Mountain Tops Are Small. And The Air Is Thin: Rule No.6
Master’s Degree Graduation Ceremony (May 2023)
The past week has been interesting—the good kind of interesting. Not the kind that forces you to reevaluate your entire existence, hoping the storm clouds will part and reveal something better. No, this kind of interesting is quieter, more reflective. The kind that makes you stop, take stock, and appreciate where you are before continuing forward.
I had planned to write yesterday, but life had other plans. Between the unrelenting pace of work and the slow exhaustion that creeps in when you least expect it, I never found the moment.
Today, though, offers something different. The sky outside my window is heavy with gray, but the warm glow of my lamp casts enough light to remind me:
I am still here. Still climbing. Still pressing forward.
Because the summit is never still.
The Summit is Never Still
The climb is grueling. The path, treacherously steep. Whether I am standing at the peak of an achievement or reflecting on a past victory, I feel it gnawing at me—that fleeting sense of completion, the illusion that I have arrived.
I hear the voices, the ones that tell me to settle. They whisper comfort. They murmur, You’ve done enough. You’ve made it.
I have been tempted to listen. To slow my pace, to stay a little longer, to convince myself that the work is over. And at times, I have given in—lingering at the top longer than I should have, mistaking a checkpoint for a final destination.
But then I remember: The air is thin at the top. Success is rented space, and the rent is due every day.
I remember:
Rule No. 6: MOUNTAIN TOPS ARE SMALL. AND THE AIR IS THIN.
Top of the mountain is rented space, not one to dwell on. Share your success, own your failure. Success is not resting on your laurels—someone is always gunning for your spot.
The mountaintop—whatever it may be—a promotion, signing your first lease, buying groceries after a tough month, even finally receiving acknowledgment, is not ownership—it’s a lease.
Once you get it, it’s not guaranteed. You do not arrive at success and simply stay. The second you stop paying—stop working, stop growing, stop evolving—someone else is ready to move in. The debt collectors start calling. The view from the top may be breathtaking, but the air is thin, and those who linger too long find themselves gasping for breath.
This is where many fall—not in the climb, but in the comfort of arrival.
“It’s where I’ve fallen before—building monuments to past victories instead of laying bricks for the next ascent.”
And if you aren’t climbing, you’re slipping.
Defining Success and Failure
Since you’ve been following along thus far, you’ll know the simple framework we’ve used:
Look up the word and define it.
Read it repeatedly until it sinks in.
Process it with clarity and intention.
So of course, let’s apply it now—to success and failure.
Success (noun):
The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
The attainment of fame, wealth, or status.
Failure (noun):
A lack of success.
The omission of expected or required action.
Success and failure are often framed as opposites—one to be pursued, the other avoided at all costs.
We were taught this early. No one wanted to be the last pick in gym class. No one wanted to be the kid who stumbled over words when called upon. No one wanted to be the one staring at their phone, waiting for a reply that never came.
We learned, without realizing it, to equate failure with rejection.
But that’s a flawed perspective.
“Failure is not the absence of success. It is the process by which success is refined.”
The world glorifies success but vilifies failure. We celebrate wins while concealing losses. We curate highlight reels for social media, omitting the struggles that preceded them. But champions know the truth: success is not an independent achievement—it is built on the foundation of failure.
To redefine success, we must first reframe failure.
The Dichotomy of Success and Failure
Failure is a Mirror. Success is a Window.
Failure forces you to look inward—to confront weaknesses, to address blind spots, to refine your approach. It reveals who you are when the applause fades, when the setbacks come, when the doors close.
Portraits of a Book Launch
A headshot from the book launch for US: A Collection of Our Stories, Thoughts, and Dreams (Feb 3. 2024)
Success, on the other hand, is often a window—something others look through, something externalized and displayed. The danger of success is that it invites us to see only the reflection of our achievements rather than the reality of our growth.
I liken it to building a house.
At the start, all you have are pieces of wood. No one—not even you—can fully see what you are constructing. You have the image in your mind, but in the physical world, it remains fragmented. As you add more pieces, the structure begins to take shape, but it still doesn’t resemble the house you envisioned. It feels incomplete. It feels like failure.
But then, one day, the house is finished. Suddenly, everyone sees it. They marvel at its design, as if it appeared overnight. But you know better.
Such is the nature of success.
If we only measure ourselves by our wins, we build an identity on fragile ground.
But when we embrace failure as part of the process, we understand that success is not about staying on the mountaintop—it is about continuing to climb.
Staying on Course: Biblical Principles for Sustained Success
How do we apply this? How do we handle achievement, navigate success, and still press forward?
1. Success is a Responsibility, Not a Reward
📖 “To whom much is given, much will be required.” — Luke 12:48
2. Keep Climbing—The Work is Never Done
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on.” — Philippians 3:12
3. Elevate Others as You Rise
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” — Philippians 2:4
4. Stay Humble—Pride Invites the Fall
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” — Proverbs 16:18
5. Redefine Failure—It is a Teacher, Not an Identity
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.” — Proverbs 24:16
Reframing Failure, Redefining Success
Perhaps the greatest mistake we make is assuming that failure is something to be feared, rather than something to be utilized.
For me, failure has been the truest guide. The moments where I have stumbled, fallen short, and been forced to reevaluate—those moments have sharpened me the most.
The moments when I’ve called home from 6,000 miles away, hyperventilating from the crushing weight of anxiety and my imagined failures.
Failure alone does not build resilience. It is what we do with failure—how we learn from it, how we apply its lessons—that determines whether it becomes an anchor or a launching pad.
Again and again, I have had to remind myself:
“Do not be afraid to fail.
As long as you have life, you have a chance.”
Because success is not found in standing still.
And so, before you go, ask yourself:
How are you defining success?
How are you framing failure?
How are you still climbing?
Let me know your answers below.
