BOARD PERSPECTIVE
BY TROY PORRAS , AAMD SUPPLIER AT LARGE
Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro
A
few summers ago I went to Africa with my seventeen-year-old son . We did some humanitarian work for a couple weeks in Ghana and then flew to Tanzania to hike Mount Kilimanjaro . Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the Seven Summits . The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents . Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa at 19,341 feet . We were hiking for six days and had a lot of time to think of lessons that could be learned . As we have all struggled through the pandemic this year , these lessons have been brought to my mind again .
Lesson 1 - Pole Pole . Pole Pole is a phrase in Swahili that means “ slowly ” or “ calm .” The guides probably said that 100 times a day . They reminded us that the mountain wasn ’ t going anywhere and that we didn ’ t need to hurry . It was always going to be there , and we should go slow and steady .
I think there is a life lesson there for us . Often , we are in a hurry . We are busy answering phone calls and returning e-mails and it seems that there is never an end of things we can do , but I think if we live life a little more “ Pole Pole ,” it could be a lot more fulfilling . Hopefully we can all remember this paired with what we learned in the pandemic as we spend more time at home and we all had to learn patience .
Lesson 2 - Be ready for difficult times . It ’ s almost certain that in life we are going to have hard times . We were going along and the first five days it seemed easy . We hiked an average of only five miles a day , although we did gain 12,000 feet of elevation over those days . Austin and I hike quite a bit here in Colorado including many 14er ’ s . Over the first few days , we thought Mt . Kilimanjaro was just like an easy 14er . As we got closer to the summit it got significantly more difficult .
The last day we got to our camp at about noon and our guides told us we were going to leave at 11:30 pm that night for the summit push . They instructed us to eat dinner around 5-6pm and then get some rest . We tried to follow their instructions , but of course we were too anxious so we didn ’ t get much sleep . At 11:30PM we woke up ready for the summit . We were at 15,000 feet
and it was -10 degrees outside . We put on these big parkas and started going . The hike to the summit is only 3 miles , but it was over 4,000 feet of elevation gain so it is incredibly steep . Envision a black diamond ski run . In fact , it was just like that , there was snow on the ground , and we were hiking in these tracks that had been left in the snow .
As we were hiking along , suddenly I started feeling a pain unlike anything I had ever had in my life . Between my shoulder blades , I had this sharp pain . I don ’ t know if it was the altitude or lack of oxygen , but it felt like someone was stabbing me over and over again in my back . I have never felt pain like that in my life . It reminded me of what ’ s going to happen to all of us . At some point in our lives , we are going to have difficulties . And often those difficulties come when you ’ re least expecting them . When I wrote this in 2018 , of course none of us knew we were going to be faced with one of the most surprising and challenging times as the Pandemic grew in 2020 .
The lesson we can learn there is that we should appreciate the good times when we have them . If you ’ re in a good place now , if you ’ re having a good week , if you ’ re having a good day , having a good month , or a good year , enjoy it while you can ! Because it is certain that at some point your life , you ’ re going to have some struggles . Whether it is physical pain like I experienced that night , or emotional or spiritual struggles . We are all going to have hard times — Many of us experienced unprecedented challenges in the last year .
The other thing I learned is that even as I was hiking that night , there was a spectacular sky . And even with the depth of the difficulties , it ’ s important to remember that there is beauty all around us and we should enjoy that as best we can .
Lesson 3 - Accept Help . The last lesson I learned was that we need to learn how to accept help from others . That is difficult for me and is probably difficult for most people . We had been hiking with our guide for six days and by that point we were practically like family . As we were hiking that final night , he could tell I was suffering . He offered to carry my pack and I declined . But sometime between 3-4 in the morning I agreed to let him carry it , and that was difficult for me . The minute I gave him my pack though , I felt rejuvenated . I felt a new sense of energy that I didn ’ t have before and I learned to appreciate that . Another person helped me that day as well , my son Austin . We were hiking single file and it ’ s very steep , so I was using my hands and my legs and occasionally would step up and then fall back . But Austin was right behind me and he would physically grab and catch me as I was falling to push me forward . That was extremely moving for me and it was amazing to have him there to help me . All of us have people in our lives , friends and family that are around us that want to help in difficult times . Many of us have had to rely on others in the last year through the pandemic as never before .
It is remarkable how after this these lessons we learned climbing Mt . Kilimanjaro are so relevant as we consider the impact the pandemic has had on the apartment industry this year . We were all faced with many difficult times , we had to learn to be patient and keep moving forward “ pole-pole ” and finally , we could not have made it through it without help from each other . I have been proud to call the members of the AAMD my friends this year as we all struggled and worked through the challenges the pandemic brought us . Here is to better times ahead !
Troy Porras is the owner of Wyatts Towing and the Supplier at Large for AAMD . This article was originally published in July 2019 and has been modified .
6 | TRENDS JUNE 2021 www . aamdhq . org