【正文】 s deeper hunger. Having known nothing of the discipline that develops life39。 their feverish, restless whirl in the dust of publicity is but the search for a satisfaction never to be found in things. They are called rich in a world where no others are more truly, pitiably poor。m less focused on the darkness. Instead, I think about the joy I feel in conquering it and the tool I used. I am a climber, and I am alive. 11． Getting What You Want in Life There are lives that have bread in abundance and yet are starved。t climb, live or die. In the more than two years since then, I have climbed hundreds of days—inside and out, sometimes tied to a rope, often not. I do pay a price here. My body can be so bruised from hitting walls that people ask me about my home situation. Nine months ago, I broke my leg and ankle. I healed fast, but the risk remains. Next time I might not. Climbing requires a coldblooded decision to live. If I am inattentive or careless, I will fall. Every time I climb at the gym, or rope up for a route outside, or go bouldering—which is climbing without a rope, and often more dangerous—I am taking a risk. And I am mitting to staying alive. Now, I believe in climbing, in not jumping. Jumping would have been easy, just step over the bridge railing and let go. Climbing is harder, but worth it. I believe that deciding to live was the right decision. There39。m not sure why I started climbing. I walked through the door of the local climbing gym one day on a whim. It was an alien world: strong beautiful men and women, towering walls under sodium vapor lights, white dust filling the air. Light instead of dark. Up instead of down. It was in every way the opposite of what was inside me. The second time I climbed, I got to a move where I was sure I would fall. I was 25 feet up on a rope, but I didn39。t live your life in the past! Learn to live in the present, to overe the past. Stop the past from influencing your daily life. Don39。s clothes for the real person within them. But there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see, for practising standards of excellence in thought, speech, and behaviour, and for matching what is on the inside to what is on the outside. Sometimes, watching John leave for school, I39。t know what caused the changes, she said laughing. “It must be his coat!” Another teacher told him she was giving him a good mark not only because he had earned it but because she liked his coat. At the library, we ran into a friend who had not seen our children in a long time, “Could this be John?” he asked, looking up to John39。 without a word of objection, he would carry in wood for the stove. One day when I suggested that he might start on homework before dinner, John—a veteran procrastinator—said, “You39。s steamer trunk. The coat had a black velvet collar, beautiful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label and an unbelievable price of $28. We looked at each other, saying nothing, but John39。ll soon find out that human beings do not operate on such a paradigm. Whether blood related or not, people tend to gravitate to others, and eventually form a family unit. It39。 the way we treat them! Being able to express passion, patience, love, and understanding for the people in our families, despite opposing views belief systems, allows us to expand our ability to empathize with others. These abilities, which in my opinion are critical in interpersonal relationships, will bee ingrained in us as second nature. The fact that we have such a high level of influence on the people closest to us, our families and close friends, will make them more susceptible to picking up on these behaviors and adopting them as their very own. Thus, we spread passion, patience, love and understanding. From one person leading by example to another. Taking Impact to The Next Level While transforming the world for our own families can be very fulfilling, many of our egos will strive for prolific change in the world. In one sense, our egos39。s still our individual responsibility. Despite not being the kings of the world, the changes we make as individuals can and will impact the rest of the world if executed with great precision and passion. Where We Make the Most Impact I am convinced that we can create the most change in the world by concentrating our resources where we can have the most potential impact. This focus, unlike spreading our resources thin, allows us to have a more direct impact on individuals. The part of the world in which we make the most impact, whether we like it or not, is within our families and small circles of friends. We may be successful in converting our family into believers, and they may even turn out to be our biggest group of supporters, or not. The point, however, does not lie in the way they treat us, but rather it39。s shoulders. So how do we go about changing the world if we don39。s our ego39。t know much about. The rest will work itself out. The truth of the matter is that we39。m a good guy. I have good intentions. I want the best for everyone。m 18. When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz! When I put the last kid through college. When I have paid off the mortgage! When I get a promotion. When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us. Relish the moment is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118∶ 24： This is the day which the Lord hath made； we will rejoice and be glad in it. It isn39。 but when you are on stage with the whole world watching, you must bee a unique, individual force