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Okay. I'd like to present 
a hypothetical idea.

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A way to practice taking risks, 
because after all,


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practice makes perfect. Right?

4
00:00:19,774 --> 00:00:22,814
So I want you to picture a stadium. 
The biggest stadium you've ever seen.

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and it's got a huge arch 
over the top of it, 


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a hundred meters high.

7
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Now, most people think that that arch 
is simply there for supporting the structure.

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But others believe that arch is also there
so that we can tie a rope to the top of it,

9
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we can stretch that rope
all the way to the rim of the stadium

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and do a huge rope swing 
all the way across.

11
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And better still, we can do that 
in a kayak.

12
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But wait! What if the rope breaks? 
You could die!

13
00:00:51,377 --> 00:00:55,233
Okay, maybe you didn't ask that question. 
But I'm pretty sure that you did ask,

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"What's a professional kayaker, 
and what's he doing on our stage?"

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I haven't done much to change the world,
but I have made a career

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out of exploring remote rivers.
And the rivers taught me

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just about everything I need to know.

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Growing up in South Africa
was a good life, but a simple life.

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No TV, no video games, 
but I did have a kayak and a river.

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I had the disadvantage of having 
very few kayak mentors

21
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to teach me what could be done in a kayak, 
but I had the distinct advantage

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of having nobody to tell me 
what could not be done.

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I remember as a young teenager, 
hearing about a French rafting expedition

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that had attempted to take on and navigate 
the world's biggest rapids, 


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on the Congo River.

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I saw this old photocopy 
of the Paris Match magazine,

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and this was the last photo ever taken of them.

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Right about the same time,

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I saw an old newspaper 
with this photo of Marco Begni


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kayaking off a waterfall near my house.

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If you look at the top left of the frame, 
you'll see a kayak there.

32
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I clearly remember walking into the kitchen 
and saying to my parents,

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"I'm going to kayak down 
that waterfall one day."

34
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And my dad said, "Well, son, 
if you work hard and practice,

35
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maybe one day you'll be good enough."

36
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About ten years later I found myself 
kayaking off that very waterfall.

37
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And about 15 years later I found myself 
standing next to the Congo River

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on the very same spot where 
that last photograph was taken.

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Now I think the best way for me 
to introduce you to my Congo expedition

40
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is to play the trailer to the film that 
I made about it. Have a look.

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Some call it a calling. 
I think of it as an obsession.

42
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Inga.

43
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World's biggest rapid.

44
00:02:59,519 --> 00:03:03,085
Almost every attempt to survive it 
causes death.

45
00:03:07,235 --> 00:03:12,881
I've been kayaking my whole life. 
But when is enough enough?

46
00:03:16,739 --> 00:03:20,756
I first heard the story, and seven people 
died having their attempt.

47
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Now I've waited half my life for my turn.

48
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All I have to do now is call a team of the best,

49
00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:33,301
put my friends' lives on the line...

50
00:03:38,091 --> 00:03:41,884
I've definitely been struggling with it. 
I've woken up quite a few mornings

51
00:03:41,957 --> 00:03:44,705
and just almost felt like calling the boys 
and saying,

52
00:03:45,097 --> 00:03:47,671
I just don't know 
if I'm in for this one.

53
00:03:49,364 --> 00:03:53,301
This is the obsession: to release yourself 
by accomplishing the goal.

54
00:03:53,627 --> 00:03:56,593
Or by being stopped by something outside of your control.

55
00:03:57,422 --> 00:04:00,328
But once you start this journey, 
even if you don't want to go,

56
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you have to.

57
00:04:03,234 --> 00:04:16,762
(Energetic music)

58
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You can run all the big water you want, 
but how do you prepare for something

59
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that's never been done before?

60
00:04:22,388 --> 00:04:25,909
In a place where help is not on its way.

61
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Congo.

62
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,291
A place where experience is just a word.

63
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The lesson that we learned today 
is not to fuck with these rapids.

64
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Fisher messed up because he got off 
to the side where whirlpools form,

65
00:05:01,777 --> 00:05:04,198
where all of this stuff goes down out here.

66
00:05:05,258 --> 00:05:08,454
I may have had the closest call of my life, 
but I didn't come here to die.

67
00:05:08,996 --> 00:05:11,231
I came here to win.

68
00:05:17,287 --> 00:05:20,894
(Helicopter noise)

69
00:05:22,018 --> 00:05:56,214
(Music slowly builds)

70
00:05:56,873 --> 00:05:59,965
-Steady bro!
- Fuck, they're not gonna make it dude!

71
00:06:02,618 --> 00:06:05,627
(CONGO: The Grand Inga Project)

72
00:06:05,906 --> 00:06:08,766
All right, so. Spoiler alert: we survived.

73
00:06:09,074 --> 00:06:10,830
(Laughter)

74
00:06:11,258 --> 00:06:17,028
(Applause)

75
00:06:17,406 --> 00:06:20,087
So what you just saw 
in the introduction there, is

76
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even us extreme sports guys feel trepidation 
as we approach a new challenge.

77
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And in this case, it was fearing 
that if we took the next step,

78
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the voyage itself would take on a life 
of its own, and drag us along with it.

79
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It would be like faring out into a huge river 
with a strong current,

80
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and you can't stop.
It's a commitment.

81
00:06:42,656 --> 00:06:46,910
So how, then, do we prepare for something 
that's never been done before?

82
00:06:47,738 --> 00:06:50,631
In my profession I have a small box

83
00:06:50,631 --> 00:06:53,524
that I start with 
that has five tools in it.

84
00:06:53,524 --> 00:06:56,419
My equipment: I make sure 
I have the right gear.

85
00:06:57,017 --> 00:07:01,057
My physical well-being: I make sure that 
I've prepared physically for the task.

86
00:07:02,538 --> 00:07:07,249
The location: I make sure that I'm 
in the perfect place to do what I do.

87
00:07:07,299 --> 00:07:10,947
And once I've checked those three off, 
I use those to develop the other two,

88
00:07:11,137 --> 00:07:13,950
which are the skills and the experience.

89
00:07:14,619 --> 00:07:18,842
But you can't use any of these tools 
until you demistify risk.

90
00:07:19,573 --> 00:07:22,457
We can mitigate risks purely 
by understanding them, 


91
00:07:22,457 --> 00:07:25,341
and the way that we understand them

92
00:07:25,341 --> 00:07:28,226
is that we take a seemingly impossible idea 
and we break it down

93
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into little digestible parts, 
and we look at each step individually

94
00:07:32,329 --> 00:07:34,172
and see if that is attainable.

95
00:07:35,102 --> 00:07:39,197
What happens then is what we're doing,
is that we find that many of our fears

96
00:07:39,287 --> 00:07:40,992
are unjustified,

97
00:07:40,992 --> 00:07:43,217
and very often we find 
that what's before us

98
00:07:43,227 --> 00:07:45,652
is far less risky than we thought.

99
00:07:48,272 --> 00:07:54,929
So... give me a second. 
Might need some applause here.

100
00:07:55,446 --> 00:08:00,598
(Applause)

101
00:08:02,323 --> 00:08:06,847
So you know, as humans, 
we are not inherently risk averse.

102
00:08:07,537 --> 00:08:12,846
We evolved by taking risks, so it's okay 
if there are risks in what we do.

103
00:08:12,906 --> 00:08:16,068
We simply need to understand those risks, 
and once we understand them,

104
00:08:16,406 --> 00:08:20,161
we're ready to take the first step. 
So let me show you what I mean.

105
00:08:20,177 --> 00:08:24,861
Let me show you how I put that to use 
every time I look at a rapid or a waterfall.

106
00:08:25,737 --> 00:08:30,429
As I paddle up to the top of a waterfall, 
the first thing I do is climb out of my kayak

107
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and I walk down the side of the river 
and I look at the pool below.

108
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That's my goal, that's where I want to be.

109
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And it's only then that I turn back 
at the rapid, and Oh my gosh!

110
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If I look at the whole rapid 
it's far too daunting.

111
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So what I need to do is break it down 
into smaller chunks, into individual moves

112
00:08:47,298 --> 00:08:50,465
and see that I can do 
each move individually,

113
00:08:50,465 --> 00:08:53,742
and only then do I figure out 
how to link those moves together.

114
00:08:53,782 --> 00:08:58,211
So let's zoom in on this photograph. 
If I would have shown this top part of the rapids

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00:08:58,217 --> 00:09:00,303
to even an intermediate kayaker, 
they would say,

116
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"Okay. Well that looks fairly chunky, 
but it's good to go."

117
00:09:04,289 --> 00:09:06,803
And if I showed them the next part, 
they would say,

118
00:09:06,803 --> 00:09:10,227
"Oh, that's a pretty straightforward job. 
Yeah, let's go do it."

119
00:09:10,247 --> 00:09:11,763
And if I show them the last part, 
they would say,

120
00:09:11,763 --> 00:09:14,399
"Okay, it's pretty spectacular but it's a straight shot.

121
00:09:14,549 --> 00:09:16,625
You don't really need to do anything. 
It's good to go."

122
00:09:17,796 --> 00:09:19,913
You'll have to take my word for that.

123
00:09:20,882 --> 00:09:24,652
But the job is not done there. 
Once we cut a problem horizontally,

124
00:09:24,822 --> 00:09:27,514
the next thing we need to do 
is cut it vertically.

125
00:09:27,573 --> 00:09:30,288
What we're trying to do 
is establish the path

126
00:09:30,288 --> 00:09:32,753
or line that we're likely to be on.

127
00:09:33,583 --> 00:09:35,929
And the reason that we're doing that 
is to eliminate the parts

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00:09:35,929 --> 00:09:38,275
of the rapid that don't affect us.

129
00:09:38,275 --> 00:09:40,623
The parts of the rapid where we will not be.

130
00:09:40,987 --> 00:09:45,120
Because if we do that, then we can look and see 
if there are any deadly features.

131
00:09:45,216 --> 00:09:50,053
If those deadly features are in the eliminated part 
we never have to think about them again.

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00:09:50,738 --> 00:09:54,411
And if those deadly features are in our path, 
and they're unavoidable,

133
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well then we don't go. It's far too risky.

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00:09:57,905 --> 00:10:00,475
That's how extreme sport works. 
Sorry to disappoint you guys.

135
00:10:00,475 --> 00:10:02,635
(Laughter)

136
00:10:02,885 --> 00:10:05,325
So imagine you're walking along 
a trail like this.

137
00:10:05,375 --> 00:10:07,333
You're walking along 
and you've got a cliff on your left side.

138
00:10:07,376 --> 00:10:10,068
You're thinking about 
what you're doing while you walk.

139
00:10:10,108 --> 00:10:12,090
You're not thinking about 
the cliff the entire time.

140
00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:14,440
It's only if you turn towards the cliff 
and start approaching it

141
00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,930
that it becomes a real danger.

142
00:10:16,950 --> 00:10:18,600
And then you stop.

143
00:10:19,940 --> 00:10:24,362
Okay, so how do you know 
if you're on the right path,

144
00:10:24,362 --> 00:10:25,644
and what happens 
if you're on the wrong path?

145
00:10:25,844 --> 00:10:28,338
Well, in kayaking there's no turning back.

146
00:10:28,468 --> 00:10:33,242
So what that teaches us 
is not to panic when things go wrong.

147
00:10:33,662 --> 00:10:37,733
When the unexpected occurs 
we have no choice but to solve the problem

148
00:10:37,733 --> 00:10:39,104
and keep on moving.

149
00:10:39,154 --> 00:10:43,421
But fortunately, as in life, 
if we zoom back just a little bit,

150
00:10:43,441 --> 00:10:45,548
perhaps to where we haven't yet

151
00:10:45,548 --> 00:10:47,824
climbed in the kayak 
and made the commitment,

152
00:10:47,844 --> 00:10:49,560
we get to see that very often

153
00:10:49,610 --> 00:10:51,982
we can start down a path, 
realize we're on the wrong path,

154
00:10:51,982 --> 00:10:53,494
turn back and reset the plan.

155
00:10:53,824 --> 00:10:55,615
Let me show you what I mean.

156
00:10:55,785 --> 00:10:58,396
(Laughter)

157
00:10:59,646 --> 00:11:02,559
Have you ever heard the cliche, 
"never give up?"

158
00:11:02,939 --> 00:11:07,621
Well tonight we're canceling it. 
We don't say that anymore.

159
00:11:08,017 --> 00:11:11,358
From now on we say, 
"Don't give up too easily."

160
00:11:12,084 --> 00:11:16,393
On this particular trip, 
our plan was to use a rope to rappel down

161
00:11:16,393 --> 00:11:18,142
into the base of Victoria Falls

162
00:11:18,142 --> 00:11:21,173
and kayak through the rapids 
at the very base of the falls.

163
00:11:21,857 --> 00:11:25,067
Once we got down there, 
we found the unexpected.

164
00:11:25,296 --> 00:11:27,660
The wind and the spray 
from the falls themselves

165
00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:30,224
were so strong 
that it was impossible to kayak,

166
00:11:30,394 --> 00:11:32,655
so we had to fall back 
on to our contingency plan

167
00:11:32,655 --> 00:11:35,186
and climb a hundred meters back up the rope

168
00:11:35,266 --> 00:11:36,939
and cancel the whole idea.

169
00:11:37,568 --> 00:11:41,701
But guess what? The TV show we were 
making about it, turned out great,

170
00:11:42,177 --> 00:11:47,300
and we got this photograph. We gave up but 
we didn't have to feel ashamed of it.

171
00:11:47,900 --> 00:11:54,070
if you refuse to give up on an idea, 
then you inhibit your ability to experiment.

172
00:11:54,537 --> 00:11:58,942
But if you're willing to give up 
after a good effort, then when you do give up

173
00:11:58,972 --> 00:12:00,924
there's no reason to feel guilty.

174
00:12:02,030 --> 00:12:05,346
Okay, so I think that now 
you're starting to get to know me a little bit,

175
00:12:05,386 --> 00:12:06,592
so I think that we're ready

176
00:12:06,592 --> 00:12:10,088
to talk about the stadium idea again.
How do you guys feel now?

177
00:12:10,744 --> 00:12:14,856
But wait! What if the rope breaks? 
You could die!

178
00:12:15,947 --> 00:12:18,824
The rope is not going to break, 
and here's why.

179
00:12:19,296 --> 00:12:22,007
Right from the start, 
we're going to use a rope

180
00:12:22,007 --> 00:12:25,580
that is thousands of pounds stronger 
than it needs to be.

181
00:12:26,740 --> 00:12:30,051
So we've used the right equipment 
to eliminate the problem

182
00:12:30,071 --> 00:12:32,072
and we never have to think about it again.

183
00:12:32,702 --> 00:12:36,994
We've eliminated the "what if" factor. 
It's called "pointing positive".

184
00:12:37,854 --> 00:12:41,403
We can now focus on the how, 
and in this particular case,

185
00:12:41,403 --> 00:12:43,942
the more important question is,

186
00:12:43,962 --> 00:12:47,613
"How long does that rope need to be 
to make sure that we don't hit the ground

187
00:12:47,613 --> 00:12:48,864
on the way down?"

188
00:12:48,914 --> 00:12:52,014
And once we're finished, 
how are we gonna get

189
00:12:52,014 --> 00:12:55,534
from the end of the rope 
back to the ground?

190
00:12:55,534 --> 00:12:59,236
Now, with a few simple 
mathematical calculations,

191
00:12:59,236 --> 00:13:01,848
these are pretty easy problems to solve.

192
00:13:01,848 --> 00:13:04,159
So we're ready to go. 
Are you guys ready? 


193
00:13:04,169 --> 00:13:05,263
Audience: Yes

194
00:13:05,273 --> 00:13:06,557
All right, let's do it.

195
00:13:06,557 --> 00:13:30,341
(electronic music)

196
00:13:30,465 --> 00:13:38,011
(Wind noise)

197
00:13:53,189 --> 00:13:59,183
All right. (Applause)

198
00:14:00,905 --> 00:14:03,212
I can see you want to do that, don't you?

199
00:14:05,149 --> 00:14:08,474
All right. So when we imagined 
this idea, first of all,

200
00:14:08,539 --> 00:14:14,719
the idea sounds crazy. But once 
we break it down and demystify the risk,

201
00:14:14,923 --> 00:14:19,175
then we suddenly find that it's so safe 
that this very swing has now become

202
00:14:19,175 --> 00:14:22,597
a fully fledged commercial operation.

203
00:14:22,597 --> 00:14:27,680
Yes. You too can go to Durban, South Africa. 
You can pay your money,

204
00:14:27,823 --> 00:14:31,479
and you can go and do a giant rope 
swing across a stadium.

205
00:14:31,687 --> 00:14:35,207
You can take a leap of faith. 
And hundreds of people do.

206
00:14:35,377 --> 00:14:38,993
And guess what the most common thing 
that they say is afterwards?

207
00:14:39,668 --> 00:14:43,699
"Man! It just really wasn't as bad 
as I thought it was going to be,

208
00:14:43,699 --> 00:14:47,730
and I feel as if "If I can do that,

209
00:14:47,730 --> 00:14:51,763
I can do anything!" 
And guess what? They're absolutely right.

210
00:14:53,073 --> 00:14:58,640
So right now, we all live always 
at the edge of uncharted waters.

211
00:14:59,167 --> 00:15:03,246
And no matter that they're something 
meaningless like kayaking down a rapid,

212
00:15:03,456 --> 00:15:08,295
or meaningful like changing the world, 
the principle is always the same:

213
00:15:09,396 --> 00:15:12,730
We need to buck up 
and add our piece to the puzzle.

214
00:15:13,592 --> 00:15:15,730
It reminds me of a quote that I heard once.

215
00:15:15,989 --> 00:15:18,854
I was in the deepest gorge in the world, 
in Tibet.

216
00:15:19,485 --> 00:15:21,810
One of the boys ad-libbed 
a quote out of a book

217
00:15:21,810 --> 00:15:24,800
called "The Wanderer" by Sterling Hayden.

218
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:26,462
And I'll give you just one line.

219
00:15:27,924 --> 00:15:31,428
"Ive always wanted to sail 
the seven seas, but I can't afford it.

220
00:15:32,518 --> 00:15:36,462
What these people can't afford is not to go".

221
00:15:36,682 --> 00:15:38,867
End quote.

222
00:15:38,875 --> 00:15:40,331
Thank you very much, Athens!

223
00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,702
It's been a pleasure and a privilege. 
Good night!

224
00:15:44,028 --> 00:15:48,151
(Applause)