Beyond Possible: One Man, 14 Peaks, and the Mountaineering Achievement of a Lifetime

by Nimsdai Purja

I was out of control now, and the two rules I’d set for myself on expeditions were being pressure tested. One: Hope is God. Two: The little things count most on big mountains.

Walking out on my career felt risky, but I was prepared to gamble everything for my ambition.

everything, anything, was possible if you dedicated your heart and mind to a plan.

But after wasting so much energy on stress, I eventually located the confidence to stride forward purposefully and my anxiety faded.

Never burn yourself out unnecessarily.

I soon learned that with relentless self-belief, anything was possible.

Today I will give 100 percent and survive, I thought at the beginning of each day. I’ll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes.

I had to motivate myself at all times. If I was in a bad situation, it was up to me to dig myself out. At times, it was hard not to snap under the emotional stress.

I had a code: bravery above all else. There was no other way for me to live.

This was an ethos I’d long applied to life: If I ever got up in the morning and told myself that I was going to do 300 push-ups that day, I made sure to do them, wholeheartedly. To skip the effort would be to break a commitment, and breaking commitments led to failure.

every obstacle or enemy was another challenge to figure out and overcome.

Suffering sometimes creates a weird sense of satisfaction for me. The psychological power of always giving 100 percent, where simply knowing I am delivering my all, is enough to drive me on a little bit farther: It creates a sense of pride when seeing a job through to the end.

So rather than thinking, praying, and waiting for your next project or challenge (and not doing it), commit to serious action instead.

A person’s true nature shows up in life-or-death situations.