GREAT HEIGHTS!

Sibusiso’s wisdom about goal setting

Sibusiso Vilane speaking at an event in Brooklyn.

“FIRST attempts don’t always succeed. Don’t let it get you down!”
These were the words of mountaineer and motivational speaker Sibusiso Vilane.
In 2003 he was the first black African to reach the top of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest.
Sibusiso was speaking in Brooklyn, Tshwane at the recent launch of a drug to treat digestive disorders.
He took the audience through the importance of inspiration and of being around people who shared the same motivation.
Sibusiso pointed out his team was made up of people from seven different nationalities, but their common goal was to reach the peak of Mount Everest.
“What was standing in front of us was a trophy that we all wanted, to spend time on the summit through inspiration,” he said.
He told the audience how he developed an interest in climbing mountains.

Sibusiso said it began when he was a ranger in Swaziland and met John Doble in 1996, who has since become his friend and sponsor.
“He asked me why there isn’t a black African who has ever climbed Mount Everest. John asked: ‘What if money was not the issue?’”
He said the conversation they had sparked an interest in him.
Sibusiso said climbing mountains has been a transforming experience and gives him inner satisfaction.
He has climbed each of the seven continents’ highest peaks.