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The Quest For 1%: Debriefing May 2011

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My fellow riskologists,

To be honest, May felt like it was an exercise in everything but pursuing the 1% Club. I just finished helping my friend, Chris, put together the World Domination Summit which was almost a year in the making. I’ve been hard at work planning for my next big project, Risk-Free Business, a course to help beginners start their business in any field without having to bet the farm. To top it all off, I moved last month. I didn’t go far and I don’t have much to move, but anyone who’s uprooted before knows that it always comes with a little bit of extra stress.

This is all okay, though, because I’m excited to be working on the things I am, and right now is the critical “waiting stage” before I leave this month for Africa to wipe a slew of challenges off the list.

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Welcome to the 1% Club Update for May, 2011. This is the place where I discuss all the strategies I use and trials I face as I take on some of the biggest challenges of my life.

If you’re new here, you may want to get familiar with “the list” first, and read a few previous updates to see how things have progressed over the months.

Thanks for being here. I hope you’re able to take some of the lessons I’ve learned and apply them to your own big challenges.

Reaching Milestones in May

No items were crossed off the list this month, and even though it didn’t feel like any major breakthroughs were made, I did make a fair bit of progress on the little pieces that can be taken care of now that the big pieces are out of the way.

Joining the Seven Summits Club

My departure date for Johannesburg, South Africa is now just three weeks away. It still feels like forever, but the lump in my throat keeps telling me that we’re not far off.

All systems are go for a trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this month and Mt. Elbrus in Russia in July. In fact, I got word from a friend the other day that he’ll be joining me on Kilimanjaro, so I’m looking forward to that, and the terrorists in the Mt. Elbrus region of Russia seem to be behaving themselves enough at the moment to allow summer tourism to continue—thanks guys!

I’m very excited to write the next two month’s updates, but I don’t want to jinx anything so we’ll just leave it at that for now.

In May, I also made it out on Oregon’s most beautiful day of the year (so far) for a climb up Mt. Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon. At 11,249 feet, it’s not actually that tall, but it’s the most difficult climb I’ve completed so far because it’s typically climbed in one day, and the route near the top is more technical than anything I’ve climbed yet.

More than just good practice, summitting Mt. Hood is a bit of a Tervooren family tradition; pretty much everyone on my dad’s side of the family has made the trip and I’m proud to join the ranks.

You can see a few pictures of the day over on Flickr.

To date, I’ve completed 0 of the 7 summits and climbed 4 mountains in preparation.

Joining the Seven Continents Club

Marathon training continues, though I hit a road bump after coming down with a cold towards the end of the month. If you’ve ever tried to run while sick before, you know that it’s not an enjoyable experience. So, I took a full week off from training in the hope that it will help me recover faster.

I’m starting to feel much better now, but I’m behind on my training schedule. My plan was to get all the way up to 25 miles before leaving for Africa, but now it looks like I may have to settle for 23. All the same, I’m not concerned about being able to finish; I’ve done it before and I felt strong on all my previous runs.

During situations like this, I’m glad that I started training earlier rather than later.

I also received word from the Big 5 Marathon organizers the other day that the race is on and things are looking good for June 25. I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of the race, and I’m looking forward to seeing some big African game up close that would probably try to eat me under any other circumstance. Who knows; maybe they still will. If they catch me late in the marathon, their chances of success will be pretty good, too.

Finally, I booked a room for my stopover in Warsaw where I plan to run my own self-directed marathon before heading onto Russia to climb Mt. Elbrus. Now that that’s done, I can start planning my route, which was starting to worry me—“What if I show up in Warsaw, have no idea where to run, and end up lost or in Belarus!?”

Quick travel tip: I learned this month that sometimes cheap hostels will have better rooms and be better located than considerably more expensive hotels. In Warsaw, I booked a private room with a private bath in a very nice hostel downtown that was less expensive than a comparable hotel room with fewer amenities and miles away from the city center.

To date, I’ve completed 1 of 7 continental marathons.

Operation: Free Mountaineering Gear

If you’ve been following along awhile, you know that I’ve been testing out the idea of soliciting manufacturers for free or discounted mountaineering gear in exchange for honest reviews here at Riskology.co.

You also know that even though I’ve received several commitments for support, I’ve been very careful about calling this experiment a “success.” Unfortunately, that’s not changing this month.

I now have four commitments from four different companies, but I’ve yet to actually receive anything. With only three weeks to go until departure, this has me a little bit worried. I contacted all the companies I’ve been working with last week and requested an update, but firm answers have been elusive.

I’ll wait another two weeks just to be safe, but after that, I’ll be going on an expensive shopping spree.

Even if I don’t end up receiving anything, I’m still glad I tried it, and I’ll be writing about this process in more detail over time. Hopefully I have better news next month!

So far, I’ve received 4 commitments of sponsorship and 0 pieces of gear.

Around the Riskology Lab

It’s been a fun month for me, but sometimes the things that you’re up to are far more interesting. Let’s see what riskologists just like you are up to right now.

1% Clubs Around the World

 

Last month I asked you to publish your own 1% Club and start to work on your biggest goals. Well, a few of you took me up on it, and I’m happy to spread the word about cool people doing cool things, so here are a few lists from riskologists around the world that took up the challenge:

From writing a screenplay to living on six continents to a list that’s entirely in French (no joke!), it’s all covered. I’m impressed by the different things you all are working towards. Thanks for being a part of the movement! I did my best to make sure everyone’s list was included, but if I missed yours, let me know and I’ll add it (I know there are more because I lost a few…whoops).

This Month’s Reader Challenge

Last month’s challenge was all about the risks you’re working towards right now, so this month I want to know more about where you’ve already come from. I want to hear about the experiences that have shaped who you are today.

If you have your own blog, write a post for your readers describing the biggest risk you’ve ever taken and how it changed your life. If you link to this page in the article, I’ll include a link to your story in next month’s debriefing.

If you don’t have your own blog but still want to participate, you can leave your story in the form of a comment below. I’ll pick a few of the best passages and highlight them in the next debriefing.

That’s all for now, friends. Be well, take risks, and I’ll see you again on Thursday with more regularly scheduled programming.

 

 

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Images by: jercraigs, rocket ship