Episode
Episode 352: One Step At A Time - The Kilimanjaro Lesson on Commitment, Attention, and the Self Beyond the Mind
- Podcast
- The Alpha Male Coach Podcast
- Published
- Mar 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2520
- Processing state
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Summary
In this episode, I’m sharing the real reason I traveled to Tanzania and trekked to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro - the roof of Africa. This wasn’t a fitness goal. It wasn’t a bucket-list flex. It was a spiritual pilgrimage rooted in a story that began decades ago, back when my identity was water polo and I wore “U.S. youth team” and “junior national team” like a second skin. There was another athlete from Oregon on those teams - Jeff. We trained together, competed internationally together, and even became rivals during high school season. That kind of brotherhood doesn’t disappear. After college, Jeff chose to travel. He was offered the chance to summit Kilimanjaro. On the way to the gates, the bus taking the group went over a cliff and everyone died. Jeff never even reached the mountain. When I heard the news, something locked in: one day, I would climb that mountain. Life moved forward. Military. Fitness. Building businesses. Years went by. And then, twenty-five years later, while volunteering in hospice with terminally ill patients, one woman - lucid in her final days - looked at me and said, “Jeff came to see me.” Then she delivered the message that hit like lightning: “It’s time for you to summit the mountain.” When she said “Kilimanjaro,” I knew the time had arrived. So once Tribe Class 003 completed in December 2025, I began planning. In late January I flew to Tanzania, adjusted to the jet lag, and started the trek. And before I tell you anything else, I want to honor the people who made it possible: for 12 clients , it took 42 porters, guides, chefs, and staff carrying tents, food, tables, chairs, toilets - building camp, breaking camp, and running past us every single day to set everything up again. Respect. Gratitude. Always. Twelve of us began. Three of us…