The world-famous explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, reached the summit of Mount Everest shortly before 1 am on 21 May 2009, despite having previously declared “no more mountains”.

He is the first British pensioner to ever reach the summit. He had a heart attack on his first attempt, was exhausted on his second and succeeded on his third! What an amazing man!

He, helpfully, explained the secret of his success. He had a simple plan. “I am just going to be endlessly repeating ‘Plod Forever’. Don’t expect to get there. Don’t think there is going to be a top to his mountain. Just ‘plod forever’. Imagine it is a mountain with no top. You just keep going and then you can’t be let down.You start getting some false hopes. Don’t! You’ve got to say ‘Plod Forever’. And that’s it. Don’t let other thoughts come in.”

The mind can only handle one thought at a time properly. Keep the thought you want in your mind by constant and unbroken repetition. Don’t allow thoughts of failure anywhere near the centre of your mind.

Today, Sunday May 24th 2009, I walked round the neighbourhood just before the start of the Monaco Formula One race. I gave ‘Plod Forever’ a try. It can get very boring when you walk the same route regularly. A phrase like ‘Plod Forever’ can definitely help whether you are walking or performing some seemingly endless task.

When I was at school in the Isle of Man many years ago, I found that endlessly repeating the one word ‘Faster’ helpful when doing cross country runs. The word did not make me fast but it probably succeeded in making me ‘faster’. This would not have been difficult!

Meanwhile, in Monaco, Jensen Button is leading the race. He had a similar plan to that of Sir Ranulph. Don’t think about winning the championship (the Everest of Formula One) Before the race he said:

“I have to take it race by race and practice by practice”

He believed that if you start thinking about winning the championship, you will play safe and no longer give 100%. Of course, at times, it is wise to accept second place rather than lose more points by giving 100% and crashing.

Coulthard, a former winner at Monaco, agreed with Jensen. Take the race corner by corner and lap by lap. At the moment with 49 laps out of 78 still to go, Jensen Button is still leading!

Drivers have to ‘keep going, keep going’ (in the words of one commentator) for two long hours.

Of course, one major difference between Sir Ranulph and Jensen is speed.When Sir Ranulph was asked how he was doing, he replied ‘Slow but sure’.

Jensen’s main aim is to go ‘Fast but sure’ Jensen is still leading followed by his ambitious partner Rubens Barrichello who does not want to play second fiddle to Jensen as he did with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari. Only 9 more laps to go. Jensen leads; Rubens follows! Another one two finish for the Brawn team if things stay this way.

Great lessons emerge from the Everest climb and the Monaco race. Focus your mind on the next step whether this involves a slow plod or a fast lap. Don’t allow doubts or distractions to cloud your key thoughts.

Jensen takes the chequered flag with Rubens second. Jensen has won his 5th race in 6. Someone shouts ‘Monaco, baby, YES!’ Button wins in MONACO!

Ross Brawn commented: “1st and 2nd It’s just stunning!… He’s exceeding everthing I thought possible.” Coulthard agreed:”This man is clearly world class. If he does not end up as world champion this year I will be amazed.”

Meanwhile, last year’s world champion, Lewis Hamilton, had had a lonely race starting from the rear. However he could still see a little sunshine. He remembered the words of Rocky in the first Rocky film: “I just want to see the end of the fight.” Lewis reached the end of the race having achieved some very fast lap times. He was already looking forward to next year:”I’ll be back next year to try and win!”