Forward, Upward, Onward: Life lessons from 48 mountains about love, discipline, determination, goals, habits, mindfulness, character, and confidence

I needed the mountains to heal me.

I went through major depression nearing age 40. As I approached 50, I promised I wouldn't let that happen again.

I had to face some fears, and shake myself out of my comfort zone.

I wanted to achieve an epic goal that scared the hell out of me.

What does it mean to climb your mountains? We're facing our fears, leaning on hope, building lasting relationships, and removing baggage from our lives. We all have mountains to conquer. In the process of climbing them, we find we're really just conquering ourselves.

By stepping beyond my comfort zone to discover what I was made of, I learned some valuable lessons about habits, discipline, mindfulness, friendship, challenges, attitude, mindset, comfort, mental strength, and my perceived physical limitations.

Hiking the forty-eight, four-thousand-foot peaks of New Hampshire's White Mountains changed my life. It taught me more than I could ever imagine, and my quest can teach you a lot too.

Have you ever wanted to embark on a life-changing adventure, but felt too scared to do it? I decided to embrace the unknown and took on the enormous challenge, the difficult and rewarding journey, and the exciting venture. I'm forever glad I did.

Take a walk with me as I climb mountain by mountain, and experience the insights and takeaways learned from each peak I summited.