Transcript
Dave Bricker (00:09)
Want to expand your speaking and storytelling skills and grow your influence business? This is Speekipedia Media brought to you by spekipedia .com. I’m your host, Dave Bricker, bringing you straight talk and smart strategies from visionary speakers, thought leaders, and storytellers. My guest is an expert in virtual reality and 3D imaging. But when he’s not wearing a VR headset, he’s deeply engaged with real reality.
He’s here to tell us about his recent trip to Nepal to climb Mount Everest. Please welcome CJ Singh.
CJ Singh (00:44)
Pleasure to be here Dave, it’s great to talk to you.
Dave Bricker (00:47)
Thank you. So, Mount Everest has a very special appeal because at 29 ,032 feet, it’s the highest point on planet Earth. And that’s not an adventure to be taken lightly. So what motivated you to do this?
CJ Singh (01:05)
It’s been one of those things that we’ve been talking for many, many years with my friends. Like, you know, it’s time, we’re past 50. You know, we know when you turn, when you hit 60 plus, something breaks. So we’re all set. You know what? We need some adventure in our life and let’s do this. And the Mount Everest, the whole Himalayan region growing up, that’s always been like this awe inspiring.
natural beauty, the clouds, the skies, the peaks. It’s been part of the upbringing. So we figured this is the time to go explore that area and look at that range from our viewpoint.
Dave Bricker (01:47)
I love that and there’s certainly a mystique you hear about Tibet and the Himalayas and Nepal and it’s a whole other world. And what have you done along your life journey that made you say, I’m ready for this climb because I can’t imagine this is the first mountain you’ve ever climbed. Like, I’m just going to go to Everest. Did you just wake up and say, I’m going to climb Everest or has I know this has been on your bucket list, but have you climbed other mountains?
CJ Singh (02:17)
So actually I have not climbed other mountains. You know, so actually, you know what, I take it back. When I was about 15, right, so there is a place which the Sikhs, which is my faith, you know, we consider it as a holy place where people visit and it’s at about 15 ,000 feet in the Northern India. It’s in the Himalayan range, but not as far as north as where we went. But that place is revered.
Dave Bricker (02:19)
Ha ha.
CJ Singh (02:46)
people go there. So when I was about 14, 15, you know, we, the family took a trip and we climbed that mountain and I, I remember some of those things that came back when we went this time to, to the base camp, you know, so this, some of those things started coming back. The feelings I had, the, the, the, the awesomeness of what you see around you, the journey, the trip, the rocks, the pebbles you go on. So it was, it was all there. So that was a long time ago.
But this adventure that we all did together, we did some local hikes and stuff and prepped for about eight months. And we said, you know what, let’s just do this. We’ll figure it out as we go.
Dave Bricker (03:25)
So there’s that prepping for eight months that you’re just mentioning. I thought so. So if someone listening to our conversation wants to undertake this big challenge.
CJ Singh (03:27)
Yes. Yes.
Dave Bricker (03:35)
How should they get started? And I ask this because, look, people see a musician after a big performance, or they see a sailor stepping ashore after a long passage, and they see that big smile of accomplishment. But what they don’t see is the hours spent rehearsing or the 30 -foot seas. So what is that path from dreamer to doer?
CJ Singh (03:58)
The hardest part is getting started. So for any of these things, I’ve done marathons and stuff in my life as well, the hardest part is just getting started. Either it be training, or so that was the hardest part. Getting started, so initially a whole bunch of people and friends said, okay, we’re all gonna do it. But then when we said, okay, let’s go, half of them quit. They’re like, no, this is not for us. But we kept on, so a group of us kept on.
And we said we’re going to do this. We actually got a tour company to help organize the trip for us. Right. So we got a tour company to help us because, you know, to understand local where to stay, what to do, where to eat, you know, and plus you need guides and Sherpas for this trip. So, you know, getting all that organized, we, we, we have, we hired a company which is based in New Delhi, even though this is in Nepal, Kathmandu. This, this, this company is, is in, in, in New Delhi. They helped us with.
organizing the day -to -day schedule and whatnot. And then it was shopping. We did tons of shopping. Why? Because you need these kind of pants, you need these kind of shirts, you need these many layers. So we did, like we first, I felt like we spent like three months shopping for stuff. You know, anywhere from headlamps to socks and to name it, because the weather is very unpredictable. So there was a lot of guidance on be prepared.
because you could go from cloudy to sunny to rainy to windy in a matter of hours. So you have to be ready for that. So the third thing was the physical aspect of it. We had to make sure these knees are still working. So we did a lot of trekking in New Jersey, New York area. We found hiking places. We set up all these WhatsApp groups. Hey, we’re going hiking on Saturday. Let’s meet at eight. And we hiked for like four or five hours. And then…
Then there was also an exercise routine we started doing with going up and down stairs. So again, getting ourselves mentally fit, physically fit, getting the right gear. Those are the kind of things you have to kind of get ready for.
Dave Bricker (06:06)
Yeah, and I think that’s so important because people, again, they just say, I’m going to go pick an adventure, right? And there is.
CJ Singh (06:13)
Mm -hmm.
Dave Bricker (06:16)
the people you need to surround yourself with. You need expertise, you need guides. And people who are not willing to get a guide because they think, well, that’s not an adventure if I go with a guide. Well, it absolutely is a very important adventure if you go with a guide and it could be a deadly adventure if you don’t. I mean, depends on what it is that you’re trying to accomplish. And then getting the right gear, a lot of reading and researching, right? A lot of watching.
CJ Singh (06:30)
Absolutely.
Dave Bricker (06:43)
videos of people who’ve gone ahead of you. What problems did they run into? We’ve got such great resources for preparation, and yet how many people just take off into the wilderness? And so…
CJ Singh (06:55)
So, I mean, the beauty of it was I’m not the researcher for this. So we had other people in the group. They’re really good at this. So they went, they did the research, they did the shopping, and then they created a list. This is what you need. So I was like, okay, I need this, I need this. there’s a sale, I need this too. So then we kind of got all the stuff together. So it was good having that group with people with different expertise, bringing together their part of it.
and then trying to do it all together for everybody.
Dave Bricker (07:28)
Yeah, and I’m sure there are items that you spent a lot of money on that you ended up not needing, but had you needed them, they would have been life -saving. I think about things on a sailboat, like a drogue. I mean, you get in a big enough storm, you need a sea anchor, you need things that you hope you never use, but what a difference to have that stuff. Now…
CJ Singh (07:33)
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yeah. Mm -hmm.
Dave Bricker (07:49)
You mentioned that you planned this with a bunch of friends, which is fantastic, and this always happens, right? Yeah, let’s do it, let’s do it. wait a second, we’re really doing it. I can’t do this. And then either they find an excuse or they realize that it was fun to talk about, but actually doing it is a bigger commitment. It was more fun to talk about it.
And then, what kind of response did you get from friends and family? Because I remember when I told my parents I was going to sail to Europe, they weren’t really enthusiastic about that idea. And sometimes if we have a big dream that involves some risk, the people who love us are the first ones to say, are you sure you want to do that? Because they want us to be safe. Was that a challenge for you or did you just have the right people saying go for it?
CJ Singh (08:23)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
No, no, that was a big challenge. Actually, there were two parts to it. The first part is, so initially, like I said, you know, we had like a lot of people who said yes, then half of them backed out. But we kept going after them. I said, you guys told us, you know, so we told us, listen, we’re not winging it. We have a professional company who’s going to guide us. You know, people will be kept safe. People will be watching you. You’ll have a place to stay, a place to eat. Everything will be taken care of. So, so,
majority of them came back. So initially they all walked away. Then a lot of them came back and we joined the group. We had husbands, wives, just wives, just husbands. We have all sorts of combination. And regarding letting family know and especially kids, we’re taking this adventure, we’ve got to make sure we have our wills written, right? Make sure the kids know where the wills are. So those are some of the difficult conversations saying, okay,
They’re like, why are you doing this? How risky is this thing? We’re like, no, it’s not risky, but it’s just, you know, it’s still something out of our element. God knows what can happen. So everybody was like, you know, why are you doing this? So I think I’m going to come back to a question you said, you know, that we went to the Everest. So we’re going to come back to that. I want to I want to want to a big clarification on that. Right. We went to the Everest range, not the Everest, but we’ll come back to it. But but I think that’s the impression people get that you’re about to climb Mount Everest.
Dave Bricker (09:59)
yeah.
CJ Singh (10:08)
That is a whole different level. And that’s one of the things we have to clarify, that we’re not climbing Mount Everest. That, in my, for me, that’s a one -way trip. You know, you go and you go. But yes, some of the conversations were difficult, but you know, everybody in the end said, you know, you’re known to do crazy stuff, so add this to the list. So.
Dave Bricker (10:32)
And it’s fascinating because the people who tell you it’s so dangerous, many of them drive on the expressway two hours a day. And if you look at the statistical odds of you being safe versus them being safe, they don’t think anything of it, right?
CJ Singh (10:38)
Exactly.
Exactly, exactly. We had lots of guides and sherpas around us. On New Jersey Turnpike you don’t get any of those.
Dave Bricker (10:50)
It’s fat.
Yeah, and we’ve seen what happens when somebody falls asleep or doesn’t pay attention. And I think it’s a lot more dangerous. I always felt like all those people on I -95 were in a lot more danger than I was in the middle of the ocean. It’s all…
CJ Singh (10:58)
Mm -hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
True, absolutely right. Because you’re watching. It’s new to you, so you’re more careful.
Dave Bricker (11:19)
Yep. So, and you just brought this up, but look, I did a little homework. Everest Base Camp is 17 ,598 feet high, almost 18 ,000 feet, and that’s pretty high. Many people, they helicopter in, but some like that challenge of a hike up from surrounding areas like Lupla.
So to those who don’t know better, Basecamp sounds like the ground floor. It’s like, well, isn’t that the parking garage elevator? What’s so big a deal? Big about that. But…
CJ Singh (11:53)
Yeah, so the beauty of Basecamp, and which is where we went, we went up to the Basecamp, is that’s where people who climb the summit, they stay there. They stay there for two months to get acclimated, to understand the surrounding area, to test their skills, to test their gear. They climb local mountains, but they come back to that. So they keep coming back from there. The real climbers, which I’m not,
They go to Camp 1, Camp 2, Camp 3, Camp 4, and then the summit. So we went to the base camp, met some of those people who are going to climb. Actually, they should be climbing this week. This is the week that they actually summit. And the beauty of base camp is it’s A, very rugged, B, very beautiful, and C, this is where you get to meet people.
who are actually going to climb Everest. So all of that is like, to me, those are celebrities. So those are the people who are like, putting it all out there and spending two months trying to achieve this. So for me, the journey from, like you said, Lukla to Everest base camp was the key. So the oxygen level is low, so you get acclimated and it gets, higher you go,
the more oxygen concentration in the air gets lower, harder it gets. But Basecamp gave us everything, gave me whatever we needed without the risk of the climb.
Dave Bricker (13:34)
Yeah, and certainly a climb that still will tax you, will challenge you. So talk a little bit about, I mean, first of all, how do you get to Lukla? I doubt American Airlines flies to Lukla. That’s gotta be a journey in itself. And then once you get there,
CJ Singh (13:42)
Absolutely.
Dave Bricker (13:55)
you’re in a different world. You’re with these people who have lived their lives in the shadow of the Great Mountain. They’ve seen people come and go and come back. They’ve seen people come and go and not come back. They must have a whole different culture and a whole different perspective. So how long did you stay in Lukla before you took the hike and what did you discover there?
CJ Singh (14:01)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
So this whole journey is you go up for eight days. So you start at Lukla and then there’s like five different stops you make on the way. So you start from Lukla, you go to, and you start hiking, right? You go start hiking immediately. So beauty, okay, so step my, how to get to Lukla. So there’s no direct flights to Nepal from the US. So.
Either you have to go through India or you go through the Middle East and then that takes you to Kathmandu. From Kathmandu, there is a bus. So we actually stayed in Kathmandu, did some local sightseeing, you know, get acclimated to Kathmandu’s height. And then from there, we took a bus that took us to an airport, which was then going to fly us into Lukla. It so happens that Lukla airport is one of the tiniest runways. So,
A lot of people have longer driveways than the runway at Lukla. So if you, if you, anybody who’s, they should look at videos of how planes land on Lukla airport. So unfortunately we didn’t get to fly into Lukla airport because Lukla was closed because of the weather. And so we took a helicopter in. So we took a helicopter in and then from there, once you land is when you start your hike. And then after that for eight straight days, you’re going from.
Lukla to Phadking to There’s towns that end with the name Boche B -O -C -H -A We’re trying to figure out what that means So I think that means like a farm or something So there’s Tengboche, Dingboche, Labuche So all of these different places that you go to And in some of those places you stay the night Because every time there is a
anything more than like a specific number of climb that you do, your body needs time to acclimate. So we would stay there at night in some of these places. So one of those places, a beautiful place was a place called Namche Bazaar. So it has the word bazaar in its name. That means it’s, you know, it’s got shops and there was a lot of art and culture there. There were monasteries there, you know, and then we stayed there an extra night.
And we did some local shopping, right? I bought a beautiful painting that maybe I’ll share a picture with you once I put it up, but it off off off the area So we stayed there We stayed there in hostels there These are like they’re called tea houses But essentially, you know You got a singles room or a doubles room and there’s a common kitchen area and a dining hall Where everybody meets and eats and you go back to sleep?
So our daily routine was such that we would in the morning start the hike around eight o ‘clock, seven thirty eight o ‘clock, hike for five to six hours with a lunch break in the middle, end up wherever we were going to end up in any of the boches or any of the places and then sleep, get up and do it again. So and you just keep doing it for eight days and it’s it’s tiring as hell on some days, but you keep doing it.
Dave Bricker (17:36)
Yeah, it’s fascinating because I would imagine you never know who you’re going to end up with in these little tea houses in these dining rooms. Who’s sitting next to you at the table? And the it’s just this idea that you are being paired up with these completely random strangers from all over the world and sit down. And I know that I mean, I met some amazing people sailing under the same circumstances. And that’s part of the joy of the journey.
CJ Singh (18:05)
So that was one of the most impressive things that I felt was meeting people from all over the world, you know, in these tea houses, during the trek. So, you know, there’s multiple people on the same journey with different tour groups. So some people were like a day behind you. Some people are going along with you. Some people are a day ahead. So you would run into them at different areas. And there were people there from Australia, New Zealand.
lot of people from India, there were people from Kyrgyzstan there, which is like one of the countries next to Russia. There were people from Africa, there were people from France, England and Russia. We heard every language that I could think of, all these languages and accents, but everybody was just in there for the journey and we were giving each other high fives and…
you know, stopping for each other when somebody had to pass or checking on somebody who was like bent over. So just to check and see, you know, but everybody was taking care of each other. We were having fun. An interesting episode is in one of the tracks, this is early on when we were getting to Namche Bazar. It’s a beautiful hike. I mean, there’s trees are below the tree line and it’s a wide hiking area. So we started singing some Bollywood tunes.
And there’s a guy who like rushed and caught up to us. He had the same song that he was a song that he wanted to sing. He just had it on karaoke for some reason. He said, I’m going to play this. I’m going to sing it with you guys. The best experience. So, you know, it’s just so many wonderful people we’ve met on the on the way.
Dave Bricker (19:51)
Yeah, and you really, when you travel like that, the people you meet in the middle of nowhere, and you find that no matter where people are from, no matter what their faith is, people are all the same. They want the same things.
CJ Singh (20:02)
Yeah, yeah, I mean, everybody was, you know, everybody was huffing and puffing, right? In their own languages, you could tell there’s extra breathing that they’re doing. But everybody had a smile on their face. And there was one lady from France, I remember, she just always walked with like the giantest smile. So I said, you’re the biggest smile on the track. There was this guy from Australia, this big guy. And, you know, we were giving each other hugs because we were…
crossing each other multiple times and he was just like, it’s so great to meet everybody and you know, I was like, there’s some people I do want to meet them again, you know, hopefully in a pub somewhere. But there were tons of those people on those hikes, loved it. So I had one person, she was like, Instagram influencer person. I think that was the lady from Kyrgyzstan. And she was like a great photographer.
So I saw her taking pictures of, I’m guessing her boyfriend. So I said, you know what, once he’s done, I want you to take some of my pictures too. And she took some amazing pictures of this and she was just so good at it. But unfortunately I didn’t take anybody’s contact info. So hey, if you see this, look me up. I miss you guys. It was nice meeting you.
Dave Bricker (21:19)
Love that. So if you’re just joining us, you’re tuned into Speakepedia Media. I’m going to edit this and do it again because I need to clear my throat.
So if you’re just joining us, you’ve tuned into Speekipedia Media for aspiring and professional speakers and thought leaders who want to make more money by changing hearts, minds, and fortunes. My guest today is 3D and virtual reality expert and Mount Everest mountaineer, CJ Singh.
CJ Singh (21:49)
Everest Base Camp Expert!
Dave Bricker (21:51)
Well, okay, you bring that up. And maybe some of our listeners are disappointed to hear, like, you didn’t get to the summit. Hey, Dave, why didn’t you find someone who made it all the way up? I mean, I had Neil Peterson on this podcast. He sailed around the world alone. And look, I only crossed the Atlantic and I had a friend with me. So, yeah, I guess I’m a loser, right? So, so many people focus on the final ultimate step.
CJ Singh (22:07)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
huh.
Dave Bricker (22:20)
and they miss the journey. And I think there’s a lot of wisdom in your choice to go part way up. Talk about that decision.
CJ Singh (22:22)
Yeah.
So.
I think, you know, I wanted to put this into perspective. Like, what am I here to do, right? What am I trying to do? The challenge to climb a mountain is a challenge. But what I was there to do was to experience the beauty of the area. Right, so to me that was very important. The challenge of climbing the mountain didn’t really register, right, as a challenge to me. The challenge was to find time.
to be able to explore this part of the world, something you’ve always dreamed of. So to me, that was the big reason for doing this. Explore the area, go with some friends and family, go with and experience just the beauty of that area and just the way, the more you climb, the environment changes, the clouds come in and you can’t even feel like you’re standing there.
The mountains looked like they were drawn. Literally, I’m standing there, it looked like somebody actually drew them with charcoal. Like, they were black and white sometimes. So to me, those were the experiences I was going for. The physical aspect of climbing Mount Everest, the summiting it, is not something in me. That’s a different type of challenge, but it doesn’t give me the excitement. This is what gave the excitement, being able to see the…
the vegetation, see mountain goats. We saw mountain goats. We saw this bird, beautiful colors. And it was like a little peacock bird, which was over there. The local people, the local people who live in those areas, little kids with big ground cheeks, red cheeks, men and women of that area. So to me, that was the more exciting part. And that’s what we went there to do. Everything else was nice to have.
Dave Bricker (24:25)
And I think that’s wonderful because, for example, I see so many people preparing for a speaking contest and they do a really good job, but they don’t win. Maybe the judges like something else. And well, that’s always disappointing, right? Because you want to be first place, but did you learn? Did you grow along the way? Did you get better? And I think people look…
CJ Singh (24:33)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Dave Bricker (24:54)
at the top of the mountain, there’s no room for mountain goats or people of different cultures. It’s a point. I remember when I climbed Pico in the Azores, 8 ,000 feet, and it’s perfect. There’s this little… It comes up to a cone that’s maybe 10 feet across, and there’s a little cone on top of the cone. You can stand on the point of the mountain. It’s just… Right? But…
CJ Singh (25:01)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Dave Bricker (25:20)
one person at a time can stand on the point of the mountain and there’s no place else to go but down. I think people focus on that end goal and they miss this idea of like, I’m gonna do the scenic route. I’m gonna meet the people. I’m gonna see the wildlife. I’m gonna explore the terrain. Who cares if you get to the top? And that’s, I think that’s one of the things I’m loving the most about this interview is this idea that.
CJ Singh (25:21)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Dave Bricker (25:48)
Yeah, you went for you. You didn’t go to come back with a trophy, an ego trophy.
CJ Singh (25:54)
So, I realized that during when we started that you know like this is what’s happening right you know so when you know it’s a big group we had so the Sherpas would divide us into hey whoever wants to go to you know the first group they’re the ones who are going faster and then the second group a little bit faster I was always in the last group why because I said I am not here to count my steps.
I’m not here to win, hey, I got there first. I got there, so I said, we’re going to measure. I said, I’m gonna measure this by not number of steps. I’m gonna measure it by PPS. I’m like, what the heck is PPS? I said, pictures per second. How many photos am I taking? So on my phone, I took everything from my phone. I took 1 ,459 pictures in those eight days.
I said, I’m gonna measure this journey by the memories that were created, the memories I was able to capture. And it was not about the finish, it was about the journey. I was literally, like most cases, the last or the second, third last person in this, because I would stop after a while, look around, and if I find something, I would take pictures, I ran into a guy from New York City on the trail.
He was like, I got to take a picture with you. I’m like, why? He’s like, okay. So we took him. I was like, where are you from? He’s like New York city. And he works in one of the known buildings here and we exchange information. So that was, I was there for just to meet and absorb. And to me, that was the win.
Dave Bricker (27:43)
Yeah, it’s like people who spend their whole life accumulating money. And then they die with millions of dollars. Well, maybe you could have lived a richer life in a different way. I mean, I don’t want to judge people, but I love the approach you’re taking.
CJ Singh (27:47)
Mm -hmm.
that. Yeah.
Dave Bricker (28:01)
So CJ, there’s always someone who wants to create the world’s longest paperclip chain or learn to recite pi to the 10 ,000th digit. And then there are other endeavors like, yeah, not me either.
CJ Singh (28:15)
You
Dave Bricker (28:15)
There are other endeavors like running a marathon, crossing an ocean, or climbing a mountain, and these tend to be more appealing because they’re powerful metaphors for life’s challenges. We all have mountains to climb. I’m a business owner, you’re a business owner, and what mountaineering or adventuring principles have you been able to apply to your life and business?
CJ Singh (28:40)
I think the biggest thing was there were times we were walking and then the local sherpas who you know they said slow down. He said slow down. If you don’t slow down the mountain will make you slow down. And it happened so many times. We said okay let’s just I’m gonna go there. But no the
the terrain, the beauty, and you’re walking, there’s a river next to you. You have to sit there and stand there and observe it. You gotta watch it, soak it in. So either it was that or the oxygen levels will drop. So now you have to, or you have to go up a mountain like this, zigzag up, and you see it was like, whoa, we gotta do this. So this was the biggest lesson is just to slow down, observe what’s happening around you.
And learn from the locals, learn who’s the people who are there, learn from them, learn from people on the ground. So those are some of the things that I kind of took on and I hope I remember it and get to use it in my personal and business life.
Dave Bricker (29:59)
Yeah, you can certainly grow your business too fast. What do they tell it? What do adults tell you when you’re a kid? Don’t try to grow up too fast. And of course we all do, right? And we learn and we suffer for that. We hopefully get old enough to try to impart that same futile advice to our own children.
CJ Singh (30:06)
Yeah, yes. Yeah. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
I think just getting that slowing down also helps you just kind of look back for a second and look forward for a second and look around for a second to get different perspective. And if you’re slow, then you will maybe meet people who are like you or slow like you, but they’re also thinking and observing and you get to meet interesting people. And it was funny in one of the one days I’m like, I’m going to go with the first group. Let me just see.
you know what that is all about. So I literally walk with them for 15 minutes. I’m like, you know what? At lunch break, I am splitting with you guys. I can’t deal with this pace. I’m not getting what I’m here for to soak it in. You guys are just like flying through this painting that you’re in. You’re not watching it.
Dave Bricker (31:13)
Yeah, so I meet a lot of people who are brand new to sailing, which is my adventure drug. And I always tell them, because they’re into the romance of the sea and the, I mean, certainly I am too, right? But I tell them, you’re going to have the best and the worst times of your life on a sailboat. And I can tell you stories about being seasick, cold, scared and wet. And I can also tell you about things I’ve seen that are
CJ Singh (31:20)
Mm -hmm.
Dave Bricker (31:43)
magical, otherworldly, and utterly impossible to explain. I have to guess that mountaineering is going to deliver the same extremes of experience. Can you share a few of the downs that maybe made you swear you’d never set foot on a mountain again? And then share a few of the ups that make all the cold and wind and danger and being out of breath make it all worthwhile.
CJ Singh (32:08)
Mm -hmm.
It’s exactly what you said, right? There are times it’s really, really hard. So the hardest thing was when you go up above a certain height, right? The facilities that you expect for simple things, toilets, hot water, bathrooms, they don’t exist, right? Some things we’re used to, the type of toilets we’re used to.
the type of facilities we’re used to, they do not exist and you have to quickly adapt. Right? So that was just the facilities, you know, staying in these tea houses, which are cold. You wake up, there’s no light. Because everything is powered and they use solar power and there’s no electric lines coming there. There’s no gas lines coming there. So…
They actually carry gas cylinders on yachts, which are used for cooking and hot water. So all the resources are very limited. So you are in an environment which requires you to do the daily comforts of life. Turn the button on and you get heat and hot water. None of that exists. So it took a little bit of, we knew it was there, but when you actually see it and smell it, then when it hits you.
So that made it hard, right, for both men and women. And, you know, it made it hard that, on the other hand, the food served in these places is out of this world. Okay? So there is a cafe, okay? It’s called 4410. So that’s the height in meters, which is over 14 ,000 feet.
And one of the best cafes in the world is there. They serve some of the most amazing cakes, cappuccinos, 15 different types of drinks, and you get like a plate full of popcorn. And it’s a great place. Everybody comes and hangs out there. And in this whole trek, in Namche Bazar, in Dingboche, in Labuche, there are…
like some fantastic bakeries in this place which is amazing and I had mushroom pizza at 15 ,000 feet it’s like crazy but the food was great so you got the both sides of the digestive system one is really bad and one is really good so you gonna have to find the right balance
Dave Bricker (35:02)
Yeah, but when you’re in a remote place and you encounter a fantastic meal, it’s that much more special.
CJ Singh (35:10)
Mm -hmm. absolutely. Absolutely. It’s I mean, there were other days when you were at this height. It’s funny how your body reacts at a certain height and oxygen level. Your body doesn’t get hungry. And you’re like, I just I walked for six hours up and down, up and down, and I’m not hungry. That’s weird. So you force yourself to eat and you get others to do, though. Some people like me, we couldn’t sleep for a couple of nights. You’re so tired.
that you can’t even, you know, but you can’t sleep. So those were the other negatives, right? So your body’s reacting and adjusting to an environment in which you’re not able to, you know, you kind of have to figure out ways to deal with it. Couple of our buddies, when they got up to this height, their bodies couldn’t react. There’s a condition where if the oxygen level drops, your body goes into this phase that you actually have to be sent immediately back.
to a better oxygen level. Yeah, yeah, it’s some sort of an hypoxia and then we had them, they had to be given oxygen in a clinic and then next morning we flew them down and within hours they were back up. It’s like a balloon deflating, you’re back up. So those were the negatives but then again, you walk, you take these pictures and you see these hanging bridges. Amazing, like big hanging bridges connecting mountains.
Dave Bricker (36:11)
Hypoxia, right?
CJ Singh (36:36)
and you just everything and you stand in the middle of them of the bridge and you look left you right look up look down and you just forget everything it’s like this is the best so you know like felt every emotion that there is to be felt in this in this trip so it was just awesome
Dave Bricker (36:54)
Sounds like it’s out of some strange fairy tale.
CJ Singh (36:58)
So I look at these pictures now and it does look like I it looks weird like we were there and this just we just came back like 10 days ago so so it’s it’s but it looks like a very fairy tale -ish looks like I just visited another planet.
Dave Bricker (37:19)
Fantastic. So something I hear associated with public speaking all the time is this theme of fear. And then people ask me if I was scared to sail alone in the Bahamas or cross the Atlantic in a wooden boat. And the answer is, of course I was. And of course I’m nervous speaking in front of a bunch of people. And fear is what keeps us alive, right? If you’re not afraid, you’re in trouble. But there are motivators that are stronger than fear.
CJ Singh (37:27)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Dave Bricker (37:49)
And I think you could say, if you’re not afraid, you’re not really challenging yourself, and maybe it’s time to live a little harder. Talk about the idea that courage is not the same thing as fearlessness, because so many people let fear keep them from experiencing, succeeding, risking, loving. And look, at the same time, like you didn’t want to go to the summit?
CJ Singh (37:57)
Mm -hmm.
Dave Bricker (38:13)
I’m not gonna go sail the Southern Ocean to go to Antarctica. I hate the cold. I don’t want to experience 70 foot seas full of ice chunks. So talk about this idea of balancing risk, fear, and moving forward in life.
CJ Singh (38:15)
Yeah, yeah.
So fear, I think the way I look at fear is to me the fear is just starting something. The way I look at things is, the way I have the fear is not being able to start on any of these challenges. But once it’s there, then the fear kind of goes away and you find your way. So…
So there’s this concept in Sikhism which is called Charadi Kala which roughly translates to relentless optimism. So it’s basically once you start on that journey and then if you keep positive, things just keep happening. So like even on this trip, right? So there were times, there was a night where I’m laying down.
And this is again at 14, 15 ,000 feet. And then my heart just starts doing this and I’m laying down. It’s like my heart is racing and I’m laying down. If you’re running or if you’re walking, your heart is racing, you know what to do. Like, I don’t know what to do. And it was, that was, I was afraid. I was like, what is happening here? Right. But I’m like, you know what? I’m here. This is new to me. This is new to my body. I’m going to just get up and walk. And that itself, you know, when you walk, you’re breathing heavy, your heart calms down.
And it was just one of those things. So, but it just, you keep finding your way one step at a time. So that’s kind of how I looked at it is fear is a beautiful thing, right? It kind of gives you your limits and then gives you an opportunity to go past it. And there was fear when I saw a couple of our buddies going through this situation where…
They felt like they were being choked and they’re going to die. And that was very fearful to see that, hey, this could happen. But again, you sprung into action and said, you know what? This is common. I knew about this. There’s a clinic nearby. We’re going to go find somebody who’s going to help. And the doctor sprung into action and boom, problem was controlled. So I think it’s just a good motivator to have. But.
If you just keep a positive mindset and things will things will things will happen.
Dave Bricker (41:00)
Did you find, as I did, that when there’s really a moment of crisis, there’s a part of you that might want to panic, but you realize that that’s the worst thing you could do, and you realize, look, I can’t call 911. I’m out here in the middle of nowhere, and if I don’t deal with what’s in front of me, and so you end up very calm and very peaceful in the face of sometimes very dangerous circumstances. I think there’s something that kicks in for us that…
CJ Singh (41:10)
Yeah. Yeah.
Any?
Yeah, I mean, we were lucky in the sense that there were locals around us. So when something unusual happened, I’m not thinking, okay, where’s my 911 and why don’t I see an ambulance come? No, you go to the local person and say, hey, I’m seeing this. What do you suggest? And then no, like, you know, we are one of a hundred thousand people they’ve met, right? So, so they quickly, you know, give us the guidance and say, okay, do this, do that, you know, like, you know, there were times when people couldn’t just walk. They were just.
They were just so tired that they’re like, hey, listen, this person needs help. So either they would say, you know what? The Sherpas can carry your bag, you walk. Or they’ll say, you know what? You want a horse? We’ll get you a horse to take to the rest of your trip. So I think that the lesson here was in an unusual place, a different place, go to people for whom this is usual, right? So you got the locals and they would just, they knew the answers. They had the phone numbers. They had the…
the 911 that we weren’t aware of. But I guess on the sea this must be harder. You can’t go to the sharks for help.
Dave Bricker (42:37)
No, exactly. Exactly. And of course, up on the summit, then you’re back in that same set of circumstances.
CJ Singh (42:46)
True, true. But actually even on the summit, the beauty of this, at least the Mount Everest is anyone who climbs, they take two or three sherpas with them. The sherpas know the local terrain, they know the local environment, and you have to listen to them and they will take you there. So local help is also very much the key to that success.
Dave Bricker (43:13)
It’s fascinating to me because you have people from all over the world who want to go climb Mount Everest and it’s their big adventure. And these Sherpas, that’s what they do every day. Some of them must have been up so many times and they don’t think anything of it. That’s just what they do. It’s all perspective.
CJ Singh (43:29)
Yeah, someone from my team members, if you just look it up, this happened two days ago. One of the Sherpas went up to Mount Everest for the 29th time. It’s a world record. He was on that trail with us. OK, so he was actually going there and these guys go set up the area. Like every season they go set up the ropes and the, you know, the ladders and the ropes. He was one of the Sherpas. He was one of the first people to climb again.
for the 29th time. I mean, for them, it’s like, you know, what, you know, me going to Disneyland. So it’s like they’re doing, but I would have been to Disneyland 29 times. This guy climbed Mount Everest 29 times. Yeah.
Dave Bricker (44:11)
Amazing. That brings me around because I know that some of the people listening to our conversation are thinking they need to have this great big story. And I know you professionally. You tell stories with technology every day and they don’t involve grandiose adventures. And talk about the power of delivering a valuable experience.
and how it isn’t necessary to run a marathon, survive cancer, sail around the world, or climb to the summit of Mount Everest if you want to inspire other people.
CJ Singh (44:48)
I mean, these adventures are good for you personally, but what’s also good is just the local things that you do. The things that you do locally in your community, in your family, in your friend circle, just the little things, the everyday, the daily steps. Those are as important as any of these grandiose adventures. So being able to help out in a community center, a church, or teach somebody.
I teach dance to kids. Just being able to give that back, I think that’s even more inspiring because this adventure for me is like an 8, 10, 12 day thing, right? But the rest of the time, what do you do? I think that’s what’s more important. And doing something small is, I think on a regular basis, is almost as important in doing these grandiose things.
Dave Bricker (45:42)
It’s the small, meaningful stories that really impact more people. The grand adventures are fun to listen to, fun to read about, and they’re certainly fun to experience. But yeah, it’s those little things. I adopted a dog three weeks ago. Why do we do that? Because we get great stories that last for years, right? It’s those little things.
CJ Singh (46:00)
Yeah.
Dave Bricker (46:07)
So CJ, any new big adventures planned or is it too early to ask that question?
CJ Singh (46:13)
So we did start, you know, like there’s some people want to go to Kilimanjaro and some of these other things and I’m, you know, I like to choose a different adventure, you know, like I ran marathons before. I might do another one of those in October. I think the Toronto Marathon is looking exciting. Maybe another one, you know, maybe to Peru or somewhere else, somewhere in South America, just to see that part of the world, I think will be exciting.
But now, you know, I have a much more appreciation for what hiking and trekking and mountaineering is all about. And, you know, a lot of respect for people who do this on a regular basis and especially the ones who climb summits, you know, that takes a special level of heart and soul and knees and, you know, their physical body. But yeah, so nothing quite planned yet. But, you know, I think adventure is something.
New adventures is something you know just gets my juices going and you never know so
Dave Bricker (47:17)
and you’ve got a whole garage full of mountaineering gear that literally has your name on it.
CJ Singh (47:20)
I know exactly, exactly. We got these wonderful shirts that you can literally wear in 32 degree weather and a single shirt you will feel warm. It’s that clothing, you know, God bless these people who made these things.
Dave Bricker (47:40)
Well, CJ Singh, thanks for joining me today. This has been a lot of fun.
CJ Singh (47:45)
Thank you Dave, it’s been a pleasure talking to you and it’s always been fun working with you and seeing your creative juices and I love the fact that you picked up on the fact that this thing is something that was important to me and that you were able to catch on and said let’s record this while it’s fresh in your memory. So I truly appreciate you picking that up and inviting me to your studio.
Dave Bricker (48:12)
It’s been wonderful. I’m Dave Bricker, inviting you to explore the world’s most comprehensive resource for speakers and storytellers at speakeepedia .com. If you’re watching this on social media video, please remember to love, subscribe, and share your comments. And if you’re listening to the podcast, keep your hands on the wheel, stay safe, and I’ll see you on the next episode of Speakeepedia Media.
CJ Singh (48:40)
Thank you all.
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