All of these people have invested a great deal of time, energy and also money into being on this trip. They’ve also pledged to each raise at least £10,000 for children’s charity Wooden Spoon so it’s an incredible commitment.

How will everyone respond to the challenge of Everest? The nerves, the pain, the altitude, the emotional expenditure. How will I react? In going through things in my own mind, here are the top five things I’ll be reminding myself and those around me.

1. Accentuate the positives

In everyday life but also up Mount Everest, let’s remind ourselves that it’s never as bad as it seems. It’s a cliche but focus on the positives. Negativity only breeds negativity. We are creatures of habit and contagious behaviour needs to reinforce a positive attitude all the time.

2. You’re never on your own

Never try and solve everything on your own. Every team or group is greater than the sum of its parts. There will always be a piece of wisdom there from someone else, so be alive to that.

3. Listen

People will have different opinions and perspectives, but we need to listen to each other. It’s a very tough skill for lots of people, particularly when the chips are down. Hit pause, listen to people around you and be a sounding board for reason.

4. Focus on the fix

If things go wrong, take the time to recognise what went wrong. Don’t rush. Then be relentless in fixing the issue with a solution.

5. Trust

I remember this from the Clipper Round the World Race. When the chips are down, it’s your ability to trust in the people around you that matters. Trusting systems, trusting training, trusting people. That helps you to adapt, stay positive and believe that, even if things go wrong, together you can still achieve your goal.

The post A mental map up Everest appeared first on Optimist Performance.

I can’t wait to team up with some incredible people as we attempt to set two World Records. First we’ll try to play the world’s highest rugby match and then highest tag rugby match. Working with children’s charity Wooden Spoon we aim to raise well over £200,000 in the process.

Alongside me as team captains are Shane Williams, Tamara Taylor and Lee Mears. Depending on how the Six Nations finishes, it could be a very chirpy Shane Williams, or not so much! We’ll see.. Whatever the result in the rugby, our ability to team-build is paramount. We’ve been spending as much time as possible with each other and all the team members. Knowing each other will make it much easier to help, motivate, nurture, manage, kick etc when we’re up the mountain. It’s a much-used phrase at the moment, but emotional intelligence is key.

Preparation and team-building for Everest

Preparations have been well underway for some time now. Physically I feel strong. I’ve just taken part in one leg of a cycle challenge in support of Scottish legend Doddie Weir. Doddie’s battling motor neurone disease and the whole experience with his team was incredible. Many thanks to everyone who made it possible.

In terms of the body, that’s the kind of physical preparation you can control. The toughest part of taking on something this monumental, though, is all the bits you can’t control. Such as altitude sickness and blisters, both of which can silently creep up on you. We’ve worked hard in an altitude chamber to get the body used to that and hopefully my walking boots are the perfect fit.

Other than that, I’m still doing a lot of visualisation, mentally rehearsing how I will feel and behave at altitude.

Only time will tell but Everest is now feeling very real, and very soon.

The post Everest: One month to go appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Last year I became a father and now I can’t wait to take my own family on a Sunsail yacht charter. So my mission for the next year is to build my confidence and experience.

I’m hoping to complete my RYA Day Skipper course in early 2019. I’ve already passed my theory exam and I am now looking forward to the practical part. That includes five glorious days on the Solent on a cutting-edge Sunsail Match First 40.

A busy 2019 ahead

I’ve been involved with Sunsail previously thanks to the great people at Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby. Wooden Spoon funds life-changing projects and events to help children with disabilities and disadvantages. One such event is the annual regatta on The Solent with Sunsail Events.

I’m honoured to compete in my third consecutive regatta in September 2019! I’ll also be racing with Sunsail and Wooden Spoon at Lendy Cowes Week 2019 and it’s all very exciting.

It’s a busy year in fact. I’m taking on the LMAX Exchange Everest Rugby Challenge in April and May for Wooden Spoon. I’ve also recently launched my own motivational speaking brand Optimist Performance, and all that alongside my full-time role as a Director at PWC.

Fingers crossed I’ll also get out to the Rugby World Cup in Japan – as a fan and broadcaster I hasten to add!

The post New adventures with Sunsail appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Almost 300 people have died trying so it’s not something we are taking lightly, and especially now that I’ve eyeballed the mountain up close.

Over the past couple of weeks I was honoured to travel out to Nepal as an ambassador for the Rugby World Cup trophy tour. The tour is taking the Webb Ellis Cup far and wide en route to Japan next year for the first World Cup ever to be played in Asia. It’s a huge time for the sport and its growth and seeing the kids playing the game – many for the first time – was a real thrill.

We played a fair few games of rugby and visited schools and famous landmarks everywhere we went. There aren’t many places you can go, though, where you escape the ominous sight of Everest, which obviously stands as the biggest landmark of them all.

Guinness World Record attempt in 2019

Circling the mountain from a helicopter is one of the most humbling experiences you can have. It’s only when you see it from the air that you realise anyone on it is literally like a speck of dust. In a way that reminded me of taming similar fears sailing around the world with the Clipper Race, and how we’re all at the mercy of the elements.

Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips was ambassador for the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour in Nepal, December 2019

It also sent a shiver down my spine to think that we’re also trying to set a world record up there next April by playing the highest-ever rugby match. I wonder if a referee has ever had to stop a game with the words: “Altitude stops play”?

Aside from experiencing Everest for the first time, the thing I’ll take away most from my time in Nepal is the warmth of the people and the unspoilt beauty of the place. I simply cannot wait to go back.

Could you benefit from taking yourself or your staff outside of their comfort zone to achieve even greater things?

Contact Ollie and Optimist Performance and let us tailor a session to your needs.

The post Eying the beast in Nepal appeared first on Optimist Performance.

In April 2019, just six months after climbing Kilimanjaro in October 2018, I’m going to be teaming up with a host of incredible people to raise well over £200,000 for children with disabilities and disadvantages across the UK & Ireland.

We’re not just climbing Everest – we’re attempting to set two World Records along the way as we take on the LMAX Exchange Everest Rugby Challenge: the world’s highest rugby match and the world’s highest ever tag rugby match!

Alongside me as team captains will be former England scrum-half Andy Gomarsall, Welsh wizard Shane Williams and Tamara Taylor, who has well over 100 caps for England.

It will be an unbelievable adventure and there are still places left on the trip, so if you fancy joining us get involved and book your place today.

Could your team benefit from hearing the most inspirational speaker in the city? Get in touch with Ollie at Optimist Performance today!

The post The ultimate challenge: Everest 2019 appeared first on Optimist Performance.

From the moment I arrived in the country it was clear this was not going to be a normal week. The place just immediately brings to life all of your senses. My initial thoughts were filled with nerves and trepidation. It was the first time that I had been to Sierra Leone, a country that had such an infamous reputation for being dangerous, war-ravaged and desolate, so I was nervous to say the least and nervous about the challenge that lay ahead.

I was in the country to run the Sierra Leone Marathon in aid of Street Child, a charity which believes that basic education is the single greatest step that can be taken towards the elimination of global poverty. Since 2008, they have helped over 200,000 children go to school and have supported over 15,000 families set up businesses so they can afford the cost of educating their children long-term. It is a charity whose message I believe in vehemently and who I was delighted to be supporting during my time in Makeni.

Ever since meeting the founder, Tom Dannatt, and the head of fundraising, Chloe Brett, I’d wanted to get involved with Street Child and meeting people on the ground only served to strengthen my resolve that this was a wonderful cause.

Visiting some of the schools that Street Child had help build and seeing the smiles on all of the kids faces was an incredible experience. Their unbridled joy and enthusiasm towards school, towards learning and also towards us was infectious and amazing to see. I can remember taking part in a class and the room was filled with positive energy, huge smiles and continual song and I couldn’t help but sit back and marvel at what had been created in this magical place. And despite all of the hardship and all of the atrocities that some of these children had witnessed in their lives, they still managed to approach life with incredible energy and positivity.

In light of what these kids have lived through, and go through on a daily basis, 26 miles was a small sacrifice on my part and of course I’d put in the miles back in the UK, pounding the roads for months in preparation. I’d even bought the best running shoes I could find the OnCloud Cloudflow [link]. It was the first time I’d ever attempted running since my career-ending injury and I wasn’t sure how my nerve would hold up, but the OnCloud shoes certainly helped mitigate some of the issues that I typically suffer when running.

In reality, though, nothing prepares you for that race, which I’d still recommend to anyone. First of all, visually the route is awe-inspiring, from Makeni’s famous Wusum Hill stadium through the rural villages and tropical tracks through some of the most beautiful scenery in Northern Sierra Leone, a place totally alien to me, and the race definitely has the “electric atmosphere” that the event hosts advertise.

Having said that, there is no way you can replicate the 30-degree heat and the humidity you face. It was right up there with the toughest things I’ve ever taken on physically.

Not that the local kids seemed to mind – they skipped along with me all the way shouting and screaming and generally taking it all in their stride!

It was a fantastic thing to do and I was absolutely thrilled that we, a group of 118 runners, managed to raise in excess of £220,000 for Street Child – funds which are still to this day going towards building new schools and helping ensure that the children of Sierra Leone and beyond receive the education and support they deserve.

Please take a moment to watch the video and get in touch and if you fancy joining me on one of my next life-changing charity adventures.

Find out how your business could benefit from one of Ollie’s motivational talks

Through his new business Optimist Performance Ollie applies all his considerable learnings in leadership, team-building & culture, adapting to change and dealing with adversity, to life now as a Blue Chip business Director. Get in touch now!

The post Sierra Leone Marathon Man appeared first on Optimist Performance.