Mud, Sweat, and Tears

Both faith and fear may sail into your harbor, but allow only faith to drop anchor.

possible to go, and in my mind that meant flying over the height of Mount Everest. This in turn meant we needed to build a machine capable of flying to over 29,000 feet (8,840 metres).
Most of the people we spoke to about this thought a) we were crazy, and b) it was technically impossible. What those naysayers hadn’t factored in was the power of yes, and specifically the ability to build a team capable of such a mission. This meant harnessing the brilliance of my good friend Gilo Cardozo, a paramotor engineer, a born enthusiast, and a man who loves to break the rules — and to say yes.
Gilo was — and is — an absolute genius aviation engineer who spends all his time in his factory, designing and testing crazy bits of machinery.
When people told us that our oxygen would freeze up in minus 70°, or that at extreme altitudes we would need such a heavy engine to power the machine that it would be impossible to take off, or that even if we managed to do it, we would break our legs landing at such speed, Gilo’s response was: ‘Oh, it’ll be great. Leave it with me.’
No matter what the obstacle, no matter what the ‘problem’, Gilo always said, ‘We can do this.’ And after months in his workshop, he did eventually build the machine that took us above the height of Everest. He beat the naysayers, he built the impossible and by the Grace of God we pulled it off — oh, and in the process we raised over $2.5 million for children’s charities around the world.
You see, dreams can come true if you stick to them and think big.
So say yes — you never know where it will lead. And there are few limits to how high you just might soar.

6. SAY YES
A big part of getting ahead in life is a willingness to say ‘Why not?’ when others just say ‘Why?’
In my experience, many people cross their arms, sit back and say ‘Why should I?’, and then let great possibilities slip by them.
A champion in life always goes against the grain and takes the path less trodden. And that means learning to say ‘Why not?’ instead of ‘Why?’
This is especially important in the early days of building a career or following a dream. You have got to get out there and get busy opening up lots of oysters in search of that pearl. You have got to try different things, meet loads of people, take people up on crazy offers and generally get busy living!
It’s almost always better, especially in the early stages, to say yes and to try something, rather than saying no because you fear where a yes will take you.
More often than not, saying no means that nothing will change in your life. A yes, however, has the power to create change. And change is where we create room for success.
And, by the way, the only person who likes change is a baby with a wet nappy! Change is scary and often uncomfortable, but life begins outside our comfort zone, so learn to embrace it and get used to it. Champions have to do that every single day.
A few years ago, I led an expedition to return to Mount Everest, the mountain I had climbed aged 23, a mountain where I had risked everything and survived — just. I had always held a secret dream to return and attempt to fly over the mountain in a small one-man paramotor — like a paraglider, only with a backpack engine strapped to your body.
At the time, the highest altitude that one had been flown was around 17,000 feet (5,180 metres). But being an enthusiast (and an optimist!), I reckoned we shouldn’t just aim to break the record by a few feet, I thought we should go as high as it was

Success almost always follows great attitude. The two attract each other.
You may not be the fastest, the fittest, the cleverest or the strongest, but there’s nothing to stop you from being the most enthusiastic person you know. Nothing at all, except your willingness to step up and be a little different from the crowd.
So make enthusiasm a daily decision, even when you don’t feel like it. We can all choose our attitude, and one of the best reasons for choosing positive attributes is the alternative — which means if you don’t pick a good attitude, then you’ve got a bad one, or, even worse, a lukewarm, insipid, neutral one.
If you have to have any type of attitude to tackle each day, you might as well choose to make it a great one and make enthusiasm a driving force for good in your life.
People will love you for it, and remember you for it.
After all, who doesn’t like to work with enthusiastic people?
I know I do.

5. BE THE MOST ENTHUSIASTIC PERSON YOU KNOW
My mum and dad gave me a few bits of great advice as a young boy (along with a fair amount of scolding for being an idiot, but that’s another story!), but there is one thing my late father told me that has affected my outlook and approach to life more than almost anything else, and it was this:
If you can be the most enthusiastic person you know, then you won’t go far wrong.
It was always said to me with a wry smile, as if I was being told something of infinite power. And he was right.
Enthusiasm so often makes the critical difference: it sustains you when times are tough, it encourages those around you, it is totally infectious and it rapidly becomes a habit!
In turn, that enthusiasm adds the extra 5 per cent sparkle to everything we do — and life is so often won or lost in that little extra bit that carries us home over the finish line.
In fact, I believe enthusiasm can make such a massive and positive difference to people’s lives that it should be taught as part of a school’s curriculum. After all, it’s one of the key attributes that smart employers look for. (It’s certainly something I place huge value on when I’m choosing expedition members.)
Imagine interviewing a candidate who says they love getting up early and being the first into work, and they love warming up people’s days with a smile and getting their colleagues a cup of tea to cheer them up. That all they want is the chance to show you how hard they can work and how they will always go the extra mile.
Wow! You’d be like, right, when are you free? I’d give that person a shot over the candidate with the better A-level results any day.
So how do you teach it?
Well, you reward it and lead by example, for a start.
Encouraging enthusiasm is one of the most important things I do in my work with the Scouts.

Remember, the key to your future success is going to be embracing the very same things those dream-stealers are warning you about: the failure, the heartache and the tears.
All those things will be key stepping stones on the road to success, and are actually good solid markers that you are doing something right.

Every day is the most wonderful of blessings, and a gift that I never, ever take for granted.
Oh, and as for the scars, broken bones, aching limbs, and sore back?
I consider them just gentle reminders that life is precious—and that maybe, just maybe, I am more fragile than I dare to admit.

with all the usual struggles, self-doubts, and flaws that tend to go with life.
And of those there are plenty. Trust me.
I’ll let you in on two secrets: sometimes I get so anxious in front of large groups of people that I get a little nervous twitch. The twitch makes me feel embarrassed and ashamed inside. It becomes all I can think about. It makes me hate the fact that people are looking at me.
It is called fear. And I am scared.
Just a regular guy.
Then there are heights. Sometimes when I am climbing or hanging from a helicopter, I get struck by this all-consuming fear. But no one ever sees. I hold it inside. One minute I am fine, the next I am shaking like a leaf.

Much of the success of the business side of things, though, is simply the product of great people, great ideas, tidy execution, and a sprinkling of good luck. (Although I guess I have always fought hard to make the most of any luck that has come my way.)
There is no doubt, though, that I feel quite detached from that official persona of Bear Grylls. The man looking back at me in the mirror each morning, a bit bleary-eyed, with annoying scars and persistent aches, is a different person.
I consider the Bear Grylls from the TV to be just my work and a brand. The team call him simply BG.
The man in the mirror, though, is the husband to Shara, father to our boys, and just a regular guy

The Scouts stand for so much that I value in life—friendships, family, faith, and adventure.