by Susan Tallant/editor-in-chief

Twenty years ago, Congress passed a resolution to designate the month of March to celebrate accomplishments of women.

From Susan B. Anthony to Condoleezza Rice, each year amazing women climb new heights to help shape our country’s history.

One amazing woman who will literally climb to new heights this year is Jeanne Stawiecki, who leaves for Mount Everest tomorrow.

Stawiecki is not a politician or activist, but a courageous woman who just set a new world record for females. She completed marathons on seven continents in 141 days.

If Stawiecki is successful at Everest, she will be the first woman in the world to summit the highest peak and complete a marathon on each of the seven continents, according to a recent PR Web news release.

The amazing part about Stawiecki is that she didn’t begin her fitness regime until she was 44. After giving up her two-pack-per-day cigarette habit for financial reasons, she started exercising to prevent weight gain.

In the beginning, Stawiecki started walking, and not very fast. She gradually began to run a little at a time. Running helped relieve stress for the 56-year-old nurse.

Climbing came after she became bored with running. 

Since her first climb in 2002, she has climbed some of the tallest peaks in the world.

Stawiecki’s drive came from being tired of working two and three jobs. She always wanted to pursue her passions, but in her younger days responsibilities weighed her down.

“ I would go to work, come home, rest and leave for my second job,” she said in a LifeTwo.com interview. “Life was monotonous and predictable, or so I thought.”

Stawiecki has learned that inner dialogue makes a big difference in success.

“ I used to laugh at all of the self-help books that preached we are responsible for our own destinies by our very thoughts, but I have found this to be true,” she said.

“ Once I started to tell myself I could, my life accelerated and hasn’t slowed down since.”

I applaud Stawiecki and other women who live by the motto “never say never.”

They’ve come a long way, baby.