When people that haven’t been to Colorado before think of a quintessential mountain town, odds are Manitou Springs will fit the bill. While just a mere 10 minutes from downtown Colorado Springs, the town has all that would be required. Its full of small, quaint restaurants, has one of the coziest inns you’ve ever seen, plenty of outdoor activities, and breathtaking mountain views. My wife and I first visited for our anniversary in June three years ago and spent a night taking in a lovely dinner and drinks with a mountain view. Three years later for our anniversary, we decided to do it again. Only this time, my wife had done some research and had decided on a hike to do in the morning.
My wife has so many wonderful characteristics, but directions and reading maps are not one of them. As such, we found ourselves doing the Manitou Incline instead of the trail she had planned. The Manitou Incline is not a long trail (just .88 miles) nor does it take you up to some of the higher elevations many other trails in Colorado will (just 8,600 feet). However, what the Manitou Incline is known for is the kind of hike it is. This hike rises 2,000 feet in that short distance and is essentially a straight staircase up a mountain. While the hike offers sweeping views of the front range and Colorado Springs, the 2,744 stairs make this an incredible fitness challenge.
Being it was the night after our anniversary, neither of us had properly prepared for this journey. That is unless you consider a bottle of wine and fondue dinner the night before adequate preparation. As we started the trial, my wife told me a number of times “I am not up for this, I am just warning you that we need to turn around at some point”. I don’t blame her, it’s not that the trail is just brutal, but also that you are staring straight up at the couple thousand steps you have to conquer the entire time. Never the less, I knew that I wanted to do the entire hike and that she would as well.
Due to the nature of the hike, it helps to have two people. They can continually push each other and as one starts to doubt if they can do it, the other can provide encouragement. As the hike goes on, there is less and less discussion and your left more to your own thoughts. As I did this hike, I started to realize how much this hike relates to being an entrepreneur. The parallels kept going through my head and I was determined that I was going to conquer this mountain. Step by step, in my own mind, I was conquering business issues.
This hike is incredibly grueling. About two thirds the way up there is a “bailout” point where you can take an easier trail back down. Up until that point, you are constantly seeing people come back down the trail that decided enough was enough. By my own, completely unscientific calculation, only about 5% of the people out there would even attempt this. Only about 2.5% of people will succeed in doing this hike. These numbers correlate over well to the entrepreneur world where many won’t attempt to start their own business and of those that do, a lot won’t succeed.
You’ll be around a dinner table and tell people about this experience and you’ll hear “I would love to do that someday”. That is as close as most people will get. Not that completing this makes you some sort of superhero. However, it takes determination, hard work, and will to start and finish this challenge. It’s hard. Just like being a business owner, many people love the thought of it, but few try it.
As you go along this hike, self-doubt starts to creep in. There is an option to “bail out” and you can always turn around before you get too far up the hill. It’s easy to turn around, look at all those other people doing it. How many entrepreneurs that you know don’t fully invest in what they are doing? They tend to put one toe in the pool to gauge the temperature. There are many that start up the hike that say to themselves, “I will go this far, and if I don’t like it, I will just turn back around”. With that attitude, I would argue they will never make it to the top. This is much like the entrepreneur who doesn’t fully commit and invest the time needed in their venture. They are starting out already planning what happens if I don’t succeed rather than telling themselves no matter the issue they encounter, they will work through it.
As you go up, you get energy from others. This hike is not filled with 20-something well-conditioned fitness junkies. One of the great things about it is it is filled with many different types. On this day, there is a group from Idaho with the youngest being in her late 40’s. There are two mothers with there 3 kids all trekking up the mountain. We would continually pass each other as the groups would alternate stopping for a quick break. We bonded with these people, joked with them, even if it was only for the 60 minutes of the hike. This is not unlike the need for entrepreneurs to be able to talk and discuss their issues. After all, only those on the same journey can truly understand what each other is going through.
Four months later, my wife asked what I would like to do for my birthday. It was a no-brainer, I wanted to do the Manitou Incline again. For me, each step near the top is hard, but it is a metaphor for conquering something. It might sound corny, but each step is me conquering issues as they are in front of me. Many don’t have the stomach for employee issues, dilemma’s due to growth, or the rejection you face as a business owner. However, none of these issues are insurmountable. Just like the hike, most can be dealt with one step at a time.
Just like reaching the top, accomplishing a business goal is a special feeling. Starting a business is not the pinnacle for everyone. People have different goals in life. However, being an entrepreneur is tough, scary, and there will be self-doubt. But, just like the Manitou Incline, those that stick with the journey and don’t worry about failing or turning back are those that will be successful.
If you are interested in learning more about starting your own Monkey Bizness, please reach out to us.
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