On this day in 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzin Norgay, became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest on the Nepal-Tibet border.
Later, Hillary attributed the success to planning, team spirit, and a bit of luck that he’d been born with robust health. Motivated by the challenge of doing something that hadn’t been done before, he also admitted that he really didn’t know they’d succeed until they got very close to the summit, in part, because there was literally no trail map.
“During the whole course of the expedition, we were having to establish the route ourselves,” he explains in a 1996 interview with Forbes Adventurer Jim Clash (see video below).
Upon reaching the summit, Hillary says he felt a “sense of accomplishment” but was somewhat subdued because he also knew there was more work to be done - he still had to get back down the mountain safely.
What I like best about the interview is the way that Hillary puts this singular accomplishment and his literal 15 minutes on top of the world in perspective:
“I think the most worthwhile things I’ve done are not on mountains or in the antarctic, but (are things I) have been doing – projects for my friends the Sherpa people - the hospitals and schools. 27 schools now established. Those are the things I would like to be remembered for.”
Being famous for climbing Mt. Everest? It was ultimately one of his means to this more worthwhile end.
Why not tackle your social media challenges with a similar perspective. Blaze a trail and succeed, but know: You don’t win by only being good at social media.
You win by being good at the things social media allows you to do better.
