60 Years Of A Goal Achievement Classic!

"Edmund Hillary", "Gordon Bryan", "goal achievement"As someone who has written about goal achievement for many years, I love anniversaries of notable events. 2013 has some great ones, but May 29th’s is a doozie..!

Most of these achievements open the floodgates, being followed and improved on by others, and ending up as taken for granted. Two things we take absolutely take for granted today are mobile phones and the internet.

Lots of people have grown up unable to imagine a world without them, but it wasn’t like that when *I* grew up, let me tell you!

20 years ago, the world wide web was put into the public domain, meaning the whole world would have the same access.

40 years ago, the first mobile phone call was made, on something the size of a house brick.

60 years ago would be a good time to have another anniversary, and history has not disappointed. Whereas the mobile and the world wide web are examples of pushing technology and the inventiveness of the mind, the anniversary from 60 years ago on May 29th is one of pushing the human body, testing our limits against what nature has to offer…

As goal achievements go, climbing Everest is at the pinnacle – literally. It’s the highest mountain on the planet, there can be no higher climb. We take the mobile and the web for granted, but we also tend to take for granted that climbing Everest is simply a case of getting trained, spending the money, and away you go.

It’s not quite as simple as that of course, and in fact only around 3 to 4 thousand people have made it, and many have died trying.

So, on May 29th 1953, when Edmund Hillary along with his Sherpa Tensing Norgay made the summit, they made a permanent mark on history – they were the first.

They only spent 15 minutes up there, because they were low on oxygen, but as human adventure and exploration go, what a 15 minutes!

I was joking that it inspired me – inspired me to get some tea and chocolate and confirm to myself that climbing Everest is *not* on my to-do list thanks very much!

It may not be on your list either, but that’s not the point. The point is that whether you are aiming to follow in the footsteps of others, or whether you are aiming to blaze a trail in your field, the 60th anniversary of getting to the top of Everest is worth taking some time to consider.

What is your goal? What do you need to do to take you the next step closer to it? Think of Hillary and Norgay 60 years ago, and commit to taking that next step!

Let me know what you think, I love the feedback.

‘Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. Don’t forget you can grab my motivational book ‘Transform Your Life in 21 Days!’ at kindle pricing!

Do leave a comment!

Leave a Reply to Alana (@RamblinGarden) X

20 Comments

    • Hi Denys,
      I suspect if you were going up Everest, you would be following the path made by others! Having said that, there *are* still new ways left!
      Yes, the amount of change has been amazing, and the speed of development shows no sign of slowing jus yet!
      cheers,
      Gordon

  • My mother says she remembers when she was little, she had to go to the bathroom in an outhouse. The past 100 years have seen a LOT of changes. There are people still alive who remember when TV’s were new, and hardly anyone had them.

    • Hi Susan,
      Yor comment brings up another anniversary this year – 60 years since the coronation of The Queen. That saw a huge rise in tv usage here in the UK, but even when I grew up, colour was a luxury, and bad reception of 2 channels was the accepted norm!
      Ah, progress!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • My next step is coming! I am working harder every day on being more efficient and timely with my online presence. I hope to continue on this path. It’s been a pleasure so far! 🙂
    I love this post – how far we’ve come in a relatively short amount of time!

    • Hi Jenn,
      One step at a time is the way! That’s how they got to the top of Everest after all! 😉
      Keep it up,
      cheers,
      Gordon

  • My goal is to repeat my history. In 2008, I hiked 9 miles of the treacherous Na Pali coast of the paradise known as Kauai in Hawaii, with over 10,000 feet of elevation change and a couple precariously close shaves to falling off a cliff.

    living in Hawaii, I haven’t hiked more than 5 miles with about 2,000 feet of elevation change and climbed a few waterfalls a couple hundred feet tall… My goal is to get back to my shape in 2008, when I was training for a half marathon and yet still having lupus attacks. I can do it.

    • wow, impressive achievements, and they sound spectacular! I need to get back in shape too – easy does it! 😉
      cheers,
      Gordon

  • In life, as in writing, I tend to be a “pantser” (i.e. I wing it). Maybe not always a good idea but it has led me in some interesting directions over the years. I have a feeling that growing old with grace will be my Mount Everest. (I’m 60-how coincidental!)

    • Never heard of a ‘panster’ before – is that to do with gold panning? You are right that it can take you on some ‘interesting’ directions, or ‘adventures’ as I call them! Growing old with grace? Not all it’s cracked up to be, and plenty of others to do that – I like the idea of carrying on being a ‘panster’!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • The longer I am on this planet the more convinced I am that we can actually achieve anything we wish to achieve. We have to actually action our ideas, push forward and find an inner determination but we can do anything if we really want to. I find this exhilarating and when I read about these kind of achievements then I believe it even more. I mean let’s face it, no one would climb a mountain without true determination.

    • Hi Kama,
      Yes, action is the key, and can indeed lead to some amazing things – the determination you talk of is vital, and that comes via belief and self esteem. We can take it for granted that Hillary and Norgay had all of those in abundance!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • I must say that I am a little more inspired after reading this. I once had dreams of climbing Everest as a child (although my goals have changed a bit since then) I still aim pretty high!

    I guess the craziest part of my story is that May 29th, 2012 I declared I would beat my OCD and May 29th, 2013 I declared that I will be a big deal online marketer and change peoples lives!

    Thanks for sharing the post! Truly inspiring!

    all the best,
    Jeff

    • Hi Jeff,
      Excellent goals! Let’s see where you are on May 29th 2014 – you’re going in the right direction!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • I’m with you with tea and chocolate when it comes to climbing mountains. My goal is to inspire 1m people to write about their life in some way.

    The picture is very inspirational, into there are so many stories and yes what an incredible 15 minutes – I wonder what my next 15 minutes will hold?

    • Oh yes, pictures really do say a thousand words!
      I love your goal – I’ve not come across anyone having a goal like it, and it’s a good one! I don’t suppose I count towards your million as I’ve been writing about my life for years!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • Thanks Gordon, inspiring as always. My goal is to let as many people as possible know that we don’t have to be controlled by our thinking. There will be other goals and they are likely to be similarly connected to communication and pointing out stuff. This is just my current mountain. And I know that as soon as I spend my 15 mins on the top I will see the next one that I want to climb!

  • Hi Gordon

    What memories the past 60 years contain!
    I remember our plumber (who entered the emergency call-out service sector) being very proud of his own version of the mobile phone… the handset was the proverbial brick, and the power source was a car battery he had fitted up with a robust handle so he could carry it around with him.

    My goal? It is to help people understand that they can overcome their problems – whether physical or emotional.

    Truly the limits we are most held back by are those limits we have imposed upon ourselves and I am unsure whether physical problems or emotional hangups are most debilitating. It obviously depends upon the person.

    But we can overcome and we can achieve more than we think we can – providing we are prepared to put the spadework in.

    Thank you for another inspirational read. I feel much better for it

    • Hi Dave,
      You are spot on, that we can achieve much more than we think we can – we can get to higher goals, we can get past real physical problems and mental problems alike.
      You are also right that the spadework needs to be put in, something that lets so many people down, who think things will happen by magic! Hillary and Norgay certainly put the hard work in for their goal!
      Thanks for stopping by,
      cheers,
      Gordon