Lessons from the Race to the South Pole: Your Sustainable Best Beats a Brief All-Out Push

I have shared the story of conquering the South Pole before. 1. When a major opportunity appears, you are unlikely to be the only person who sees it. A large group will see it at the same time, all competing to be first. 2. History remembers only first place; nobody remembers second. Think of who first landed on the Moon. 3. Prepare thoroughly before moving forward, and preserve spare capacity and flexibility. You will be calmer, rather than panicked, when making critical decisions. 4. Team size is not necessarily decisive. A large team will not necessarily win; unity and cohesion matter more. 5. The key to winning this Antarctic contest was that, whether conditions were favorable or extremely harsh, the winner maintained the discipline to keep moving forward every day. In an extreme environment, you must do your best. More importantly, you must do your sustainable best. Even if each day’s progress seems small, after a while you can look back and see that you have advanced a very long way.