From my personal experience and the testimonies of others, living an Extraordinary Life is like climbing a mountain, striving to summit new peaks, exploring higher altitudes, and experiencing the amazing views by becoming more, doing more, and/or achieving more in your life.

I have found there are four groups of people with respect to Extraordinary Life mountain climbing: one that is actively making the attempt to summit the peak, and three others that for one reason or another, refrain.

The image gives you a visual depiction of each group’s position relative to the mountain. Below is a brief description of their attitude toward climbing. Both are intended to help you decide in which group you currently reside.

This group is filled with multitudes of people just going with the flow, floating through life, enjoying immediate gratification, pursuing the path of least resistance. They choose not to do anything extraordinary because they either lack knowledge about what’s possible or allow fear, doubt and limiting beliefs to squash faith in their ability to rise above their circumstances and achieve something extraordinary.

Their focus on the here and now keeps them from seeing the benefits of pursuing the extraordinary. Not only that but also the longer they stay in the river, the greater the chance these River Rafters will go over the Waterfall of Life, a perilous cascade that includes significant failures, regrets, lifestyle-related diseases, relationship issues and even premature death.

Unfortunately, this group constitutes most of the world’s population. Their current health, financial statement, education and life are dictated by their lack of a dream, lack of skills, unhealthy habits and poor decision-making.

This group is filled with complacent people who do not consciously choose either failure or success. They are indecisive and fearful of the consequences of change. They live what they may call the “good life” but often complain about their circumstances. They blame their hardships on others and feel victimized by someone else’s choices. They may have a “good” job and average relationships with family and friends. They’re not sick but also not healthy. They may have a retirement account, but not one that allows them to live the life they’ve dreamt about.

Valley Dwellers take short vacations, focus on the cost of everything and dread going back to work on Mondays after a short weekend of relaxation. They don’t love what they do and rarely, if ever, experience the excitement of achieving something truly extraordinary, daring, challenging or exciting.

These Valley Dwellers often lack the thrill of striving for big dreams and something truly EXTRAordinary. They occasionally raft Ordinary Life River to bring some immediate pleasure and make risky choices, but they climb back to their previous spot in the valley when they begin to experience the pains or consequences associated with their choices just before they go over the Waterfall of Life.

Valley Dwellers often stay away from climbing Extraordinary Life Mountain because of what their family and friends may think if they chose to strive for something extraordinary. Or they refrain from doing something extraordinary due to a lack of belief in themselves or lack of a dream, mission or calling. In doing so, they remain trapped between a failing and extraordinary life.

People in this group have experienced some level of extraordinary results and success in life but have become comfortable with their achievements. They stopped pursuing something extraordinary and they are living their life focused on past achievements versus challenging themselves to learn more, become more and achieve more. Comfort Cave Campers are filled with talents, gifts, strengths, good health and the capacity to do so much more to make a huge impact in the world but opt for comfort over significance.

Cave Campers often feel motivated and called to take risks, embrace new challenges or dream bigger but don’t due to the effort, sacrifice and investment of time and energy required, or they fear failure and a potential hit to their ego. When they think about chasing a new dream and climbing a new peak, the motivation passes and remaining comfortable takes priority. This group has the greatest of untapped potential.

These are the people who live the most extraordinary lives. They constantly strive to reach new peaks of success and significance. They discover and live their calling, realize their dreams, achieve their goals, pioneer new ideas and create products, experiences, solutions and businesses to better the lives of others. The world watches this group of leaders live a life filled with adventure, mystery, purpose and excitement. They turn the impossible into the possible. They show up when others don’t. They are often labeled by others as foolish, dreamers, daredevils or the crazy ones. They are often ridiculed, laughed at and mocked by the River Rafters and Valley Dwellers because they don’t know what they don’t know until they see what they never saw. An Extraordinary Life Cliff Climbers are remembered long after they die thanks to their heroic efforts, inventions, leadership and accomplishments.

Being an Extraordinary Life Cliff Climber is not for everyone. It is reserved for those who do not accept the status quo and are willing to put forth the EXTRA effort, time, sacrifice and resources to achieve extraordinary results, success and significance in whatever they feel called to be, do or have. Becoming an Extraordinary Life Cliff Climber is for those who consciously choose to take risks, make sacrifices and leave lasting legacies for future generations to follow.