My only chance to get across was a sharp piece of rock jutting out through the ice about seven feet away from me. If I missed, or if the rock broke, I would go sliding down a sheer ice track for several thousand feet. That was a moment when I really had to face myself, let go of all my mental blocks and insecurities, even the fear of death, and just act. According to Tom Muzila, the man who spoke these words, that moment hanging on the ledge on the way down Mt. Whitney was one of the truest it is possible for a human being to experience. But if I forget about all that, forget about whether I'm goiny to fall or not, and just do it, then I have a chance.
People stop themselves from most of what they can really achieve.
A common cliche, for example, in nearly every martial arts organization, Muzila s own SKA, included, is the number 1,000. At first of course it was really hard, but after a while it seemed to me we were getting too attached to that number. Each technique takes a couple of seconds, so 1,000 repetitions take about half an hour. So I picked a new number -10,000. It was almost like saying a million.