06/07/2026
Nims Purja set out to climb all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, with the previous fastest time being around eight years, and he set his target at seven months.
Everyone told him it was impossible, so he called it Project Possible, which tells you quite a lot about how he thinks.
The bit that really stayed with me was not just the record, but the moment his oxygen was stolen high up on a mountain. He could have come back angry, frustrated and focused on what had gone wrong, and most people would have understood that.
Instead, he came back and said, “Team, I have great news. We saved someone’s life last night.”
That, to me, is brave optimism.
Not pretending there is no problem, and not doing the fake positive thing where everyone knows you are dressing it up, but choosing the frame the team needs in that moment.
As a leader, your mood travels further than you think. If you come in defeated, people feel it. If you come in angry, people feel it. If you come in calm, clear and focused on what matters, people feel that as well.
That does not mean being fake. It means understanding that part of your job is to set the tone, especially when things have gone wrong.
That was my biggest takeaway from it.
