Several days ago, I wrote a post about two climbers—Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson—and the incredible commitment they were displaying in climbing the hardest rock climb in the world. I am happy to report that these two intrepid souls completed their historic climb, topping out today. After 19 days of living in the vertical environment of El Capitan (and, yes, without shave or shower), they finished their dream of seven years.
Commitment in Trading
Commitment for any difficult pursuit—whether it be climbing or trading—is absolutely necessary. You can’t just say I’m going to be a trader and expect to be successful. Commitment means being fully engaged in trading—not just making trades, but fully engaged in all the supporting activities that go with it, from writing a solid trading plan to studying your charts each night. It’s the little things that always makes the difference.
And, commitment also means not giving up when things don’t go well for us. The committed trader doesn’t throw in the towel after a series of losses. Just the opposite: the committed trader re-commits to her trading and works harder. Setbacks are viewed as a way to overcome obstacles and become better.
The Dawn Wall Climbers’ Commitment
If you have been following the story about the two climbers and their historic climb, you know that Kevin Jorgeson ran into trouble on “pitch 15.” A pitch is a portion or leg of the overall climb that is about equal to the length of a climbing rope—around 150 to 175 feet. On this climb there are 31 pitches and the total length of the climb is about 3,000 feet above the valley floor. Pitch 15 is the hardest on the route, though there are truly no easy ones. It took Jorgeson 11 attempts (he fell 10 times, caught by the rope) before he surmounted that obstacle.
K. Jorgeson image
After two days of failing to make pitch 15 (and with his partner, Tommy, already through 15 and completing several additional pitches), you can imagine how Jorgeson felt. He texted his girlfriend that second night with a one-word message, “Devastated.”
Did he throw in the towel? Of course not. His fingers had split open because pitch 15 requires a series of delicate moves on what are described as “dime-thin and razor sharp”
National Geographic image
holds. All his effort cut up his fingers. He took two days off in the hopes that his fingers would heal. During this time he studied some video of himself failing and falling given to him by one of the camera crew members filming this historic event. As he worked harder and studied the video, he noticed he was slightly off in his foot placements. And, in the end, he super-glued athletic tape to his cut finger tips to keep them from opening up, re-committed to his climb, and nailed pitch 15. That is commitment!
Another Perspective on Commitment from which We Can Learn
Tom Evans, the outstanding climbing photographer who photographs many of the climbs on El Capitan, had this to say yesterday, before they completed the climb:
Tomorrow will see the end of this 7 year odyssey. Their reward is the satisfaction of the completion of a hard fought contest. The lessons of character, integrity, tenacity and determination were demonstrated, not only during these last 19 days, but when no one was looking and there was no crowd down in the meadow cheering. In those previous years of struggle, the TEAM sustained themselves just on their dreams, while the world thought it couldn’t be done. Well, tomorrow it will be done, and they will pack up their gear and head home, once again alone, but with a satisfaction only gained through struggle, both mental and physical. The summit awaits, as does future dreams of the impossible.
These are wonderful words about commitment that we, as traders, can learn deeply from.
Here is a video clip made by NBC that gives a nice summary of this utterly amazing feat (scroll down to find the video):
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