Standing On Top Of The World

I have always been interested in understanding human potential.

How do we get there?

What does it really take?

Are the things that people accomplish...

Truly superhuman...

Or is it within our grasp, so long as we choose to take hold?

Understanding these types of questions has both driven my work...

As well as how I try to approach my life.

To get to the essence of these types of questions, though...

You need to seek out those who define human potential.

Not in theory...

In reality.

In how they live...

In what they accomplish.

About 8 years ago, there was someone who came onto my radar as an individual to pay attention to...

Alex Honnold.

He was already considered one of the best athletes within his domain...

But it is a domain that, perhaps, did not get enough attention at the time.

Rock climbing.

But for Alex, it was not just any type of rock climbing...

He is a Free Solo Climber.

What this means is that he will climb mountains...

Without any gear...

At all.

No ropes.

No bags.

No clips.

Just him and the wall...

And if he has a single misstep...

Dead.

Literally.

In 2018, he made a documentary of the most difficult free solo climbs ever...

El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

If you have not seen it, I highly recommend watching it.

Alex defined a new area of Human Potential during that climb.

However...

That was not enough for him.

He had another dream...

Taipei 101.

One of the tallest buildings in the world.

He had been thinking about climbing this tower for over a decade.

And he was given the opportunity.

Now, this is where things get interesting.

If Alex were to be successful in doing a free solo climb of Taipei 101...

It would set the new record for urban climbing.

Now, Alex had successfully climbed higher with the El Capitan Climb...

914 meters compared to Taipei 101's 508 meters...

But...

It is a very different type of climb.

To understand, you have to understand a little bit about friction.

To climb upward, you need to create a certain amount of friction to prevent yourself from slipping and falling...

In Alex's case, to his death.

Now, our fingers have some natural grooves which help create friction.

With El Capitan, the rocks have a significant degree of friction, which helps with creating the grip needed to continue upward.

With Taipei 101...

He would be climbing up metal and windows...

Significantly smoother materials, which make friction difficult or impossible to attain.

This would mean that Alex would be required to use significantly more muscle to create enough grip...

With just his body...

To make up for the lack of friction from the material of the building.

Not to mention the natural grime and grease that accumulate on the building that Alex would be forced to overcome.

But more than this...

He was going to do it live.

When Alex did the El Capitan climb, he had a camera crew, and that was a different experience for him as he noted throughout the documentary...

But this time he would have crowds of people...

Cheering...

Watching...

Waiting...

To see if he would make it to the top...

Or if it would be the end of a life.

Not to mention that, with it being live...

People from around the globe would be watching as well.

There is no record of that type of pressure for such a world-breaking event.

Alex is also now 40 years old.

What does this mean?

He would be making one of the most difficult climbs of his life...

Requiring more muscle and grip strength than previous climbs...

At a stage in life when most people's bodies are beginning to deteriorate.

Now, if you have followed my work, I believe that we as human beings "should" be able to continue to improve our bodies well into our 40's and perhaps beyond...

But so many people fail to utilize their bodies correctly that the "norm" today is deterioration.

All this signifies, though, is that the average of an extremely sick population is poor...

It does not necessarily represent what the average of a truly healthy person "should" be.

But for Alex...

He could not rely on a "theoretical" idea of what a healthy person "should" be like...

He "needed" to actually "be" that truly healthy...

He "needed" to break beyond today's averages...

Or die.

When you begin a free solo climb...

There is no turning back.

You either complete it...

Or you hope that your obituary speaks well of you.

The climb...

Was set for January 24, 2026.

But...

Nature had a different plan.

Wet weather came through, putting a delay on the event.

Now here is the thing...

When you are prepared to begin a difficult event...

The body ramps itself up to get going...

But...

If there is a delay...

It can cause all sorts of different psychological effects.

Doubts...

Fears...

Tensions...

And these can cause physical effects too.

The kinds of effects that can turn the probable into the impossible.

How long did Alex have to wait?

24 Hours.

But...

That did not deter Alex.

Today, January 25th, 2026...

He climbed.

Smooth.

Precise.

Intentional.

Alex's wife stood by, paying attention to the climb.

She said he was going faster than anticipated...

But it looked like it was going well.

This is not an uncommon experience when people compete.

When you train all out...

You begin to get a feel and understanding for most factors at play...

And can begin to accurately figure out how things will play out.

But...

When you attempt something never done before...

The factors are different...

The more factors that are different...

The less accurate the estimates become...

And often...

When the adrenaline of the moment strikes...

People move at faster paces than they believed possible.

I have felt the same type of experience in many types of races over the years.

But the difference for Alex...

Is that if he moved "too" fast...

Wasted through his energy stores early on in his climb...

He could compromise his entire climb...

And with it his life.

There is another factor that can also play out, though...

The extra burst.

We all have natural limits...

Often determined by our training and efforts.

But something that can occur...

Is that in defining moments...

We somehow seem to be able to break the natural limits.

The classic example of this is the mother who lifts the car off of their child...

A real phenomenon that has been documented.

But that is not an infinite pool of potential...

It is a burst that allows us to break through limits in just a short period of time.

Which would it be for Alex?

It would be determined during his climb...

One way...

Or the other.

Indeed...

He climbed.

Higher and higher.

Taking breaks to clean grime off his hands and shoes...

Describing how he was doing to the live announcers...

Making faces and waving at the many fans that stood in the windows of the climb.

He overcame milestone...

After milestone...

Until the top was nearly in sight...

But this point...

When the end is so near...

Is the most dangerous zone.

It is when many people become so relieved to see the end...

That they pay a little less attention...

Their technique slips ever so slightly...

And it changes everything for the worse.

Athletes have lost first place in these types of moments...

Over 50% of accidents happen within 5 miles of the driver's home...

But for Alex...

If his technique changed in those final moments...

He would have no more moments in his life.

What kind of mindset is required to keep yourself in the moment?

When everything is on the line?

Is Alex out of his mind?

Why would he put himself into this situation...

Where one singular mistake...

Is the end of everything?

Here is what most people fail to understand...

When people push themselves to these types of extremes...

It is not because they are out of their minds.

People who are out of their minds are the people who do not survive in these types of situations.

Rather...

What becomes required in these types of situations...

Is to become hyper-logical.

It is an aspect of the psychophysiological state of flow.

In a flow state...

Certain areas of our brains "turn off" so that energy can be diverted into other areas of our brains.

The voice of self-consciousness...

Is in a part of the brain that becomes silent in these types of moments...

So that the area of our brain that focuses on problem-solving can become maximized...

And so that every drop of energy that is needed throughout the body is directed to the muscles required to live.

Now, how long do Flow States tend to last?

On average...

Anywhere from 50 to 90 minutes...

Assuming you are not ripped out of flow due to distractions.

This is another interesting aspect of Alex's climb...

Why?

He mentioned that he would use the start of his climb as a "warmup"...

And Alex completed the climb...

In 91 minutes and 43 seconds.

Essentially, the total time for a flow state.

Now...

This is what is important to understand about Alex's entire journey...

Is what he accomplished absolutely incredible?

Yes.

But is it superhuman?

No.

Now, you might be able to say that it is hyper-human...

What all humans could accomplish "if" they dedicated themselves to their crafts.

If you were to prepare your body...

Figure out how to get into flow states nearly on command...

Prepare properly...

Understand and respect your human capabilities...

Keep yourself healthy...

These are the types of things that we should be able to accomplish as humans.

Will all humans do this?

No.

Sadly, few people dedicate themselves to such levels in anything.

But...

What Alex Honnold has done...

Yet again...

Is help us to understand what defines human potential.

---

Are You Ready to Go Beyond Leadership?

Tired of Broken Algorithms and AI Slop?

Excited to Dive Deeper into Psychophysiological Mastery?

Want to Change The World?

The Seeking Sageship Newsletter is for You!

Click Here to Subscribe for Free!