FIRST WOMAN TO SKYDIVE EVEREST
Inspirational Keynote Speaker, Holly Budge, Demonstrates How To Outplay Your Fear.
I SAID YES
At 21, I threw myself out of a perfectly good aeroplane for the first time. That 60 seconds of pure adrenaline changed my life forever.
It dawned on me that people were getting paid to jump out of aeroplanes every day of the year. Funnily enough, my careers advisor at school hadn’t mentioned this J.O.B to me. I decided, in those moments, that I wanted to work as a skydiving camera woman. Just one issue, I didn’t know how to skydive. Unfazed, I returned to the UK armed with my audacious goal. I worked as a graphic designer in the Big Smoke and saved up enough money to return to New Zealand and first learn how to skydive and then how to get employed as a skydiver!
It was a far-fetched goal as I knew no one in New Zealand; I knew nothing about skydiving and less about filming. But none of that mattered because I knew I could learn those skills, or I could at least have a go. At the time, less than a handful of women had ever worked as skydivers in New Zealand. This motivated me even more. Eventually, I landed my job and was getting paid to jump out of aeroplanes up to 12 times a day, with bulky film cameras strapped to my body (pre-digital era!).
On reflection, the ‘boldness of youth’ enabled me to achieve this goal because I didn’t overthink it; I didn’t talk myself out of it or let the fear of failing get in the way.
It’s been two decades since I jumped out of that plane for the first time, and the experiment has been to exercise my’ 21-year-old mindset’ ever since. Not being put off by the obstacle itself but believing 100% that you can do whatever you put your mind to. Who knows where you will end up? In my case, becoming the first woman to skydive Everest!
The door opened at 29,500ft, just higher than the summit of Everest. My camera flyer climbed out onto the camera step. I'm giving my count, “Ready, Set, Go…” The pilot held up the stop sign and said, “don't let the jumpers out”, but it was too late! I had too much momentum on my 'go…', I was backpedaling in the door and actually fell out of the plane. I couldn't believe it. You put all this time into training and visualising how you think it will go, but not in my wildest dreams did I expect this to happen!
Not everything always goes to plan. You have to accept that there will be misadventures along the way. But it's about how you deal with it. Someone once said to me, smile through the pain, and it really does work. It reframes your mindset, and a positive mindset is a resilient mindset.
HOLLY’S
TOP 3
TAKEAWAYS
-
When you break overwhelming challenges into bite-size actions, what once seemed impossible, CAN become achievable. Specify to simplify is one of my mottos. The more specific you are about your goals, the simpler it becomes to work towards them. In the business world, that could mean asking yourself, where is your future business coming from? Who are your future clients? Why do you want to work for them?
-
Embrace failure as a learning opportunity and persevere in facing setbacks.
-
Surround yourself with positive people who uplift and encourage you, and make you believe anything is possible.
WANNA HEAR MORE?
“BOOK HER, SUPPORT HER, ENJOY LIFE THROUGH HER!”
Thomas Miller Creative
MORE ADVENTURES
FIRST WOMAN TO SKYDIVE EVEREST
In 2008, Holly became the first woman to skydive Everest. She jumped from a small aircraft at 29,500ft and landed at 12,500ft, the world’s highest landing area, before being met by a sea of global media.
EVEREST SUMMITEER
In 2017, Holly climbed Everest in a 2-person team and was on the minatin for 47 days above 5000m, Her powerful life lessons will leave you feeling motivated, inspired, and ready to climb YOUR Everest!
1000KM ACROSS MONGOLIA
In 2009, Holly raced a grueling 1000km across Mongolia on semi-wild horses. It took her nine days, and she rode 25 horses. This set a new world record for the world’s longest horse race.