Conquering Mount Everest

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 Sir Hillary scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts.
In 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members.
Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund 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!”