Lewis Pugh: Trending quotes (page 2)

Lewis Pugh trending quotes. Read the latest quotes in collection
Lewis Pugh: 138   quotes 1   like

“I’m not a rule-breaker by nature. But there are times when you need to untangle yourself from red tape. Because the truth is, if you wait for permission, some things will simply never happen.”

Lewis Pugh

p 94, referencing his swim across Sydney Harbour (2006)
21 Yaks And A Speedo (2013)

Truth , Nature , Time , Waiting

“Look around the world. Wherever you damage the environment, you have conflict. We have had enough conflict in [South Africa] – now is the time for peace.”

Lewis Pugh

Speaking & Features, Standing Up To Goliath

World , Peace , Time

“When people say to me, you must have a very strong mind to swim across the North Pole, or off Antarctica or on Mount Everest, I tell them that endurance swimming builds good mental strength.”

Lewis Pugh

p 16
21 Yaks And A Speedo (2013)

People , Strong

“They have […] a split personality. One moment they’re your best mate, and next they are trying to drag you down to the bottom of the sea to drown you. […] It’s just astonishing.”

Lewis Pugh

p 65, describing leopard seals off Antarctica
21 Yaks And A Speedo (2013)

Personality , Sea

“Thoughts alone won’t make extraordinary things happen. But nothing ever happens if you don’t visualise it first.”

Lewis Pugh

p 50
21 Yaks And A Speedo (2013)

“Never, ever did I think that there would be a debate in this arid country about which was more important – gas or water. We can survive without gas. We cannot live without water.”

Lewis Pugh

Speaking & Features, Standing Up To Goliath

Thinking , Water , Country

“When you are walking up a mountain to attempt something that nobody’s ever tried before, and you pass people bringing corpses down, it becomes very clear that if you get it wrong, the consequences could be fatal.”

Lewis Pugh

p 234, describing his swim on Mt Everest (2010)
21 Yaks And A Speedo (2013)

People , Mountain

“A thought came across my mind: if things go pear-shaped on this swim, how long will it take for my frozen body to sink the four and a half kilometers to the bottom of the ocean?”

Lewis Pugh

TED Talk: Swimming the North Pole, September 2009 http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/lewis_pugh_swims_the_north_pole.html
Speaking & Features

“Being the first to undertake a swim is exponentially harder than going second. You don’t know what will happen. The fear can be crippling. It’s much easier to go second. You know it’s possible. But the world is divided into pioneers and followers. You are one or the other. I prefer to be a pioneer.”

Lewis Pugh

Website

World , Fear

“A healthy ocean is an ocean with sharks. Take away an apex predator and it’s like removing the lions from the Serengeti. It won’t be long before the gazelle, zebras and wildebeest have multiplied and eaten all the grass. And when the land is laid bare the grazers will starve to death. Predators are crucial for a healthy ecosystem – be it on land or in the water.”

Lewis Pugh

24 September 2014, Op-ed in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/opinion/swimming-through-garbage.html?_r=0
Speaking & Features

Death , Grass , Water

“The right to have our environment protected for the benefit of our generation and the benefit of future generations is our most crucial human right.”

Lewis Pugh

Speaking & Features, My African Dream: Faith Rally Address, COP17
Context: The right to have our environment protected for the benefit of our generation and the benefit of future generations is our most crucial human right. I do not say that lightly - especially given South Africa’s past.

Future

“Always when we walked, it was clear to me how much he loved nature, wild flowers, animals in their natural habitat and the simple pleasures of a beautiful sunset. My love for the environment did not develop out of a vacuum.”

Lewis Pugh

p 21, describing his father
Achieving The Impossible (2010)

Love , Pleasure , Beauty , Flowers

“Law taught me how to argue passionately and rationally. That’s key to being a successful environmental campaigner. If you are too emotional you run the risk of turning off policy makers. And if you can’t present your arguments rationally, no one will listen to you.”

Lewis Pugh

Website

Law , Passion , Success

“I’ve been swimming for 25 years, and I don’t think there is one swim that I have done where someone didn’t say beforehand, ‘I don’t think it’s possible’ or ‘You’ll never make it’. If someone tells you that you can’t achieve your dream, don’t waste good time arguing. Walk away and do it.”

Lewis Pugh

p 261
21 Yaks And A Speedo (2013)

Dreams , Thinking , Time

“There’s nothing more chilling than swimming across open sea, where recently there used to be a solid glacier.”

Lewis Pugh

Address to the House of Lords (19 November 2010)
Speaking & Features

Sea

“There's a tyranny in perfection. Just do things to the very best of your ability. Then move on.”

Lewis Pugh

Website

Perfection

“The most powerful form of self-belief comes from believing in something greater than you. Because when you’ve got purpose, everything becomes possible.”

Lewis Pugh

p 86
21 Yaks And A Speedo (2013)

“The English Channel is the perfect stretch of water to truly test the human mind.”

Lewis Pugh

25 November 2011, Twitter
Speaking & Features

Water , Perfection

“There is nothing more powerful than the made-up mind.”

Lewis Pugh

TED Talk: Mind-Shifting Everest Swim, July 2010 http://www.ted.com/talks/lewis_pugh_s_mind_shifting_mt_everest_swim.html
Speaking & Features