“When you go to the mountains, you see them and you admire them. In a sense, they give you a challenge, and you try to express that challenge by climbing them.” Edmund Hillary
The year is 1953, and one day a man by the name of Edmund Percival Hillary found himself standing at the foot of Mount Everest. On the border of Nepal and Tibet in China, he stared his greatest challenge in the face, with an absolute resolve to conquer this summit. He realised Everest was the highest mountain in the world. To be precise, the summit is 8850 metres above sea level. He also knew the geography and history of this majestic wonder.
Everest is named after Sir George Everest, the well-known British Chief Land Surveyor to India between 1830-1843. It also forms part of the Himalaya mountain range that stretches for approximately 2414 kilometres. On this day, it hit Edmund Hillary that nobody before him had successfully managed to climb this mountain. Not one person had ever managed to reach the summit, and the quest that he was about to undertake would put his life at risk. Edmund Hillary chose to focus his thoughts and begin to climb Everest one step at a time. On 29 May (1953), after seven weeks of constant challenges, he became the very first mountain climber to stand on the summit of Everest. This victory had such a profound impact on Hillary’s life and it was the catalyst to his decision to dedicate the rest of his life to build hospitals and schools for the Sherpa people of Nepal.
Edmund Hillary’s story is an amazing reminder of how one brave decision can change your life so profoundly and cause your life to take on great significance. Hillary was even nominated by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the twentieth century. After Edmund Hillary’s success, many other people followed him who were able to reach Everest’s summit. Each one of these stories is fascinating and unique, but they all have this in common – that those involved in this remarkable feat were all able to experience success in other areas of their lives with greater ease.
Mountains literally refer to a natural elevation of the earth, making them noticable, remarkable and impressive. Throughout history, mountains have proved a natural challenge for people to climb. For me, mountains have taken on a somewhat figurative connotation in the light of the various challenges that surround me every day. In my mind, Everest metaphorically refers to the greatest challenge I have ever faced. Today I want to challenge you to identify your own Everest and to conquer it one step at a time. The highest mountain in your life is probably not out there somewhere, but within you. I realise that what you need to change in you is far more important than any situation, problem or challenging circumstance out there. Your “personal Everest” speaks to what you need to change in yourself. Perhaps you feel like you have tried to change so often without success. Most of us know what we need to do to change but fail to understand the power and process that makes it possible for us. Circumstances cause us to believe that we cannot change. One of the most liberating truths to powerfully impact my life was discovering an attitude of faith – how important it is and how simple it is to establish.
We all have a dream, a place that is higher than our current position that we desire to reach in our life’s journey. The challenge is breaking through the everyday or ordinary to the extraordinary in yourself. Success in life is determined by whether you can be the best version of yourself. When you can get that right, you feel alive but if you can’t get that right you feel trapped, unhappy and robbed of your place and purpose in life. The journey to a better you begins with yourself!