I was the first man to climb the world's 14 tallest peaks without supplementary oxygen, but I never asked how high I would go, just how I would do it.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of the journey and method over the end goal.
Reinhold Messner reflects on his pioneering achievement of climbing the highest peaks in the world without supplementary oxygen, underscoring that his focus was not solely on reaching the summit, but rather on the approach and methods he employed to accomplish such a daunting task. This perspective reveals a deeper understanding of perseverance and the value of the process in overcoming challenges, highlighting that the way we tackle our goals can be as significant as the goals themselves.
In practice
This quote is perfect for an inspirational speech about pursuing dreams.
I became famous for the fact that I would break many, many limits. People said, 'He does all these crazy things.' But oddly it was a crazy thing only because scientists and climbers said, 'Everest and the 8,000-meter peaks without oxygen - impossible. Messner is becoming sick in his head.'
A 30-year-old rock climber is an old man. At 40, one is in the middle of his high-altitude power. At 50, a crosser of deserts is at his best age. But at 60, each of us is out of the game.
I think my cultural work is more important than the adventures I did. The adventures are not important for human beings. It's the conquering of the useless.
In mountaineering, there is not only the activity, but the philosophy behind it. Some say a moral, but I am against that because all morality is dangerous.
In my state of spiritual abstraction, I no longer belong to myself and to my eyesight. I am nothing more than a single narrow gasping lung, floating over the mists and summits.
I go to the mountains for an adventure and each time I pray I will get up and down again.
The movement for equality and justice can only be a success if it has both a mass and militant character; the barriers to be overcome require both.
When Harvey Weinstein threatened to sue me, it was like the scene in 'Harry Potter' where an invitation to Hogwarts is coming in through every window and fireplace and every opening in the house.
I'm no hero. Heroes don't come back. Survivors return home. Heroes never come home. If anyone thinks I'm a hero, I'm not.
The civil rights movement didn't begin in Montgomery and it didn't end in the 1960s. It continues on to this very minute.
Now I have shed my first blood. I feel no qualms, no pride, no remorse. There is only a weary indifference that will follow me throughout the war.
Fear, true fear, is a savage frenzy. Of all the insanities of which we are capable, it is surely the cruelest. There is naught to equal its drive, and naught can survive its thrust.
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