Advice for Adventure from the 2020 Travel & Adventure Show | Part 3 — The Great Explorer Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is arguably the greatest living British explorer. He was out adventuring when there was still so much to be explored and discovered. He was one of the first to step where no human ever had done before. Just like space explorers. Can you imagine that feeling? The feeling of the total unknown, of complete newness?

Born in 1944 Fiennes first served in the British Army. Here he learnt many of the necessary skills to become a competent and successful leader and explorer. In the years following life in the Army he became a full time expedition leader. With the help from his wife Ginny he planned numerous record breaking expeditions. He was the first person to visit both the North and South Poles by surface means. The first to cross Antarctica on foot. And he was part of the team that uncovered the long-lost city of Ubar (the Atlantis of the Sands). Not to mention his successful attempt at the summit of Mount Everest which he climbed aged 65.

It’s safe to say Ranulph Fiennes is a pretty incredible man and has one or two good stories to tell around the campfire.

At the Adventure Travel Show in London back in January, I was quick enough to buy a ticket to his talk entitled ‘Living Dangerously’. During that hour we would learn what compelled an ordinary boy, who failed his A-levels, to lead a life of adventure. To take risks and travel where no man had ever been before. The story of his life is totally fascinating and I highly recommend listening to his talk if you get chance in a place near you. But in this post I’d like to share some of his advice for the future generation of adventurer’s.

Single-Minded Focus: The Right Attitude for Adventure

The tales of adventure from over the years included hardship, sweat, blood and tears (and a few frostbitten fingers). But they weren’t the things that stood out. Don’t get me wrong those were incredible stories of total bravery, determination and sheer human endurance. But what struck me most was in his attitude. I’m sure there are plenty of physically fit men and women who could push their bodies to some of the limits Fiennes has experienced over the years. But are there so many people who could push their minds? Who could continue to be so relentless in working towards their goals?

“One never notices what has been done, one can only see what remains to be done”

Marie Curie

Even planning the expeditions shows a level of single-mindedness unfounded in most. The shorter expeditions could require months or up to a year, but some took a decade of dogged hard work to get off the ground. That hard work included:

• Raising the funds
• Finding the right team
• Sourcing the best equipment
• Getting permissions from various governments around the world

In many ways it’s a wonder they even got out of the country.

Luckily enough Fiennes had the support of his wife Ginny, who was a highly skilled researcher and planner for these sorts of things. He also had the Army who provided the two with free office space from which to set up base. The rest came down to hard work and a bit of salesmanship. Fiennes quickly developed skills encouraging people to part with their money in support of one expedition or another. This landed him a flexible corporate job. With that, a steady income but also four months off each year for the expeditions themselves. Sounds like a pretty sweet job by my book!

Advice for the Future Generation of Adventurers

Motivation & Character

Another aspect of Fiennes’ mindset was that skills are something that can be learnt. Motivation and character cannot. So don’t be deterred if you don’t know how to read a map, how to use snowshoes or any basic first aid. You can learn all of those things if you want to. It just takes time, effort and the inclination to do it.

Never let yourself say ‘oh I don’t know how’ or ‘ I don’t know where to start’. If you want it then seek answers to those questions and do your best to fill in those knowledge gaps.

“The thing is so difficult it is not worth attempting. The thing is so difficult I cannot help attempting it”.

Andre

Remember: Never Drop Your Guard

An expedition isn’t over until every man is safely back at base. Whether the base is a tent, a hotel or their home-country. Stay alert and attentive until the last man (or woman) walks through those doors. Never drop your guard.

There are so many examples of great expeditions led by great men, some of the world’s best mountaineers, who have died on their way back down after an ascent. In those moments of exhaustion they dropped their guard. In those situations even just a small blip, a moment of inattention could be the difference between life and death. Is any achievement worth the risk of death?

“There is always a risk in being alive and I’d you are more alive, there is more risk”

Isben

In It Together: Teamwork

Especially when leading a team it’s important not to create an us versus them culture. To work most effectively and let’s be honest, to have the most fun, teams need to work together. Everyone has a role to play and everyone has to pitch in — even the boss.

I loved Fiennes example from the time he was on counter-insurgency service with the Army of the Sultanate of Oman. Leading a team of multiple cultures and languages in a land at first unfamiliar Fiennes had to rally the team together. They tackled dangerous and life threatening scenarios on a daily basis. Decision making was paramount to both the success of the team and the lives of everyone within it.

To gain the trust of the team and to instil that ‘us’ mentality Fiennes did his best to be one of the men, not just the commander. For starters he dressed as the men did, not as an officer. And during Ramadan he chose to join his Omani and Baluchi soldiers and fast despite the gruelling day to day tasks they were all facing. I think it’s very honourable to take that mentality to extremes and to truly be in it together. Everyone on that team could understand the other — the pressures they faced, the struggles. And that would bring them closer together.

“With fear you must prevent, not cure. Fear must not be let in in the first place. Think of anything but the subject of your fear. Never look at the void you are about to jump into.”

Ranulph Fiennes

Go Mind Travelling

When times get tough and you face a difficult mental and physical task distract yourself. Focus on anything else: whether it’s how to get through short term problems or practicing useful techniques or skills in your mind. Keep your mind busy. Keep it away from the ultimate task and away from what you’re fearful of.

Take your mind on an inner adventure. Take it travelling through your imagination, through any other thoughts than what may lay before you.

So how will you find more adventure in your life?

Whether it’s embarking on a microadventure, getting into slow and mindful travel or planning an epic expedition. There are so many ways to fill life with the adventure that’s right for you.

If you’re looking to go big I’d say take some key lessons from the life of the Greatest British Living Explorer:

• Be determined and focused. Don’t be deterred if things don’t go your way first time round — that doesn’t mean it has to stop you. And it doesn’t mean you’ve found your downfall.
• Have the right attitude and the right mindset. Be strong willed, know what you want and go out and get it. As Shakespeare once said “Thinking makes it so”. So aim high, start with a little caution and then get running towards that goal.
• Remember that just because you don’t know something now, doesn’t mean you won’t know it in the future. Skills can be learnt if you have the right motivation.
• Once you’ve learnt those skills don’t be afraid to pass them on. Help those aspiring to do what you do, just as you may once have been helped yourself. Pay it forward.
• Be flexible wherever possible, but remember that being inflexible is also a choice.
• When facing a difficult and seemingly insurmountable challenge, break it down into manageable pieces. Don’t think about the end goal but consider the sub-goals as achievements in their own right.
• And finally…

“Life is too short to waste time on second-class ambitions. Go for the big ones, even I’d that means a higher failure rate”

Ranulph Fiennes

If you want to find out more of Ranulph Fiennes stories from around the world check out his book ‘Beyond the Limits’. At the end of each chapter he lists his advice for aspiring adventurers. Well worth a read!

Originally posted on Sage Adventures travel & wellness lifestyle blog: www.sageadventres.co.uk.