Eastern Cape adventurer shares powerful motivational message

Q: What is your new book Grin & Bear It! about?

A: The concept of Grin & Bear It! comes after many years of time spent thinking about the suffering, struggle and sacrifice needed to successfully overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges I’ve faced during long and hard expeditions.

The theme of my first book, The Eighth Summit (2014), was that the greatest, most obdurate challenge we ever have to conquer is ourselves. It dealt with the power of the human spirit and ways we can strengthen our minds to overcoming our self-imposed mental limitations.

In Grin and Bear It! I’ve gone further and recognised that endurance and resilience — those critical elements of mental strength — don’t just happen spontaneously. They must be ignited by something — something that motivates us to endure hardship.

That something is passion. And passion has never been more critical to our ability to survive and thrive than it is right now in the post-Covid world. While life is full of the mystery of the unexpected, with no guarantees for realising even the best-laid plans, I believe there is a process that enormously improves our odds of success and significance.

Generating passion enables me to endure the suffering that allows me to achieve the vision I have for my life. I share stories of passion, endurance and resilience; stories that encourage you not only to survive but to thrive, to find yourself stronger, more able to take on the challenges of the world, and more filled with resolve, empathy and, yes, passion for life — because we need to emerge from this storm as better humans, individually and collectively.

There are things we can and must put in place to make that happen, and in this book you will find my formula for doing just that. The best part of it is that all the ingredients of this formula come from the best and exciting stories of my most recent and past expeditions. The lessons are real and have worked for me.

So resilience is an important factor for success?

In part the book is about resilience, but there is much more to it than that. I look at resilience and perseverance as the most significant predictors of one’s ability to achieve and sustain success.

But those two things don’t just happen, they need to be stimulated by something. Why would we want to endure such hardship to achieve the things we would like? The answer is passion. (Yikes, I dislike the word because people really don’t understand it properly.)

This book explains the importance of passion, endurance and resilience, and gives us a formula on how to develop and grow these. Anyone can! To prove this, I have taken a deep dive into DNA and genetics, and have had this work backed up with proper scientific evidence.

Has there ever been a time when you lacked resilience and can you give examples of instances when you gave up or lacked discipline?

This is such a good question, because people think that a professional adventurer has no fear and is infallible. Well, I’m just a normal guy from East London, and have triumphed and failed on many occasions.

Luckily, I have never had to pull out of an expedition, but I have gone into an expedition without the proper training and preparation, and have paid the price. I have had to back out of an expedition before it even started.

All these are written about in the book. One thing I have worked on is self-discipline and I mostly get that right.

What else can the reader look forward to in Grin & Bear It!?

Adventure is a big topic. Taking on challenges is something that we as South Africans have hard-wired into our core. I write about the importance of enthusiasm, curiosity, embracing change, humour, vulnerability, helping others succeed, avoiding pigheadedness, routines and many others.

People are going through tough times globally. What small ways can people start practising resilience if they feel out of control?

Phew, big question, but here goes with just one way. Probably one of the most valuable lessons I have learnt from all ocean rowing and sailing experience — which has been reinforced in so many of my long expeditions — is the importance of having a set routine. It gives structure to the day and eliminates the ‘what now?’

Even in the midst of mayhem, a routine provides a sense of control and enables us to create habits that sustain a positive mindset. Sometimes routine is what extinguishes faltering resolve, eliminating distractions and giving us the determination we need to succeed.

 What are the three most important inspirations you’d like readers to glean from your book?

1. Developing passion in our lives is essential.
2. Perseverance can be learnt.
3. Resilience can be developed and grown. I want to reaffirm that it is absolutely possible for us to do much better, to achieve our goals, to be better humans.

Please outline your writing process.

I started writing this book in 2019. It’s been quite a process. Once I had the main theme of the book I worked out what the greatest lessons were that I have learnt to see which ones actually were relevant.

Each chapter has a theme and each section is about a specific expedition. Once I had written the first draft I put it away. You always think of new things to add. A year later, during Covid-19, I started writing again. Then it was up to Kim.

What else were you doing while writing?

Writing is one of those really time-consuming things. You often see movies where writers will move into a mountain cabin for a few months to focus on writing. I wish I could do that, but I still have to make a living. I speak at many conferences and my work there continued throughout the writing of Grin & Bear It!

During Covid-19 I had to adapt to online presentations, including some leadership workshops. Now that the travel restrictions are mostly over I can continue with my international work. Actually, I have just returned from speaking at a Mercedes-Benz leadership conference in Deidesheim, Germany.

How did Kim [partner Kim van Kets] help?

I could not have written this book without Kim’s intervention. She spent weeks editing and contributing some of her own work in the book.

When I was travelling, she would connect with the publisher and spend hours rewriting certain sections. It’s been amazing working with her.

Tell us about your new TV work for a British channel.

I am working with a television production company from Channel 4 in the UK who are filming a six-part reality show right here in the Eastern Cape. It’s brilliant!

I have been brought on as an adventure consultant. It’s fascinating work, but unfortunately I’m unable to give details of the show.

What future projects or adventures do you have up your sleeve?

I still have a few more. One in particular that I’m working on at the moment is a 39,000km circumnavigation of the planet on the Tropic of Capricorn. It’s all starting to fall into place.

Why did you choose to be an extreme adventurer?

I wish I could give you an answer that goes wow, but I don’t. I do what I do because that is the dream and vision I have for my life. People inspire me.

When I’m sitting on my sled in the South Pole not knowing if I will survive the next hour, or caught up in a tiny cabin on a rowing boat in a storm in the middle of the Atlantic, I often ask myself the same question. And the answer is always the same.

It’s because of people. What would Kim and Hannah, my daughter, say to me to get me up to get me going; to get me back home to tell a story? That’s what inspires me. 

How can readers get hold of a copy?

There are a few places. If you would like a personalised copy you can order from my website, Peter Van Kets — Professional Adventurer & Inspirational Speaker, or visit  Takealot or Amazon.

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