A great method for motivating myself day to day is to spend a little time watching and listening to individuals who have conquered much bigger obstacles and taken far more serious risks than I encounter regularly. Many people will call these performers/artists/athletes madmen or insane, but watching someone stare death in the eyes and take their lives into their own hands, trusting their own skills and knowledge to keep them alive, I can't help but find that a little inspiring.
I dont really know the story behind this one but I showed it to a few people at work and we all agreed, its fucking crazy. Most people are quick to dismiss these guys as absolutely nuts, but its not everyday you meet people who do things that require this much gravitas. They have to be in a totally different headspace. I'm guessing that after hanging off a building doing a few pull ups with a 70+ story plunge beneath you the next traffic jam or long line at the bank won't stress you out too much. It reminds me of the line from fight club about fighting 'turning the volume down' on the rest of your life. These dudes have to be on mute.
The epic Alain Robert. This guy is truely amazing. Imagine having already made a name for yourself in rock climbing, then going on to free hand climb more than eighty of the worlds tallest buildings, each time risking guarenteed death if you make one mistake. Now, while were pretending, imagine you also have permanent vertigo from a near 50 foot fall from when you were twenty. Thats life for Alain Robert. Massive fearlessness.
This is Greg Gasson. He's jumping out of a plane... holding a parachute... not wearing a parachute... holding it. Just watching this makes some kind of little muscles twitch in the back of my neck, just a little slip and it would be a huge fall... with plenty of time to think about what you had just done. It looks like he works as a stuntman now, and skydiving cameraman. Not too suprised to find he bailed out of the computer programming industry. Doesn't quite seem his speed.
Now, we have Dean Potter, walking the Lost Arrow Spire. Located in Yosemite National Park. Its about 3,000 feet up and 55 feet across. No safety line. Slacklining is a great activity for cultivating some mind/body balancing. You can do it two feet off the ground or three thousand. Anyway, Dean Potter is a total pro and as a double bonus, a clip of him doing a fusion of base jumping and highlining that he calls 'baselining'. Breath-taking.
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