Everyone has his or her own reasons for wanting to summit Mount Everest. What were yours?

To me, Mount Everest is the ultimate symbol of challenge, dedication and achievement, both mentally and physically. I am goal-setter - I need challenges and I always look for ways to push myself. Twenty-three years ago I decided to climb Everest and I made a promise to myself that one day I would do it. Growing up in Calgary my parents took us to the Rockies - Elbow Falls, Bragg Creek and Banff - and we all grew up with a love of the outdoors. I remember as child lying on my back looking up at the mountains and wishing I were a bird so I could get to the top of everything.

How has the discipline and dedication required to successfully climb Mount Everest translated into other parts of your life?

When I was 21 I was an apprentice partsman at a Ford dealership and I said to myself that by the time I was 30 I would own my own dealership. So I went through the steps from apprentice to journeyman to parts and service manager. And I then had an opportunity to purchase a dealership that was in receivership. It had walls and a roof but that was it - my wife and I worked very hard and we started from scratch. I had to sell myself to the banks and raise the money and then take this business and build it. Now, for the third year in a row we have won the highest award that Ford gives to its dealerships, the Customer Excellence Award. I think setting goals and achieving them requires the same process no matter what those goals are. Success is an attitude. You can be and do anything you want if you believe in yourself and want it badly enough. Talent has very little to do with it. You have to want to execute and you have to be willing to make the sacrifices that are necessary to succeed. People need to learn how to win - and by winning I don't mean first prize or second prize or whatever. Winning is about being the best that you can be. You have to measure yourself against yourself in order to truly strive for personal success.

Do you have a step-by-step plan for goal-setting and execution?

Of course. First, you have to have a passion for the goal. Your reasons must be internal not external. I wanted to climb Everest to fulfil a promise I had made to myself - not to become famous. Next, you must truly understand the goal that you have set. You need to do research, find out more about what your goal is about than simply what is at the end. What are the components that add up to success? Take Everest, for example. You have to know how to climb. You have to know how to climb safely. You need to take courses. You have to know the fundamentals. In climbing its whether your body can cope with high altitudes. Some people can, some can't. You have to do other climbs in order to know.

Then there were two years of door-knocking for sponsorship, planning, preparing, logistics involved in this expedition. You have research and prepare and get all the information you can. On this climb there was not one surprise. We had setbacks of course. But nothing happened on that mountain that I had not expected and anticipated and developed a plan to cope with. You have to do your research and it's a lot of work and it is not always fun.

The next step is preparation. For Everest much of this was physical preparation. This is similar to the training someone has to go through in order to be computer programmer. You can't say, "Hey, I think I want to be computer programmer" and just start doing it any more than you can say "Hey, I think I want to climb Everest" and just go do it. There is training involved and the tough part is to push through those times when you don't want to work out or you don't want to attend that class. Success is all mental - it's all about persistence and perseverance even when we don't want to do what it takes to succeed. It's having the intestinal fortitude to push through the tough spots and keep going toward your goal.

When I attempted Everest in 1998 I did all of these things. But it didn't work out. That's a setback and to keep on going after a setback is the most important thing to do. I don't believe in failure. I believe in persistence. And I know I keep saying this but I'll repeat it again: talent has nothing to do with success. You have to push on, push forward, learn from setbacks and keep trying. Failure only happens when you give up on yourself.

I decided after 1998 that for my next attempt I wanted to be in control. I ran this year's expedition the way I run my business. No one in our group had any out-of-pocket expenses except me. I handpicked my expedition team and I hired them to come. There were no hidden agendas and no problems when we got to the mountain. The difficulties were in all the mountains you have to climb before you get to climb the mountain - raising money, pounding on doors, selling myself to the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

You were instrumental in setting up an education program for Canadian schoolchildren to "accompany" you on your climb. What key lessons do you want both your son and other children to take from your successful climb?

That any endeavour we get into we need to finish. That fulfilling yourself internally is more important than material success. And that on your way to achieving your dreams you will experience setbacks, but these mean that you have to push through them to get to your goal.

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