Inspiring Inspiration

Dear Reader,

The Banff film festival was in town this weekend. Even though I felt like I totally stuck out like a sore thumb -- I wasn't sporting any mountain gear and wasn't dawning a full and rugged beard -- I really loved it. It was totally inspiring to watch the films about people living their passion. It's a hard thing to do, it's so easy to get wrapped up in your job, the paycheck and all the other little things in life and it's so easy to just not do the things you love, to not do what you are passionate about, what speaks to your soul. Most days I feel lucky that my work is my passion, but every so often it feels like just a job. I'm sure anyone who does what they love feels this way every now and then.

But . . . maybe not. Meet Ueli Steck, the crazy alpinist also known as the swiss machine. This guy lives and dies for climbing. It's totally incredible. Granted . . . it's a fun passion, right? Be outdoors all the time, train and climb. But what was pretty crazy about his story is how he approached his passion. It was his job, and his insane drive for perfection was totally inspiring. I just kept thinking "he's literally doing the impossible" . . . that is inspiring. He said that a quote he lived by that his dad would tell him was: "Whatever it is you choose to do, do it right" (or something similar to that) So simple. So I choose design, yes it can be annoying some days, some days I feel like a short order cook and not a designer, but I love it and the passion always returns, even after the most obnoxious working day. So my goal, be okay with it getting hard, obnoxious or annoying. I'm sure Ueli doesn't wake up on a tough training day and think "oh man, I'm so happy to train again today" I'm sure he has days that the passion isn't there but the drive to be better is, and that will get you through and then you'll remember why it is you love it again.

Click here to see a segment of the film shown at the Banff Festival about Ueli.

The Banff Film Festival will be around Utah for the next few weeks, see the schedule here, I highly recommend it.

Yours, 

Amber