September 28, 2023, summit of Beinn a Chrulaiste, Glencoe, Scotland.

A client and good friend of mine - we’ll call him John - has a motto: Do hard things.

For most people, it would be just that - a motto, a slogan more political than practical, more aspirational than actionable. But not for John. In all aspects of life, he embraces the challenge, not content to take the simple route, the easy path, choosing instead to seek the way that will push him and show him what he can - and sometimes cannot - do.

So, when we found ourselves in Kingshouse along the West Highland Way - soggy and sodden in a way only hours-long, 40-degree windblown Scottish downpours can wet you - I figured it was time to up the ante a bit, to do something hard as it were.