Local climber Erik Weihenmayer admits he had moments of doubt in trying to become the first blind person to summit Mount Everest.
Searching for mental strength, he often repeated a Tibetan quote: “The nature of the mind is like water. If you do not disturb it, it will become clear.”
Weihenmayer, who summited Everest in May 2001, shared his remarkable story Wednesday with more than 300 Colorado businesspeople at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual Colorado Business Show at the Colorado Convention Center.
Whether you’re climbing mountains or negotiating in boardrooms, teamwork is the key to success, said Weihenmayer, 36, who lost his eyesight at age 13.
“There is something beyond independence – that’s interdependence. I knew what would get me to the summit was the help of the people that I surrounded myself with,” he said.
“I think mountains are too big for most of us to climb alone,” said Weihenmayer, who lives in Golden. “People may have different goals and different motives, but when they’re linked by one vision, the scope and power of that team is unstoppable.”
Weihenmayer, who wrote the book “Touch the Top of the World,” has found a second successful career as an inspirational speaker. In the past five years, he has averaged about 60 speaking engagements annually for corporations such as Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch and Google.
Representatives of both Dex Media, sponsor of Wednesday’s speech, and Weihenmayer declined to say what he was paid for the speech. Leading Authorities, a Washington, D.C., speakers bureau, books his speeches. According to its website, his local fees range from $30,001 to $50,000.
Jason Kennedy, a major account executive at DHL Express in Denver, said he was going to hang a signed copy of Weihenmayer’s photo above his desk.
“Then every time I’m feeling like things are overwhelming and I can’t accomplish my goals, I can look up and be reminded of all he was able to accomplish,” he said.
The breakfast address kicked off the chamber’s annual business conference and trade show.
Denver-based LOGOS Your Way Inc. was a first-time participant in the show, which featured more than 175 exhibitors, including Frontier Airlines and Xcel Energy.
“We wanted to get our name out there locally,” said LOGOS sales director Linda Stephens. “Hopefully, this will drum up some new business for us.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
And the winners are …
Award winners in the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s 2005 Colorado Business Show:
Emerging Business of the Year: Echo Concepts Inc.
Minority-Owned Business of the Year: Samuel Engineering Inc.
Nonprofit Organization of the Year: YouthBiz
Small Business of the Year: Mancinelli’s Auto Repair Center
David E. Bailey Small Business Advocate Award: Carolyn Love, principal, Kebaya Coaching-
Consulting
Small Business Administration’s Colorado Small Business Person of the Year: Walter W. Huang, founder of Dragon Gourmet Enterprises, Huang Technology Center and American Real Estate College
