If you had asked me 10 years ago if I one day I’d be climbing Yosemite’s most demanding day hike, I would have said no way. And in fact, if you’d have asked me the same things 10 weeks ago I would’ve shaken my head in disbelief.
But when my dad came to Israel two months ago, to celebrate our son’s Bar Mitzvah, he said that he wants to climb Half Dome in honor of his 80th birthday (in July, G-d willing).
Daddy climbed that famous trail as a Boy Scout 65 years ago.
And he wants to do again.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the climb, here’s what the official Yosemite website has to say about it:
Why climb the trail to Half Dome? Half Dome is the ultimate Yosemite day hike – the one you can’t die without doing, and the one you’re most likely to die while doing.
Difficulty: Extreme. It’s probably the most difficult of all Yosemite day hikes. On the traditional 1 to 10 scale, this one rates an 11.
Insanity Factor: 9 out of 10. Wait ’til you get to the cables, and you’ll see.
For safety reasons, the park authorities limit the number of climbers each day, distributing permits by lottery. Yesterday, we found out that our group won 6 permits.
Oh. My. Gosh!!
Now, when Daddy first mentioned the hike to me back in February I thought “Great, take Jonathan with you.” That’s my husband, who loves to hike. And like my dad, Jonathan was a Boy Scout in his younger days.
But I kept mulling the idea over, with a pit in my stomach (all truth be told) and wondering, “Why not me?!”
I’m a toughie. I can be rugged. And I love to hike.
After all, I survived a 3-day backpack trip, carrying the weight of the world literally on my shoulders and sleeping under the stars.
Even though that was more than 40 years ago!
More recently, I’ve birthed 8 babies without painkillers.
That should earn me some extra credit.
And I jumped off a bridge last summer.
Besides, how could I let my husband go and not miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?!
So, guess what?
I made a big decision. I set my mind to it and decided I’m going too.
And now, two months later, times’ up! I need to get training seriously. Because spinning three times a week is not enough for the ultimate Yosemite day hike.
So how exactly do I plan to train to hike Half Dome in June?
Well, the same way you do ANYTHING in life, really, including managing your money.
UPDATE: I DID IT!! See my amazing pictures at the bottom of this post.
Here are my four steps to training for Half Dome and they’ll work for your money too:
1. Mindset. Improve your mental resiliency. Know that you CAN master the challenge, overcome doubts and balance the wobbles. You are strong enough to succeed. Stay focused, because what you focus on expands.
2. Strength Training. Pay attention to those specific areas of your body/money that need shoring up: get out of debt, grow a safety net savings account, build wealth through long-term investments, plan for retirement, protect your wealth through proper insurance policies, and sort out legal documents like Wills and Trusts. For Half Dome, I’ll be adding arm and abdominal exercises to my exercise routine.
3. Endurance Training. Master your money and grow your financial fortress for the long-term. Stay away from get-rich-quick schemes. And know, that even if you mess up a little bit with your money, fall down, scrape your knees, go two steps forward and one step back… that’s OK. Stay the course. Keep the end in mind. Keep moving. You will reach your goal.
4. Accountability. To achieve your long-term goals, it’s incredibly helpful to have a partner, a buddy, a coach or all of the above to help keep you on track. It’s even more than that. It’s powerful. If you want exponential success, get support. We work ten times better and achieve so much more when someone has our back, pushes us forward, cheers us on, and helps us with the right strategy and tactics.
Have you ever seen an Olympic Champion without a coach?
I’ve already signed up with my coach to increase my workouts.
What about you? What kind of support do you need to manage your money better? After all, taking care of your money and growing your wealth is the ultimate hike of your life. You’re in this for the long, long term!
UPDATE: Here are some of the gorgeous photos from our hike
With Jonathan, the day before our big hike, as we entered Yosemite National Park. You can see Half Dome in the distance.
With my husband Jonathan and my sister Lisa at the top of Half Dome.
Here I am being a dare-devil at the top of Half Dome.
Big News #2
I’m excited to let you know that my online program Investing Made Simple is open once again for enrollment. In this unique, step-by-step program, you will discover and strengthen the mindset, skills, and knowledge necessary to master your money and build wealth. For you. For your family. For the long-term.
This 8-week program includes pre-recorded video trainings, actionable worksheets, a dedicated Facebook where I support you daily, and live weekly Q&A calls.
It’s Mindset, Strength Training, Endurance Training and Accountability all rolled into one beautiful course.
It’s everything you need to create an empowered financial future.
Here’s what one of my students says about the program:
I signed up for Investing Made Simple because I needed to have a deeper understanding of preserving and growing our wealth and investing for our future.
After going through the course I feel a lot more comfortable planning my long-term investment strategies. I have a deeper understanding of the financial terminology and the options available to me.
The course was so much more than I expected, I loved the way you broke everything down step by step. I really loved how you incorporated the mindset aspects of mastering your money in the course and your deep passion for educating women to be financially literate.
I would highly recommend this course to help you on your journey to financial freedom. This is for you even if you are just starting out or are someone who is already investing. You will leave feeling more confident and assured as you make the financial decisions that are best suited to your particular situation. There is no one size fits all solution here.
Please enroll now, don’t leave it too late and no matter what is the state of your finances, you will leave this course with a plan of action to have an empowered financial future.
Thank you, Debbie, I loved taking part in this course.
Best wishes,
Pavandeep
We start April 30th! Are you in?
If you’re ready to step into financial empowerment, here’s my special offer for you: when you invest in Investing Made Simple this week, you can take $100 off the purchase price.
Use the coupon code HALFDOME at check out. It’s good till April 19th.
Now that’s a smart investment!
I’m off to exercise this morning. I’ve signed up for Bootcamp.
What are you signing up for this week?
Here’s the link again for Investing Made Simple. Make sure to use the coupon code HALFDOME at check out.
