:
The people at the top never criticize you, the people at the top – the real top -- cheer for you to join their club because they know the effort and the dedication that it takes to get there. It’s only the people at the bottom who criticize you and that’s because they don’t want to be left behind or feel bad about their own situation.
As you are on your journey, whatever that might be, stay true to who you are and to what matters to you.
Don’t let the criticism or skepticism of those who are acting out of fear hold you back.
And they are acting out of fear.
The fear of being left behind, the fear that maybe if you succeed, they might have to change or at least change their story about why you succeeded, and they didn’t.
Don’t ever give up on you and your path.
Tune into this episode to learn more about this day and what that journey meant to me.
