In 1993, I failed to summit K2, the world’s
second highest peak and, to many, one of the most challenging and deadliest mountains on earth. To be sure, the arduous nature
of summiting requires fortitude and a certain degree of madness and luck—I may have been initially short on luck. Disoriented,
injured, lost, alone, and dispirited, I wandered into the village of Korphe, in Pakistan's Karakoram mountain range, whose
kind people took me in and nursed me back to health.
Upon recovery, when I saw the children there drawing with sticks in the dirt
to do school lessons, I made an impulsive promise that I would return one day and build them a school. Although
I was then living out of my car in California and didn’t have much more than a dime to my name, I was devoted to fulfilling
my promise. And, with some luck, determination, and a growing group of people who believed in me, I was able to follow through.
The first school was built in Korphe in 1996.
Climbing a mountain has distinct goals: to reach the
top and return. My work in building schools for the children of Afghanistan and Pakistan required all of the same fortitude—but
it also needed finesse, teamwork, and heart.
Many people say to me that they could never do what I have done. That is utter
nonsense because I’ve met many people of all ages and backgrounds from across the globe who have committed themselves
to service. and they are just as likely as I was to find success. Although, based upon my background, I had a penchant for
service, I didn’t really know what I was looking for in my life until I was lost and wandered into that Pakistani village.
The rash promise I made
in 1993 has grown into a remarkable campaign in which I’ve dedicated my life to promoting education, particularly for
girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was an odd quirk of fate that I was lost before I found what truly
matters: being of benefit to others.
Do you have what it takes to choose a Path With A Heart? Maybe. I say maybe, not because
it takes any special talent, but because it takes determination, patience, and adaptability. It delivers frustration and doubt.
But through it all, it delivers unmitigated joy. I hope you will read the stories in this book from people who have made a
similar choice. Learn from their experiences and wisdom, along with their bit of madness and fulfillment—and then join
us in following a Path With A Heart!
