The Climb

Hierarchy is real. Denying it is the loser’s last move.

Some are above you and some below. This is not unfair. This is the shape of the world. Get over it and start moving.

Climb your own.

Never step on another to lift yourself. The man who needs to push someone down to feel taller has already lost the climb. He is decorating a rung instead of ascending past it.

It does not matter where you are relative to anyone else. The man five rungs above you is on his climb, not yours. The man five rungs below you is not your concern.

The man who is climbing has no time to count the rungs of other men.

Just keep climbing.

Expect to get knocked down a rung. Sometimes two. Sometimes by your own hand, sometimes by the world, sometimes by a man who hates that you are still moving. This is not the end of the climb. This is the climb.

Get up. Reach for the next rung. Continue.

Nobody respects the man at the top who stopped. Nobody pities the man at the bottom who is moving.

The eyes of the world — and your own — go to the man who is climbing.

There is no ceiling. The ladder will accommodate an infinite ascent. The only question is how long you keep your hands on it.

Climb until they bury you.