Conversations: Susan Ershler, author of "Together on Top of the World"

Susan Ershler, wife, businesswoman, motivational speaker, skilled climber, fitness guru, and author of “Together on Top of the World” takes time out of her busy schedule to talk with ME: IN FOCUS.

By Becky Lerner

 

 
BECKY: What first started your interest in climbing?

SUSAN: Well I was 35-years-old when I met my husband. He is an international mountain guide, and he just introduced me to it. So he took me to Mount Rainier which is near where we lived in Washington. Climbing it was very difficult but it’s that sense of accomplishment when you reach the top. You either get hooked, or you don’t; and I got hooked.

BECKY: So at what point did you decide to climb the Seven Summits?

SUSAN: At first it was pretty much just “take a vacation from work.” I started taking vacations and climbing with Phil around the world. Then we started doing Mount McKinley in Alaska, the highest in North America, and Aconcagua in South America, highest in the western hemisphere. Once I had climbed four of the seven summits, I just decided to climb the rest.

BECKY: You were a very successful sales executive during your ten year stint with climbing. How did you maintain a balance between work and your personal goals?

SUSAN: That was probably the biggest challenge. For me it really comes down to extreme focus. The year that I was training for Mount Everest, I really narrowed it down to two numbers: 29,000 feet which is Everest and 300 million was my business revenue objective that year.

Every morning I started with making sure everything I was doing was leading towards one of those objectives. If it didn’t, I didn’t do it. You can have a vision to do these things and I certainly have that vision. But, you know, I’ve had other visions like everyone else has and haven’t committed to it. When you really commit to it is when you do it.

BECKY: What did you learn while training for your climbs that helped you succeed in your career and vice versa?

SUSAN: I’m going to go back to McKinley. You have to carry a huge pack on your back and drag a sled. My problem was always carrying a lot of stuff, and I’m five foot two. I got in there and was like “I don’t know if I can do this.” What Phil told me was, “Quit thinking about the summit for a minute. Just get to the first camp. We’ll stay there overnight and climb to the second camp tomorrow, and we’ll just keep doing that.” What he did was break it down into pieces, and that’s huge for business. If you can break it down into manageable pieces, day-to-day, it’s so much easier.

That’s why I think a lot of dreams don’t get fulfilled because if it looks impossible we have a tendency to walk away. It happens in climbing, it happens in business. It’s just our nature.

BECKY: I know your husband has fought, and continues fighting, some serious illness. How do you think that has played into your drive to reach The Impossible?

SUSAN: Phil has absolutely gone through health challenges. Crohn’s disease, and then he’s had colon cancer and prostate cancer and he fought all that and is still out there climbing at 59-years-old. One thing that came out of that was when he was really bad at one point, and I’ve never dealt with cancer before but I knew when you’re dealing in a crisis, one thing you want to do is focus on the future. So I wrote on a card, “I am guiding and climbing strong” to concentrate on the future not focus so much on what’s happening now.

BECKY: What would you say were your biggest hurdles to overcome both professionally and personally?

SUSAN: Personally, or both really, truly getting the time to train and to fit it all in. Trying to have a life was honestly the biggest challenge. I had to get away from time-wasters. Watching too much TV, long commutes, I had to get rid of all that.

Professionally, I was in the tech world and I started in the 80’s, so it was very male-dominated and also it was sales so it was a hard-driving business. I needed to drive results because it was the only way, I believe, back then I could be part of that world and fit in.

BECKY: Tell me about your fitness competitions.

SUSAN: Truthfully, I wanted to lose a little bit of weight. This aging, metabolism slowing down thing is no fun! I know things change, but I’ve tried to stay the same size I was in college. So I did what I did with climbing. I needed to commit which meant I needed to sign up for something. I had gotten into weight lifting a little bit. So I thought, why not sign up for a fitness contest?

BECKY: What goes into your training regimen?

SUSAN: Three days of weights and one day off, so I’m doing weight training around six days a week. At least five days of cardio and one, for me, is always a hike. I started spin classes which I do at least three days a week, and I do the Stepmill which I think is the most effective cardio machine in the gym. The biggest thing is the diet… and that’s the hardest for me! I was working out all through my adulthood because I love to eat! But you can only get so far with that. It can take an hour to run off a bagel. Diet is really 80% of it.

BECKY: What do you think is the single most important element to staying fit and healthy?

SUSAN: I do think diet and working out go hand-in-hand. You don’t want to destroy your workouts by eating like crap. The most important aspect to staying fit is working out. But cardio is invaluable because you must work your heart. Look at all the heart attacks and strokes out there. I know fitness, or a lack thereof, is not the only contributing factor—genetics play a role—but you don’t want to add to it, so cardio is essential.

BECKY: So true. Lets change pace a bit. Give me five items in your closet that you can’t live without.

SUSAN: I’ve lived in the Northwest all my life. So since high school I’ve shopped at Nordstrom. So what happened I got hooked on it in high school… So I frequent the sportswear section and I love beautiful workout stuff like Lululemon or Zella’s, which is Nordstrom’s brand. Then I have a beautiful Coach bag that I love. I just bought a gorgeous Rebecca Stevens dress and I love it. Seven for all Mankind jeans. Finally, I do an awful lot of speaking, so I love nice suits like Ellie Tahari or Classiques.

BECKY: So, what’s next for you?

SUSAN: I spent the first half of my life going after my dreams. And I feel really fortunate to have had that opportunity. In looking at that I decided I wanted to help other people go after important things in their life. So, I go out and do key note speaking.

I also support the American Himalayan Foundation. It supports little girls in Nepal starting at age 8 to stay in school. When they take a girl in, they support her through high school. They have a huge problem with trafficking out there. So if we can keep them in school, I think that maybe we can help reduce that. I give a percentage of everything I do to the foundation and I try to promote their message. I’m trying to help them with making it visible enough so more people are aware and can get involved. That’s, of course, where we climbed. We climbed the Nepal side of Everest so that’s how I learned about it and connected.

BECKY: If someone was playing with the idea of going after one of their Impossibles, what would you tell them?

SUSAN: I reduce everything in business and climbing to three things: Project, as in project your future. Prepare, put the plan together because you must have a plan and you must have a current plan. And persevere. Persevere is often the difference between a person who reaches their dreams and someone who does not. What it comes down to is how much pain you’re able to put up with, because there will be obstacles. You can’t avoid it. So deal with it, it’s only temporary. I think we’ve all done it, and maybe sometimes it just doesn’t feel worth it. But if you’re really serious about turning a dream into reality, then you have to be serious about pushing through the pain.

BECKY: Any additional information you’d like to share?

SUSAN: Well if anyone wants any additional information, I have two sites. The first is susanershler.com, and the next one is togetherontop.com. That’s the name of our book, too, of course. “Together on Top.”

Comments

[Nike Air Max 2011]

As an example, what exactly is the good reaction to a horrible fiscal setback? On this predicament wouldn't it be the constructive reaction to copout and runaway? Escape via alcohol, drug, or suicide? No! This kind of unfavorable reactions only produce larger difficulties by promising a short-term remedy to the urgent issue.

[oakley outlet]

5252<>Snow changes the tree-climbing experience. Adventurous tree climbers grab their ropes and head for the trees while most folks scoot closer to the fireplace as snow falls. The latter don’t know what they are missing.

[MBT Shoes]

I just realized I'll still be typing next week if I keep talking about the great stuff we've gotten, so I'm going to list it!

[moncler shoes]

I really, really enjoyed this. The humor works brilliantly, and the animation is much better than I had imagined. The way you have “blended” (hehe) it all together makes this look like a solid, whole product, as good as any Pixar short. Probably better. But then again: That’s my opinion.
http://www.downjacket2011.com/

[moncler shoes]

I really, really enjoyed this. The humor works brilliantly, and the animation is much better than I had imagined. The way you have “blended” (hehe) it all together makes this look like a solid, whole product, as good as any Pixar short. Probably better. But then again: That’s my opinion.
http://www.downjacket2011.com/