Bear Grylls Quote

Whatever doesn’t kill you only serves to make you stronger. And in the grand scheme of life, I had survived and grown stronger, at least mentally, if not physically.I had come within an inch of losing all my movement and, by the grace of God, still lived to tell the tale. I had learned so much, but above all, I had gained an understanding of the cards I had been playing with.The problem now was that I had no job and no income.Earning a living and following your heart can so often pull you in different directions, and I knew I wasn’t the first person to feel that strain.My decision to climb Everest was a bit of a do or die mission.If I climbed it and became one of the youngest climbers ever to have reached the summit, then I had at least a sporting chance of getting some sort of job in the expedition world afterward--either doing talks or leading treks.I would be able to use it as a springboard to raise sponsorship to do some other expeditions.But on the other hand, if I failed, I would either be dead on the mountain or back home and broke--with no job and no qualifications.The reality was that it wasn’t a hard decision for me to make. Deep down in my bones, I just knew it was the right thing to do: to go for it.Plus I have never been one to be too scared of that old imposter: failure.I had never climbed for people’s admiration; I had always climbed because I was half-decent at it--and now I had an avenue, through Everest, to explore that talent further.I also figured that if I failed, well at least I would fail while attempting something big and bold. I liked that.What’s more, if I could start a part-time university degree course at the same time (to be done by e-mail from Everest), then whatever the outcome on the mountain, at least I had an opening back at M15. (It’s sometimes good to not entirely burn all your bridges.)