Success Mountain
Once upon a time, a group of ambitious men decided they wanted to do something great with their lives. While considering what that might be, they heard about a mountain that took forty years to climb.
It was called Success Mountain.
Apparently, no one had ever reached the summit, and whoever did would be guaranteed immortality—their name etched into history.
For a year, the men prepared everything they would need for the ascent. Then, they set out to do what no one had ever done before.
After forty years of relentless climbing, the men finally reached the top of Success Mountain. Some were now seventy or eighty years old, but they had made it.
After about an hour of celebration, they realised it would take another forty years to climb back down—and they would all be dead by then.
As this realisation sank in, the men looked at one another, tears welling in their eyes. The feeling of success was fleeting—perhaps even hollow—and they had given their entire lives for this one goal.
One man, who had experienced a spiritual awakening halfway up the mountain and already understood what the others were only just beginning to see, shared this quote from his journal:
‘People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.’
On hearing this, the men wept like children. They had achieved what they had set out to do, but now saw that it had ultimately been a waste of life.
Some fell ill and never recovered. Others, too, experienced a spiritual awakening—and found peace in the God who was everywhere, even at the top of that accursed mountain.
Though they would never make it back to society, their message did. It read:
‘Do not climb the mountain of success believing you will be satisfied once you reach the top. Only climb this mountain once your soul is satisfied in heavenly things. Otherwise, you may waste the best years of your life chasing what you could have today.’
Fables: On Liberty, the Spirit World, and the Growth of the Soul by Alexander McConnell available on Amazon. Click the image to order your copy today.