True Humility

Sir Edmund Hillary in 2006

I just learned something today. I was reading about the death of Sir Edmund Hillary in January of this year and the account of his reaching the summit of Mount Everest. I was very impressed with the humility of this man.

Many see his greatest accomplishment as reaching the peak of the tallest mountain in the world, but I disagree. I believe his greatest accomplishment was the way he handled the adulation.

He gave equal credit to his guide, Tenzing Norgay, knowing what it would mean to the Nepalese to have one of their own make that claim. Just before Norgay's death, he admitted that Hillary was the first to reach the top and that he was so thankful for Hillary's "PR" sacrifice he made for him.

Once at the summit of the great mountain, Hillary shot this picture of Norgay, his traveling partner and guide. He did not have Norgay take his picture.

In Sports Illustrated last year, Hillary was quoted as saying, “Why did I need a photograph?” he said. “I knew I’d been there, and that was good enough for me”

Now that is true humility!