Sir Edmond Hillary was the first man to reach the summit on Mt. Everest in 1953 after unsuccessfully attempting it in 1951. He spent years training for it by climbing other mountains and he dealt with extreme weather conditions when he reached both the North and South Poles on expeditions.
What a lot of people don’t know is that when Edmond reached the summit he only stayed there looking down on the world for 15 minutes. Think about this, years of training and a climb that had harrowing moments, and it was for 15 minutes of being on top of the world.
Edmond was asked about this and he said just reaching the top was all he needed; he had to know if he could do it. He said it was all about the challenge and the character building that occurs when you push yourself beyond anyone’s expectations including your own. Edmond said it’s the climb that matters regardless of what that proverbial climb is for each of us. He also said that most people who have achieved a major goal in their lives knows the joy itself is short-lived; it’s the person you become along the way that ends up positively changing your life forever; it’s all about the climb.
What a lot of people don’t know is that when Edmond reached the summit he only stayed there looking down on the world for 15 minutes. Think about this, years of training and a climb that had harrowing moments, and it was for 15 minutes of being on top of the world.
Edmond was asked about this and he said just reaching the top was all he needed; he had to know if he could do it. He said it was all about the challenge and the character building that occurs when you push yourself beyond anyone’s expectations including your own. Edmond said it’s the climb that matters regardless of what that proverbial climb is for each of us. He also said that most people who have achieved a major goal in their lives knows the joy itself is short-lived; it’s the person you become along the way that ends up positively changing your life forever; it’s all about the climb.
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