If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame.
It has been a long road. From a mountain coolie, a bearer of loads, to a wearer of a coat with rows of medals who is carried about in planes and worries about income tax.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the journey of hard work and transformation from humble beginnings to achieving greatness.
Tenzing Norgay's quote encapsulates his personal journey from being a mountain coolie, a laborer who carried heavy loads, to becoming a celebrated mountaineer adorned with medals. This transformation highlights the dedication, perseverance, and hard work that can lead one to success, contrasting the simplicity of his past with the complexities and worries of his present life, including concerns like income tax. It serves as a testament to the power of ambition and the significant strides one can take from modest origins to notable achievements.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about resilience and personal growth.
More from Tenzing Norgay
All quotes →Similar quotes
Work hard, have fun and make history.
Great lives never go out; they go on.
As I was growing up, I did a lot of talent shows. I won fifteen Sunday nights straight in a series of talent shows in Macon. I showed up the sixteenth night, and they wouldn't let me go on any more. Whatever success I had was through the help of the good Lord.
The innovator creates a business where they are making money, even when they sleep.
Nothing good comes in life or athletics unless a lot of hard work has preceded the effort. Only temporary success is achieved by taking short cuts.
Modern man is conditioned to expect instant gratification, but any success or triumph realized quickly, with only marginal effort, is necessarily shallow. Meaningful achievement takes time, hard work, persistence, patience, proper intent and self-awareness. The path to success is punctuated by failure, consolidation, and renewed effort.