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" The next morning, two others returned to the two stricken climbers’ position. After chipping blocks of ice off their faces, they reported them to be breathing, but severely frostbitten and ‘as close to death as a human being can be’.
The call once again was made to leave them for dead. The climbers trudged back to camp and reported the deaths.
But then something incredible happened. Beck Weathers opened his eyes.
Beck says he saw his wife and kids standing in front of him, calling out to him.
This was the ember.
He slowly dragged himself to his feet and started stumbling forward.
He was completely blind in one eye, which was frozen shut by the cold, and had a visibility range of barely two feet in the other eye. His entire body was like ice, and he was crippled by altitude sickness. Yet he kept stumbling on.
Finally, against all odds, Beck Weathers lurched into camp.
Beck lost both his hands and his nose to frostbite, yet that tiny ember that burnt within him, that ember of hope from his family, was all he needed to get up and to move.
That ember saved his life.
Never underestimate the human spirit. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
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" 23. Honour The Journey, Not the Destination
As a team, when we came back from Everest, so often the first question someone would ask us was: ‘Did you make it to the summit?’
I was lucky - unbelievably lucky - to have reached that elusive summit, which also allowed me to reply to that summit question with a ‘yes’. My best buddy Mick found the question much harder, as a ‘no’ didn’t tell even part of his incredible story.
He might not have made it to the very top of Everest, but he was as near as damn it. For three months we had climbed alongside each other, day and night. Mick had been involved in some real heroics up high when things had gone wrong, he had climbed with courage, dignity and strength, and he had reached within 300 feet (90 metres) of the summit.
Yet somehow that didn’t count in the eyes of those who asked that ironically unimportant question: ‘Did you reach the top?’
For both of us, the journey was never about the summit. It was a journey we lived through together; we held each other’s lives in our hands every day, and it was an incredible journey of growth. The summit I only ever saw as a bonus.
When we got that question on our return, I often got more frustrated for Mick than he did. He was smart and never saw it as a failure. He’d tell you that he was actually lucky - for the simple reason that he survived where four others that season had died.
You see, Mick ran out of oxygen high up on the final face of Everest at some 28,000 feet (8,500 metres). Barely able to move, he crawled on all fours. Yet at that height, at the limit of exhaustion, he slipped and started to tumble down the sheer ice face.
He told me he was certain he would die.
By some miracle he landed on a small ledge and was finally rescued when two other climbers found him.
Four other climbers hadn’t been so lucky. Two had died of the cold and two had fallen. Everest is unforgiving, especially when the weather turns.
By the time I was back with Mick, down at Camp Two a couple of days later, he was a changed man. Humbled, grateful for life, and I had never loved him so much.
So when everyone at home was asking him about the summit, or sympathizing with him for narrowly missing out, Mick knew better. He should have died up there. He knew he was plain lucky to be alive.
‘Failure had become his blessing, and life had become a great gift to him.
And those are great lessons that many never learn - because you can only learn them through a life-changing journey, regardless of the destination.
Consider the billionaire who flies into the South Pole for an hour to ‘experience’ it, compared to the man who has toiled, sweated and struggled across hundreds and hundreds of miles of ice, dragging a humble sledge.
You see, it is the journey that makes the man.
And life is all about our growth, not our trophies. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
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" 1. Have a Dream
This isn’t a get-rich-quick book - this is an insider’s guide on how to follow your heart, and live an empowered, effective, fun-filled life. And in a contest between the two, there is only ever one real winner.
The place to start this life journey is with finding your dream.
Dreams are powerful. They are among those precious few intangibles that have inspired men and women to get up, go to hell and back, and change the world.
And I’m not talking about the sort of fantasy dreams that can’t physically happen - I am talking about the sort of dream that will inspire you, one that you are really prepared to sweat for, in order to make it become your reality.
This quote from T.E. Lawrence means a lot to me:
All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
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" My grandfather always had a little framed picture by his bed that simply said:
There is always music in the garden, but our hearts have to be still enough to hear it.
So every once in a while, take out your backpack and head off for a night under canvas. Even if it’s only for one night, and even if it’s only in your garden.
Nature and the outdoors are a universal and deep-rooted language that we can all pick up once we get immersed.
Once you have learnt to tie a bowline or cook a simple meal over a fire that you’ve built yourself, you’ll never forget it. I mean, who doesn’t want to learn how to make fire without matches? It is one of the greatest and oldest of human achievements.
These skills and experiences are so deep-rooted in our subconscious that it is no surprise that they calm us. It is about being true to who we all are. And to remind ourselves of this, every now and again, is always going to better our lives.
So camp out, enjoy some stories, watch a bit of nature’s TV (that’s a fire, by the way), eat simple food with your fingers, drink some wine and chat to those you love, and then lie back and soak in some quiet time under the night sky: it is restorative. You don’t need to be in Fiji to get restored!
The only thing I would add to all this is once a year to watch a sunrise. It is good for the mind, body and spiritual health: to get up early and watch the sun appear quietly over the horizon, with no fuss, no fanfare - a gentle, warming, calm reminder that the world, at its heart, is wonderful, and that life is truly a gift.
Never underestimate the power of simple pleasures like this to restore and inspire you. It is part of how we are made. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
150
" This quote from T.E. Lawrence means a lot to me:
All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.
Our job is to be the dangerous type. The one who dreams by day and acts to make those dreams come alive and actually happen.
So take some time to get this right. Go for a long walk. Think big. Think about what really makes you smile.
Ask yourself what you would do if you didn’t need the money. Ask yourself what really excites you. Ask what would inspire you to keep going long after most people would quit.
Find those answers and therein lies your dream. We all have our own personal Everest, and if we follow its calling, that is when life truly becomes an adventure.
Now, obviously your dream needs to be realistic and achievable, so use your common sense and exercise good judgement - but don’t confuse realism with pessimism! Think big, make sure it is physically possible, and as long as the key ingredients to achieving it are vision and hard work, then go for it.
Write it down. Pin it on your wall - somewhere you will see it every day.
Words and pictures have power.
Got it?
OK, we have begun… "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
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" 35. Seek Out Motivation
Over the years, I’ve noticed that people can be quite snobby about books like this. So-called ‘self-help’ books. They can be just as mocking of the people who read them or go to motivational talks.
Their main criticism of the kind of books and talks that motivate and inspire people is that the impact is often fleeting - that the effects of the book or talk don’t last.
My response is to say: of course it is fleeting, of course it is temporary. But so are the effects of washing your armpits - that’s why you should wash them every day!
Likewise with motivation - we have to have it every day. We have to fill ourselves up to overflowing with the good stuff, because the daily grind wears us down and dirties us up.
The trick with motivation is to make it part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Do it, absorb it - every day.
So, drown out the bad with the good. Blast away the negative with the positive. Refill the jug as much as you can. Don’t run your tank on empty but fill up at every possible opportunity with fresh, clean, good motivational fuel that will keep you soaring down the race track to the best of your ability.
It’s not rocket science to understand that the more good we put into our mind and bodies (such as eating good, healthy food), then the better results we get out in return. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
154
" One of the books that has had the most influence on me is a little manual called
Rhinoceros Success
by Scott Alexander. I know, it’s a weird title, but give it a read. I read it first when I was 12 years old and I still read it once a year to this day.
It teaches you in life to be like a rhino - to have a single purpose, to charge at obstacles and goals with total commitment and to develop a thick skin to deal with the slings and arrows that try to slow you down.
Still to this day, Shara loves to buy me things for my birthday with a rhino on. Lampshades, slippers, cushions, door knobs…you name it. In fact, it’s become a bit of a family joke to get me the most obscure rhino trinket they can find. But it means that at home wherever I look I am reminded of the simple (and fun!) truths of the book.
They are all daily reminders to me to be a rhino in life.
So find a way, whatever way works for you, of making motivation part of your daily life. Write notes to yourself on your bathroom mirror, keep a book that inspires you next to the loo, and feed your mind with the good whenever you can.
If you do this every day, it’ll soon become a habit. A good habit. One that empowers you every day to climb high, aim big, and have fun along the way. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
155
" 12. Know Yourself
The most sacred place in the ancient world was the oracle at Delphi in central Greece. Kings, warriors and envoys travelled from across the known world to hear the prophecies of the oracle.
Above the gates at Delphi, a short inscription greeted every weary traveler:
Know thyself.
This simple advice was considered the most important piece of knowledge anyone could possess. And to understand what the oracle told you, you first had to understand yourself.
There is good reason for this: if we do not know our own mind, our dreams, strengths and failings, how can we reach the heights we seek? We become like a ship with no rudder.
Which is why knowing yourself is so important: it helps you make decisions that make you happier, because you end up pursuing goals that are true to your very nature and core. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
156
" 55. The Risk: Reward Ratio
In mountaineering, climbers become very familiar with the ‘risk: reward ratio’.
There are always crunch times on a mountain when you have to weigh up the odds for success against the risks of cold, bad weather or avalanche. But in essence the choice is simple - you cannot reach the big summits if you do not accept the big risks.
If you risk nothing, you gain nothing.
The great climbers know that great summits don’t come easy - they require huge, concerted, continuous effort. But mountains reward real effort. So does life and business.
Everything that is worthwhile requires risk and effort. If it was easy, then everyone would succeed.
Having a big goal is the easy bit. The part that separates the many from the few is how willing you are to go through the pain. How able you are to hold on and to keep going when it is tough?
The French Foreign Legion, with whom I once did simulated basic training in the deserts of North Africa, describe what it takes to earn the coveted cap, the képi blanc cap: ‘A thousand barrels of sweat.’
That is a lot of sweat! Trust me.
But ask any Legionnaire if it was worth it and I can tell you their answer. Every time. Because the pain and the discomfort, the blisters and the aching muscles, don’t last for ever. But the pride in an achievement reached or dream attained will be with you for the rest of your days.
The greater the effort, the better the reward. So learn to embrace hard work and great effort and risk. Without them, there can be no meaningful achievement. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
158
" Before I climbed Everest, I saved up to make an attempt on a peak called Ama Dablam, one of the classic and more technically difficult climbs in the higher Himalayas. For many of the weeks I was there, I climbed alone, plugged into my headphones and utterly absorbed in each step, each grip.
I was in tune with myself. I was in tune with the mountain. It was just the mountain and me.
During those times, I really had the chance to push my own boundaries a little. I found myself probing, being willing to push the risk envelope a bit.
I started to reach a little further for each hold, finely balanced on my crampons, taking a few extra risks - and I made swift, efficient progress. I was exploring my climbing limits and loving it.
When I reached the summit and watched in awe as the distant peak of Everest came into view, ten miles to the north, I knew I had the skills to scale that mountain, too.
William Blake said:
Great things are done when men and mountains meet. This is not done by jostling in the street.
He was right. We need time and space and adversity to really get to know ourselves. And you don’t always find that in the grind, when your head is down and you are living someone else’s dreams.
Wherever you are in your life, it is possible to find your own challenge and space. You don’t have to go to the jungle or the Himalayas - it is much more a state of mind than a physical location.
Mountains of the mind are around us all everywhere. And it is when we test ourselves that we begin to know ourselves. "
― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character
A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character