Born to be free
The intrepid adventurer exudes enthusiasm, right down to the way he drinks a cup of tea. He stirs in the milk with real purpose, eagerly dips in a biscuit, and relishes every bite. In some ways it’s quite bizarre to see this action man enjoying such a home comfort. The world has seen Bear Grylls rise to fame on his show, Born Survivor, where it’s more crevices and snow than cups and saucers.
Yet enthusiasm is Grylls’s business and, in his latest tome, A Survival Guide For Life, he aims to share it with the world. Following on from his hugely successful autobiography, Mud, Sweat And Tears, this new book interweaves personal anecdotes with universal life lessons. It’s pretty galvanising stuff.
‘It’s all the things you are never taught at school,’ says Grylls. ‘Of course, I had lessons in Maths and Science and Latin, but all I really learnt was that I’m not very good at them. No one actually teaches how to get on in life.’
These life lessons, all of which he reveals ‘are not rocket science’, include Dreams Require Sacrifice, Never Give Up and Tents Don’t Repair Themselves. ‘All of these things I’ve learnt the hard way. I want to empower other people through the mistakes that I’ve made and the lessons that have helped me in my life.’
Grylls’s version of ‘hard’ is more extreme than most. Merely listing his achievements is enough to make one feel exhausted: he underwent a gruelling 11-month selection process to join the Special Forces in his early 20s, broke his back while jumping out of a plane in Zambia and had to learn to walk again. He then overcame this enormous hurdle to become the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest at the age of 23.
Now 38, he has devoted his life to scaling mountains, which has given him time to observe both nature and human nature. ‘Character is far more important than education,’ says this Old Etonian. ‘I always pick people for expeditions who are kind and hard-working, and who will smile when it’s raining. It’s easy to teach people to be a radio operator or navigator, but character is harder to develop.’
Grylls is never one to shirk a challenge, however, and this is exactly what his book aims to do. ‘People can be quite cynical about self-help books and I used to be, too,’ he admits. ‘It’s true that there are a million get-rich-quick books out there, but I wanted to write one that builds people. The irony is that if you build the right character traits, attitudes and values, and work harder than anyone else, I can almost bet you’re going to end up well-off anyway. And certainly more fulfilled.’
What comes across strongly with Grylls – in his television programmes, his writing and in person – is his genuine regard for people. ‘I’ve met incredible people in my life and through my adventures, and I’m like a sponge with them. You can always learn from other people and you can never stop growing. That’s what’s great about being an adult. You can choose your attitude.’
Grylls mentions that it is fascinating to see how conversation develops during an expedition. People start by sizing each other up with the ordinary questions (‘Where do you live? What do you do?’), but, after a while, their real passions begin to emerge. ‘Then they starting speaking like human beings and their eyes start twinkling and it’s great,’ he enthuses. ‘Suddenly you’re connected to a real person. And actually, I think Brits, especially, are a lot more upbeat than we’re given credit for. We all have dreams.’
One Brit who has had a huge influence on Grylls is his father, the late Sir Michael Grylls. ‘He taught me to climb, taught me to love the outdoors, but also taught me great values like this thing of being the most enthusiastic person you know.’ Quite unusual for a father, Sir Michael, a politician, did not care one jot for school reports, claims Grylls. ‘He would just say two things: 1) Have you been kind?, and 2) Have you tried your best? It was a totally cool way to be brought up.’
Bear Grylls is now a father himself (to three sons, Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry) that he rather touchingly describes as ‘heaven’. In fact, true to his action nature, he wrote the entire book at 35,000 feet in order not to skimp on family time. ‘I’m away a lot travelling and I didn’t want to be a dad who came home and spent his life writing, so I wrote it only on long-haul flights. I did it in 10-hour spurts and it took me a year.’
When he is not travelling, or savouring time at home with his sons and wife, Shara, he also holds the important role of Chief Scout. ‘I can sum up my work for the Scouts in three words,’ he beams. ‘Encourage, encourage, encourage.’ He’s never happier than when immersed in the elements and frequently encourages people to get out into the great outdoors.
‘What’s wonderful about the wild is that it is a great leveller. How much better would our lives be if we lived them the way we do when we’re on a hike? Not worrying about what we look like, not worrying about people’s status, or judging them by their shoes.’ It’s an important lesson for young Scouts – and, indeed, adults, too.
His myriad accomplishments aside, Grylls is adamant that he simply wants to be known as a person who doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone. ‘Which I fail to do a lot of the time, by the way.
‘It’s important to preface a lot of A Survival Guide For Life – it is how I would love to live, but I’m pretty honest in saying that I fall short a lot of the time.’
Enthusiastic or not, even Grylls has moments where he lacks motivation. ‘You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have the odd wobble,’ he smiles, ‘And I have a lot more wobbles than people might imagine.’
A Survival Guide For Life by Bear Grylls is published by Bantam Press, priced £18.99.
Yet enthusiasm is Grylls’s business and, in his latest tome, A Survival Guide For Life, he aims to share it with the world. Following on from his hugely successful autobiography, Mud, Sweat And Tears, this new book interweaves personal anecdotes with universal life lessons. It’s pretty galvanising stuff.
‘It’s all the things you are never taught at school,’ says Grylls. ‘Of course, I had lessons in Maths and Science and Latin, but all I really learnt was that I’m not very good at them. No one actually teaches how to get on in life.’
These life lessons, all of which he reveals ‘are not rocket science’, include Dreams Require Sacrifice, Never Give Up and Tents Don’t Repair Themselves. ‘All of these things I’ve learnt the hard way. I want to empower other people through the mistakes that I’ve made and the lessons that have helped me in my life.’
Grylls’s version of ‘hard’ is more extreme than most. Merely listing his achievements is enough to make one feel exhausted: he underwent a gruelling 11-month selection process to join the Special Forces in his early 20s, broke his back while jumping out of a plane in Zambia and had to learn to walk again. He then overcame this enormous hurdle to become the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest at the age of 23.
Now 38, he has devoted his life to scaling mountains, which has given him time to observe both nature and human nature. ‘Character is far more important than education,’ says this Old Etonian. ‘I always pick people for expeditions who are kind and hard-working, and who will smile when it’s raining. It’s easy to teach people to be a radio operator or navigator, but character is harder to develop.’
Grylls is never one to shirk a challenge, however, and this is exactly what his book aims to do. ‘People can be quite cynical about self-help books and I used to be, too,’ he admits. ‘It’s true that there are a million get-rich-quick books out there, but I wanted to write one that builds people. The irony is that if you build the right character traits, attitudes and values, and work harder than anyone else, I can almost bet you’re going to end up well-off anyway. And certainly more fulfilled.’
What comes across strongly with Grylls – in his television programmes, his writing and in person – is his genuine regard for people. ‘I’ve met incredible people in my life and through my adventures, and I’m like a sponge with them. You can always learn from other people and you can never stop growing. That’s what’s great about being an adult. You can choose your attitude.’
Grylls mentions that it is fascinating to see how conversation develops during an expedition. People start by sizing each other up with the ordinary questions (‘Where do you live? What do you do?’), but, after a while, their real passions begin to emerge. ‘Then they starting speaking like human beings and their eyes start twinkling and it’s great,’ he enthuses. ‘Suddenly you’re connected to a real person. And actually, I think Brits, especially, are a lot more upbeat than we’re given credit for. We all have dreams.’
One Brit who has had a huge influence on Grylls is his father, the late Sir Michael Grylls. ‘He taught me to climb, taught me to love the outdoors, but also taught me great values like this thing of being the most enthusiastic person you know.’ Quite unusual for a father, Sir Michael, a politician, did not care one jot for school reports, claims Grylls. ‘He would just say two things: 1) Have you been kind?, and 2) Have you tried your best? It was a totally cool way to be brought up.’
Bear Grylls is now a father himself (to three sons, Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry) that he rather touchingly describes as ‘heaven’. In fact, true to his action nature, he wrote the entire book at 35,000 feet in order not to skimp on family time. ‘I’m away a lot travelling and I didn’t want to be a dad who came home and spent his life writing, so I wrote it only on long-haul flights. I did it in 10-hour spurts and it took me a year.’
When he is not travelling, or savouring time at home with his sons and wife, Shara, he also holds the important role of Chief Scout. ‘I can sum up my work for the Scouts in three words,’ he beams. ‘Encourage, encourage, encourage.’ He’s never happier than when immersed in the elements and frequently encourages people to get out into the great outdoors.
‘What’s wonderful about the wild is that it is a great leveller. How much better would our lives be if we lived them the way we do when we’re on a hike? Not worrying about what we look like, not worrying about people’s status, or judging them by their shoes.’ It’s an important lesson for young Scouts – and, indeed, adults, too.
His myriad accomplishments aside, Grylls is adamant that he simply wants to be known as a person who doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone. ‘Which I fail to do a lot of the time, by the way.
‘It’s important to preface a lot of A Survival Guide For Life – it is how I would love to live, but I’m pretty honest in saying that I fall short a lot of the time.’
Enthusiastic or not, even Grylls has moments where he lacks motivation. ‘You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have the odd wobble,’ he smiles, ‘And I have a lot more wobbles than people might imagine.’
A Survival Guide For Life by Bear Grylls is published by Bantam Press, priced £18.99.