Paying Myself First

Pay yourself first

Over my lifetime, I have heard this of this concept. When I was young, it was about saving. When I went to college, it was about my future. However, now, in my mid-30s, it's about allowing time for me to do the things I love. The cliche idea that this is our only time on this plant is more accurate for me than ever. Life is too short to get hung up on the little things and instead to remember to enjoy the beautiful moments that I have the opportunity to enjoy each day!

I have found my happy places in my small part of the world. I love being in the mountains, whether climbing, backcountry, hiking, or perhaps soaking in a hot spring. When I do these activities, I am away from my phone and computer, which allows me to find my breath and connect with my powerful self and recharge without the white noise of technology always searching to steal my attention.?

This past Thursday, my buddy sent me a text to see if I wanted to play outside; due to rain, we could not pursue the activity that we had planned. However, we pivoted our plan, had an excellent meal Friday night, and "hit the hay" around 9 pm. The next day we woke up at 4 am, and drove 3 hours north to ascend the Southwest Couloir of the South Early Winterspire of route 20 near Winthrop, WA.?

The conditions were not perfect; however, it wasn't raining. We had gained enough elevation and experienced a flurry of light snow. We also made a last min judgment call that we wouldn't need a rope or protection, thus allowing us to move swiftly through the mountains. Finally, we slapped our skins onto our skis (allowing us to slide up the mountain, think fish scales. They slide easily in one way but catch in the opposite). And with that the adventure was taking shape! As we made up the gully, we would get patches of blue skies but often had experienced white outline experiences. We would have our moments of conversation followed by deep silences where we were each huffing and puffing as we continued to gain elevation. These moments are often the best for me. I can connect my body to my breath, giving space from the chatter of the "real world," the busy world.?

Both he and I have been on many high adventure trips, including a 600 mi bike tour through the Cascades, Mnt Rainer Emmons Glacier, Mnt Baker, Mnt Olympus, and Sport Climbing in Nevada, and even playing in the water while trying to concur class 3 rapids. To say the least, we were a good team. We both knew how to keep our composure in difficult situations, but at the end of it all, we would support each other if we needed to.?

Mnt Rainer view of Little Tacoma

Emmons Glacier - Mnt Rainer

Mnt Olympus - 18mi hike to the base of the glacier

Mnt Olympus - On the Glacier

Mnt Baker Snow Cave

There was a moment in the ascend where he vanished from visibility because I was unable to complete a switchback. My backcountry setup isn't ideal, and it's old heavy gear that we intended for inbound skiing; for about 15 min, I had struggled to make the turn to a lack of friction so I had to remove my skis and put on the crampons. While I was in the middle of the experience, I heard my buddy call out my name, for they likely also lost visibility of me just the same. I called out to him and said I was safe, just putting on my spike. He sighed in relief, and I quickly made it to the top of the base of our climb.

We had finally made it to our target, the Southwest Couloir of the South Early Winter spire. I was nervous we didn't bring additional protection other than our ice tools and crampons, and we made our way. Continue up the couloir to the fork and take the right side where things steepen (40-50 degrees)—hiking up was easy; however, it was more like a crawl one had welding an ice tool and the other clawing the snow. A technique known as kick stepping was used to ensure the spike on our feet would have the best purchase with each step. It was great we made it to the top without issue. However, the down climb felt a little spicier to me. I slowly made my way down the same way but with at least half the speed. Each step felt like it had more consequences each steep I was looking down the 100' shoot of 50' angle snow, ice, and rock field "slide". If I lost my footing... that sort of talking isn't helpful. The conversation now was each step counts. Breath deeply, being in the moment and connecting to how and what I was doing. My life depended on it.?

I hiked down... my buddy Skied!

The Fun / scary bit was that we heard avalanches in the nearby canyons while I was descending I likely heard five when I ad has gotten to the base by. A friend had told me he heard close to 11 or 13. it was time to get the F*cK out of the mountains. The snow was warming, and things were starting to break off rapidly.?

Luckily for use, the descent when off without a hitch! And I had the best day of skiing with one of my close friends and had silky-smooth powder in May!?

What a day :)

This isn't a story about a business or ROI. It's about me trying to live my best life and showcase how I live.

?I calculate risk and make choices.

?This is why I love selling security, and my life is about making good choices and sticking to them. My goals outside of climbing mountains are to support organizations and, more importantly, to support the people who work for them by helping them see the risk and gaps in their security fabric. This is the reason that I am studying for the CISSP.?

Understand risk. Make Calculated Decisions. Live with them. Hope for the best!?