Today the power woman and professional climber Sasha DiGiulian visited our headquarters in Herzogenaurach and gave employees some insights into her life. She not only told us about breath-taking moments when she conquered mountains, but also showed us how climbing is related to work-life from her point of view. Here are three things that inspired me and that I will keep in mind:
1. Always keep going.
As a climber “99% of the time you fall”, Sasha said. In the first instance this might sound depressing and discouraging, but eventually we’ll all have to learn to accept failure; also in the working life. You apply for a new job and receive a decline. You try to use new software and it doesn´t work. You have to write a story and don´t know how to start. You fail. But that’s not important. The only thing that really matters is how you fail. It’s about failing fast and courageous, to learn from it and to be self-confident enough to try it again. Like Sasha has to try over and over again to reach her goal. This might be hard sometimes, but when you finally stand at the top, the feeling is amazing. Sasha’s presentation encouraged me to always keep in mind that failure is no reason to give up. It is even more a reason to keep going and try again my very best.
2. Change your point of view.
“If it happens that you´re 30m above the ground and suddenly realize that your rope is way too short to get back to the ground, you definitely have a problem.” Sasha had to solve various situations while she was climbing and sometimes even under dangerous circumstances. Not to panic and to find a solution is not easy in such moments. Her advice: step back (mentally of course), take a deep breath and look at the situation from distance. This new perspective will help to get a clear head and make rational decisions. Same thing goes for business issues and will help to solve problems way faster.
3. Try the impossible.
“You never know what you´re able to do until you did it,” Sasha said. “Put yourself out there and try out new things. Don´t be afraid of challenging yourself. You only can achieve great things by stepping out of your comfort-zone and being brave enough to enter unknown territory.” Sasha is practicing what she was preaching today: She will soon learn ice climbing even though she doesn´t like the cold at all and her fingers freeze easily. Nevertheless, she puts herself into an unfamiliar situation to find and push her own limits and to see how far she gets. This is exactly what I want to do as well. I want to be curious to find out new ways of doing things and go for the exciting unknown! Only that way will I know what I’m capable of. Impossible is nothing. The last quote I remember from Sasha´s presentation was “The best climber is the one who has the most fun!” So live with passion and do what you love!
2 COMMENTS