Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 (57 years ago!) he scaled the highest mountain then known to man, 29,000 ft straight up! He was knighted for this accomplishment.
Many people don't understand that Hillary had to grow into this success. In 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks after this "failure" a group in England asked him to address its members. Hillary walked on stage to a surprisingly thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Hillary saw himself as a failure.
He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform. He made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. He said in a loud voice, "Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I'll beat you the next time because you've grown all you are going to grow...but I'm still growing!"
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