“My solar plexus was tight with fear as I ploughed on. Halfway up I stopped, exhausted. I could look down 10,000 feet between my legs, and I have never felt more insecure.”
Shortly after this critical moment, 33-year old beekeeper Edmund Hillary, alongside Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay, summited Mount Everest for the first time in human history.
On May 29, 1953, after months of trekking, braving fierce winds, and weathering extreme cold, the pair reached the 29,028-foot summit.
The climb was a testament to the duo’s strength and sheer willpower.
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves,” Hillary once said.
I’ve been thinking about that climb lately, and whether there’s a secret to finishing what we start.
As people and entrepreneurs, we often set out on ambitious projects, only to see our motivation fizzle far before we reach the peak.