Attitude and Altitude

Hugo Hoppmann: Dear Sibusiso, first of all thank you for taking the time to talk to me. It's an honor! Next to your career as a professional mountaineer, you also bring your message into the world through lectures and workshops with organizations, companies and schools. Could you elaborate to our readers on your message that every person has their own Everest to climb?

Sibusiso Vilane: Thank you, Hugo! I use mountains as a metaphor for life, meaning there is a lot of similarities that can be drawn from climbing a mountain and the challenges in our lifes. Each person has their own personal ambitions and dreams, whatever they are, they are ones “Everest”, if you will. I don’t mean that people should go climb Mount Everest, but the principles needed to succeed in general are very similar to those used for summiting Everest or any mountain for that matter. So the first question is, do you have a mountain, your own personal challenge to climb?

What are the principles needed to climb the metaphorical — and real — Mountain Everest?

Everyone wants to reach their predetermined goal in the end, but without a clear plan of execution, a time frame of completion, the action steps necessary and a team to achieve it, success becomes near impossible. Just like any other goal setting and achieving principles, climbing a mountains requires one to apply the “SMART Principles” of goal setting. Being Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reviewable and having a Time frame. We shouldn't climb a mountain not knowing how big it is, or how long it would take, and if it actually can be climbed or not. These practices from mountain experience can be applied to anything we want to succeed in.