An ode to hard work, creativity, and mountains

I grew up in a time and place where hard work was valued and creative work was misunderstood. If you're a millennial growing up in the Central or Eastern Europe, I'm sure you can relate. I was never forbidden from playing drums or basketball, but I often did it in hiding just to avoid those disapproving grandpa looks that screamed "You're not working!"

My memories from early youth are cloudy at best. I can't recall we ever discussed career aspirations as I was growing up. Work, yes. Long term careers, never. However, there is one story I vividly remember. It's about a mountain Peca and a photographer, Tomo Jeseničnik.

Peca is a beautiful mountain, standing at 2,126 meters tall, it's the highest peak in the eastern Karawanks. It rests at the border between Slovenia and Austria. You had to be very fit to climb it.

I am paraphrasing heavily here, but I remember my grandmother cheerfully praising Tomo's achievement as a photographer. Supposedly, Tomo climbed Peca numerous times just to snatch one great shot of it. That took several ascends hauling his heavy photo gear up the mountain in the middle of the night, waiting for that spectacular sunrise. Tomo was a perfectionist – he needed to time that moment perfectly. Since the weather is unpredictable at high altitude, he often returned without pressing the shutter once. But with his work ethic and persistence, he prevailed and his work was eventually published in a world-renowned magazine.

Why were we so in awe of Tomo's work, despite the general disdain of creative pursuit? Honestly, I'm not sure. Maybe it was the realization that creativity takes hard work. Maybe it was the sheer stamina required for climbing the mountain. Maybe the admiration only came afterward — once he had the bragging rights for publishing his work. Or maybe it was simply because he's related to my grandmother.

The point of this post is… creativity often requires hard work. It's just harder to measure because it isn't linear. It's countless failed attempts. It's powering through the brain fog and showing up consistently. Oftentimes we get nothing, but over time it adds up to something meaningful if you stick with it.

PS: If climbing Peca intrigues you, you might want to consider signing up for a k24 trail running race.