Climbing Mount Everest is serious business - it is literally peak performance - and there is no doubt that Sir Edmund Hillary would not have made the ascent he did without Tensing Norgay.
Today, every peak-performing athlete has a whole host of people supporting them; a sports coach, a mental coach, a sports physician, a nutritionist, a physio, a massage therapist, a mentor, a spokesperson, a manager, an accountant, a legal counsel, and the list goes on... Yes, it truly takes a village for one person to excel! And lest we not forget, the champion is standing on the shoulders of everyone who came before them. They are continuously harnessing the collective learnings, development and trial and error of earlier sportspeople and the path blazed by them, to make that particular discipline what it is today.
And, the same goes for any peak performance. Let's take business for example, there is no such thing as a self made man or woman. None of us make it entirely on our own. And to think otherwise is quite frankly, foolish. We all benefit from collective resources, knowledge, technology, support and opportunities given us along the way by others.
You may be thinking, well, I am no high performing athlete, I am no highflying executive, no high profile entrepreneur, no brain surgeon, rocket scientist or high altitude mountaineer. Perhaps not, however, if you wish to excel at something, if you are operating in a high-stakes environment, if you want to make an important difference for others, it is useful to make sure you have the best chances at succeeding at what you do. Having the right tools, obtaining important information, getting the training, optimising processes, getting crucial feedback and tweaking as you go, are all aspects of ensuring optimal conditions for success.
So, does it not make sense then, that anyone wishing to up their game - whatever that particular game might be - would stand to benefit from supportive hands and minds along the way? Someone who is rooting for you? Someone who wants to see you succeed? Someone who picks up and notes the things you don't? Someone who occasionally holds up a mirror? Someone who is in it with you, and is equipped with extra knowledge, tools and experience? So, who makes up your village? Who is your Tensing Norgay?