The journey of Emily Ford is astounding.

This girl and a borrowed dog spent 70 days through hiking the 1200 mile Ice Age Trail that wraps around the state of Wisconsin. She did it alone. She did it in the dead of winter, finishing her journey at the beginning of this month. She braved -40 temperatures, blizzards, wolves, wolf-hunts, and unseen predators in the woods.

Why do people like Emily Ford do things like this?

Nobody forced her to hike a grueling trail in the dead of a Wisconsin winter.

She didn't get paid for it.
She didn't get a ton of recognition for it. (Apparently her Instagram account blew up?)

Emily is only the second person to through-hike this trail in the winter time.

The journey to greatness begins at the precise moment our preferences for comfort and certainty are overruled by a greater purpose. A purpose that requires contribution. A purpose that forces challenge. A purpose that clarifies meaning.

Emily Ford chose to hard things.

You can choose to do hard things. It means pulling down the idols of comfort and certainty first.