Adventure should be 80 percent 'I think this is manageable,' but it's good to have that last 20 percent where you're right outside your comfort zone. Still safe, but outside your comfort zone.

Are you the sort of person who can turn around when you have nothing left, and find that little bit extra inside you to keep going, or do you sag and wilt with exhaustion? It is a mental game, and it is hard to tell how people will react until they are squeezed.

Textbook survival tells you to stay put. Stop. Wait for rescue. Don't take any risks. But there'd been a whole host of survival shows like that and I didn't really want to do that.

All worthwhile journeys have big obstacles. It's the way of the world. The rewards go to those who can push through those trying moments and still manage to keep a smile on their face.

Life doesn't reward the naturally clever or strong but those who can learn to fight and work hard and never quit.

It breaks my heart that my father never knew my children. He should have been around for another 25 years.

Dreams, though, are cheap, and the real task comes when you start putting in place the steps needed to make those dreams a reality.