The Real Summit Wasn’t Machu Picchu

Sep 22

SEPTEMBER 29, 2025

Growth doesn’t come from holding it all together. It comes from having the courage to admit when you can’t.

Find one safe place, or one trusted person, where you can lay it down and say the thing you’ve been carrying in silence.

I’ve been back from hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for about 6 weeks now. And truth is: I don’t think I’ve fully landed yet.

We hiked through 16,000+ feet in altitude, endless stories, and (of course) breakdowns along the way. But the hardest part wasn’t the steep switchbacks or the thin air. It was what we had to face in ourselves.

The limits we’ve been carrying.
The roles we’ve been performing.
The truth we’ve been avoiding.

One of the leaders on the trip, someone who’s built and sold multiple startups, stopped mid-hike, sat down on a rock, and said quietly:

“I’m always the one people come to. And I don’t know how to say I’m not okay.”

That landed. Because I know that feeling. And I know how many of us are carrying it… quietly.

Leadership teaches you to hold it all. But it rarely gives you the space to set it down.

That’s what this climb became. Not just a retreat. A release.

Machu Picchu was the destination. But the real summit was having the courage to be honest, with ourselves and with each other.

And now that I’m back, I don’t want to lose that.

Key Idea

The real summit isn’t the mountain you climb, it’s the truth you’re willing to face. Growth doesn’t come from holding it all together. It comes from having the courage to admit when you can’t.

Takeaway

Find one safe place, or one trusted person, where you can lay it down and say the thing you’ve been carrying in silence.

Build your Movement

What truth are you ready to stop carrying alone?