Official Interview: David J. Mauro

[kandscreeley]

Good morning and Happy Almost 4th to those living in the U.S. It's time for another chat with Sarah. Today's victim... I mean interviewee is David J. Mauro author of The Altitude Journals.

To view the official review, click here.

To view the book on the bookshelves, click here.

To view the book on Amazon, click here.

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1. In order to get to know you better, can you tell us a bit about your life outside of writing and climbing the tallest peaks in each of the seven continents?

I make a living as a Financial Planner and portfolio manager ...mostly for Moms and Pops. I've done this for 32 years and still love it. My clients are a collection of some of the most interesting, smart, funny and caring people anywhere. Sometimes they will call me on days when the market is in free fall and their assets are vaporizing to ask how I am doing.

For one week each month I am on the road speaking as part of the promotional tour for my book, *The Altitude Journals.* The outdoor retailer REI partnered with me in my tour, providing the venue and attendees for each appearance. I've spoken at every REI from Fairbanks Alaska to Burbank California. By the time I'm done I will have spoken in all 154 stores. It's a blast! I love getting up in front of people and sharing my story. There are parts where they laugh, parts where they tear up. Writing a book is a solitary experience, so it's very fulfilling to actually connect with people in person.

I also do a fair bit of mountain climbing. I am "high pointing" now. That's a "thing" in the climbing community. It involves climbing the highest point in each state ...which can be comically low in cases like Florida or Iowa.

2. I find your life on the stage doing improv fascinating. Tell us more about that time and how it impacted your journey.

Listening is the most important skill in performance improv. You must listen very carefully to what has been established in a scene to understand the who, what and where of what is going on and what can be added. It was improv that taught me the importance of listening and the valuable mental space to say "it doesn't have to make sense now." Incredible plot lines develop in live improv, stories that no single actor could have contrived yet are magically assembled in the collective. I did about 110 shows a year during that period of my life and came to trust the unwritten. When my life hit rock bottom I made the decision to live my life offstage by the same rules I lived onstage. That, as much as anything else, set my life on the path to the top of each continent.

3. Let's dive right into your book The Altitude Journals. Obviously, just climbing these mountains is an accomplishment in and of itself. What made you decide to write about the experience?

I have always journaled. It helps me understand life and flesh out what I learn from its experiences. I noticed the journal entries becoming much more alive as I traveled to far off places and put myself in extreme circumstances, so I decided to blog those entries in the hopes that sharing them might add something to the lives of others. My followers grew in numbers with each climb. It felt very rewarding. Those journals and blogs became the framework of my book, thus the title The Altitude Journals.

4. It doesn't look like you were athletic growing up. How do you feel about being a world class athlete at age 50? What does it take to become one?

Ha! No, I wasn't an athlete as a kid. Most of my childhood was spent trying to find somewhere I might fit in and failing at the effort. I wasn't fast, tall or strong. But none of those things matter in high altitude mountain climbing. As a kid I would play this game of seeing how long I could hold my breath without anyone noticing. My Physician believes this may have aided in the development of my over-sized lungs. Most people have a capacity of 3 liters of oxygen. I hold 4 liters. As it turns out THAT is a HUGE advantage in the thin air of high altitude climbing. So there's hope for the socially outcast!

By the time I finished the 4th of the continental summits people around town had heard about me. My Acupuncture guy was treating me for an injury from the last climb when he commented aloud "world class". It hadn't occurred to me before that; that climbing the highest peaks all around the world made a person "world class". I have to say it felt really good. I wished the 5th grade version of myself could have known that was coming.

5. Your story begins at a low point in your life. Where did the strength come from to take on these mountains? What advice would you give others that are at such a low point?

The strength came from an absence of fear. I believe we are all incredibly strong. Unfortunately we are also incredibly fearful. The two cancel each other out in day to day life. Fear of failure holds us back in many many aspects of how we live. But the one point a person absolutely will not fear failure is when they are at the bottom of the barrel looking up. Think about the last time you were at that low point. Did you honestly care if you stunk at Karaoke? Did it matter that you left the house wearing the same sweats you wore the last 4 days? No. But so much is being taken away at that point that we often don't notice the tremendous gift being left in its place. For a while we do not fear failure. We are bullet-proof, immune, beyond the reach of failure. And it is in such moments that, I believe, we should choose a bold path. You might fail. But I doubt you will care. The important thing is action in the face of challenge. That in itself, that act of defiance, may become the spark that lights the torch that leads you out of the darkness.

6. You write that "Climbers who think about the summit almost never reach it." Can you tell us what that means and how that influenced your own journey up the mountains?

There is no summit that can fully justify the suffering and sacrifice required to attain it. There must be something more. There is this mantra in western culture that one must keep their "eyes on the prize", "stay focused on your goal", and any number of other verses from the gospel of linear thinking. I maintain that this perspective is not only incorrect, but it sabotages the success of many who might otherwise realize their purpose. We should all have goals, summits to reach for. But once that objective is fashioned it should be moved away, like a radio set to low volume in another room. Because any major summit involves many minor summits adding up to its moment. The climbers who reach the tops of mountains understand this and view each day as its own climb, refusing steadfast to think about or be intimidated by that which they know will follow tomorrow. Improv taught me to value the moment. Mountain climbing taught me to live it.

7. You are one of only 65 Americans to climb the 7 Summits, but you aren't a mountaineer? How is that possible?

By my definition and observation, true mountaineers just love being in the mountains. They are happiest there and would choose to be in the mountains even if there were no chance of summiting. That is not me. I went to the mountains because I felt called to them. I had come to trust those callings for the vital life lessons they invariable held, and I went to the mountains seeking those answers. I am not a mountaineer. I am a seeker.

8. You believe that love is a creation of nature, as opposed to man. How did you come by this idea and how has that influenced your life and relationships?

Some time after my divorce I met a wonderful woman and fell in love. She told me she loved me, but I could not say it back ...even though I knew I felt it. I was still trying to protect myself emotionally. Soon I felt called to climb Kilimanjaro in Africa. While there I realized that risk and return are experienced in equal measure in nature. But not so in the man made world. Man has created guardrails and laws and rules to make sure we experience little risk. In other words; the man made world is designed to allow us to take without giving. Then it occurred to me that I had been trying to experience love by the rules of the man made world and I was falling short. Love was the providence of nature, and the only way to fully know it was to risk myself completely. I professed my love and remain very much in love with this same woman today.

9. Pardon the pun, but it seems to be all downhill from here now that you've climbed these summits. What's next for you? Any more books on the horizon?

More books. More adventures. I have a nonfiction adventure book planned, as well as two works of fiction which I desperately want to dive into. "What's next?' was the question everyone asked me after Mt Everest. Well, I don't intend to better that accomplishment. That would be a foolish perspective. But there are many fine moments ahead in pedestrian circumstance and unlikely accommodations. I want to sketch those in words, frame them in barn planks, and hang them in the hallway to some restroom no one will visit.

10. Who's your favorite author?

My favorite author is the late Richard Brautigan. Fans of his work will easily recognize my tribute to him in the text of my book.

11. Gold or silver?

Gold. Not because it is more fashionable, but because my father left me several one ounce gold coins in a safety deposit box when he died. I think of him when I look at them and wonder at all that he was, all that he might have been.

12. Coffee, tea, or water?

COFFEE! When Burke Breathed was interviewed by the BBC many years ago they asked "Whatever is your inspiration?!" He responded "caffeine". That is me ..or I ..I'm not sure which ...where the hell is my Editor when I need him?!

[Tomah]

I haven't read the book yet, but this interview alone convinced me this author must have lots of inspiring stories to tell. His point about how our obsession with goals actually does more harm than good is a very wise insight to take for life. It's also fascinating to learn how late he started on this journey and still managed to become a world class climber. Great interview, thanks!

[Kansas City Teacher]

I read the book and it's one of the best ones I have ever read. No excuses, only learning from past mistakes and from more experienced climbers. I love how he and his girlfriend greeted each other at the airports.

[Nisha Ward]

I can get behind his philosophy of minor summits once you figure out the major ones. It makes a lot of sense.

[Jerry334]

Wow what great achievement you had by risking your live in exploring the highest mountain in the world.

[Etini Willie]

This man explored high altitudes in this world. He is a dogged personality that never takes No for an answer.

[NdegwaSalome]

His words reverberate clearly in my mind, and they are good ones to take into account in this journey called life. To each their own.

[Mary Ndirangu 1]

I really appreciate the author's willingness to share his story and what motivated him to write the book. I learned a lot from this interview. Great job!

[Willard Damn]

What great courage from the author this interview has taught me a lot.

[Alditr83]

life is a journey

[Ramon Scott]

Wow, super inspiring author

[Ramon Scott]

Learnt a lot of valuable lessons in this interview. Kudos to this brave author.

[Chandelier Eden]

Very valuable lesson learned. This writer certainly doesn't take, "No" for an answer. Nice interview thanks for the lessons.

[chandlermyer]

"Incredibly strong and incredibly fearful." So true. Good read.