How to Make the Impossible Possible (Video)
Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton climbed Mt Everest at the age of 22.
Please introduce yourself.
Hi, my name is Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton and in 2012 I became part of the youngest ever team to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth. In 2012, I was 22 years old and clearly, this is quite a young age to attempt something as dangerous as challenging as climbing Everest.
Where does inspiration come from for you?
For me, I think my inspirations for doing that came from a very natural place. They were my friends, my family, my heroes, the heroes in mountaineering and sport, past and present. Actually, come to think of it, they were people who made the impossible possible and the difficult look very easy. The people who spend time, they’re not overnight superstars, but they spend time crafting their skills for years and years to make something that they want to achieve, basically perfection.
A good example is obviously, Roger Federer, who is a master at tennis. Other examples, less notable people that I admire is the people like David Palmer an unknown superstar in the world of sport. A good question is how do you turn an idea into reality? Now, I think it’s very simple. There’s two key factors; one is luck. You can’t really control that. The second is hard work. With hard work, the key is in the name you basically have to work and work and work and do your homework for every possible interval. Break down what you’re trying to achieve into goals and that is, I think, the key to success. Breaking it down and then just work and work and work. When you want it as much as you want to grieve, which is a good term I’ve heard, then you probably want enough.
Interestingly enough, I know I said that luck is not something you could affect. But actually, there’s a good saying that the more you train, the luckier you get. That is true, the more you try to achieve something, the luckier you get because daily, daily, daily trying to achieve something and really push yourself. Maybe pushing yourself to the limit whatever it is you’re trying to do and obviously, a lucky break might just come your way the more you train and the more you practice.
What are you going to talk about at Inspiration?
At Inspiration, I’ll be speaking about my personal motivations and inspirations I’ve used on Everest. Now obviously, it’s quite a dangerous place, so my inspiration might be a little bit different from other people who just focusing solely on business. But for those who aren’t so interested with the -30 degrees summit on Mount Everest and a very wind-chilly type of place, is also something for the business. Because I’ll be relating my inspirations from Everest back into a business setting which is currently where I work. I work the oil and gas industry and I’m going to show you how I can take my inspiration and apply it pretty much everything I’ve done and I’m sure pretty much anything you can do. Because Everest is a great metaphor for business and it really does apply to all walks of life. I’m looking forward to seeing you there and hopefully share some of my inspiration and also be inspired myself. Thank you.
Hear from Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton who at the age of 21 climbed Mt Everest at ’Inspiration-Think Again’ on the 23rd of October at the Royal Geographical Society, London - http://inspiration.london