Failing Forward: The Climb and Fall from Humility's Peak

So often do fiercely ambitious young professionals believe they’ve reached the top of Everest at various points in their careers…only to find that Everest’s “peak” is no more than a single bump jutting out amongst a ripple of Kentucky’s rolling knobs and hollers. You can deny it all you want, but I know who you are you cocky geniuses. Trust me - I was (am) one of them.?

This vainglorious perspective is so fueling at times, charging us with the confidence we need to overcome any obstacle that dare defy our awesome power. Yet as Everest beguiles us with its wicked dance, then tosses us aside like paper scraps, the impact to our egos can be so profound that it makes us question the very moral fiber of our being - bringing us down from the highest peak of every accomplishment we’ve ever achieved.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” a mentor once told me. There is something so profound, yet extinguishing, by settling into that statement. I only wish I had heard it earlier on in my career because it would have made for a much softer landing at the bottom of each of my chastening falls and wide-eyed realizations.

Nevertheless, here I am sharing these words with all of you out there who seem to think you know it all. I’ve been there, done that, and have climbed many an Everest throughout the years. I assure you that a swift tumble back down from the summit produces only a temporary bruise to our fragile egos… and I am looking forward to the next time Everest succeeds in knocking me down.?