Interview

INTERVIEW WITH (JEN) JOHAN ERNST NILSON – EXPLORER – SPEAKER – PHOTOGRAPHER

Swedish Press

recently caught up with Johan while he was in the Silicon Valley in early May giving a lecture at Facebook HQ. Here is a summary of the interview – the full interview can be found online at www. Swedishpress/JEN.

Making the Impossible Possible!

What do you actually do?

This may be a little hard to explain and my parents sometimes ask the same question. Basically I travel around the world and give lectures and the main message is “turning the impossible into something possible”. I have done 32 expeditions and have visited 142 countries, met numerous people and cultures and solved a lot of problems while on different expeditions. I also do photography, write books, produce TV shows and do charity work. My core business however, is being a motivational speaker. Johan Ernst Nilson is one of the world’s leading explorers with over 30 expeditions and 142 countries under his belt. Among his many achievements, Johan scaled the peaks of the Seven Summits in 2008, and in 2012 finished his year-long journey from the North Pole to the South Pole. Between his adventures, Johan is a renowned motivational speaker and ambassador for numerous organizations, sharing his experiences while inspiring others to accomplish their goals regardless of their nature.[ [

How did you get started?

When I was fifteen while watching TV one day, I saw a musician play piano, which sounded fantastic. I asked my mum if I could play like that. She said it’s a little tricky to play like Elton John but if you focus, practice, stay motivated and practice more, it can be done. So I made a bet with myself – that within three years I would be paid to play the piano. After three years I reached my goal to become a concert pianist and have continued to play the piano professionally for many years.

A few years later a friend challenged me by asking if I could make the impossible possible in another field, not just in music? We made a bet about biking to the Sahara from Sweden. Within a week I got a bike and a tent and started biking to the Sahara. After a week I was really struggling – would I give up? Never! Was I thinking about

it? Yes. I realized then that for my whole life I had been hiding within my comfort zone. The trip to Africa was the first time that I had stepped outside my comfort zone and after 52 days I reached the Sahara. I now knew that I could do the impossible by learning to play the piano and by biking to the Sahara, but could this be applied elsewhere in life too? I tested it out and it worked – I wrote poetry, opened a nightclub and went into fashion. Then I started traveling again.

Tell us about Motivation Strategy.

I call it “My personal Everest” – the tricky part is not always to reach my goal but to find out what my goal is. I think there is a difference between setting a goal and having a dream. The first thing is to find out what your dream is – then set smaller goals to reach that dream. So the most important thing is to find your personal Everest – your dream. Once you know what your dream is, you can then visualize yourself reaching the impossible goal.

I believe that nothing is impossible. I only say “I do not know how to do it – yet”. This does not mean that it is impossible.

You are now more focused on inspiring people, how did that come about?

Initially I wanted to prove to myself that I could actually do something. After 6-7 years of adventures I started getting tired of talking about myself and instead began encouraging others to climb “their Everest”.

I traveled around schools and churches and gave lectures to children as there is no motivational training in schools today. Children need motivation! I found this important and it led to me becoming the Ambassador for “Min Stora Dag” and “Mentor”.

I found myself spending 50% of my time working with inspiration and motivation for companies, schools and non-profits. I realized that it was more important to talk about what I could share and how that could benefit others. This was a turning point for me, as I realized I wanted to help other people.

Are people in different cultures inspired by different things?

Yes definitely. Swedes for instance know what their goal is – but they are too shy and do not have enough confidence to believe they can reach that goal. In the US they believe they can do anything – but do not always have a very clear focus. So a combination of a Swede and an American would be good.

What does fear do to you?

Fear is a safety net, developed over generations. Fear is good when approaching something or starting to plan something. If planning to jump off a building – fear is useful as I use it to plan and make preparations against anything that can go wrong. The fear is not there while doing the jump or the climb. The fear is used before the event to plan.

I’ve learned to remove fear and execute. I use fear in the planning phase and can remove it in the execution. I have managed to tame the fear and reduce it.

I believe a lot in learning from the past, planning for the future but living in the present.

What has been your greatest adventure so far and what new ones are you planning?

I have learned that exploration is an inner journey when you reach your own limits and expand your own comfort zone. It’s an inner journey realizing that the impossible is possible. My biggest exploration today is trying to understand why people and cultures are so different and why we are inspired and driven by different things.

In terms of “outer exploration” my next two are: Climbing Kebnekaise (highest mountain in Sweden) with a friend in a wheel chair and swimming the English Channel. It is only 17 hours of swimming but takes one year of planning. I don’t want to be away as long as in the past, my Pole2Pole journey was 525 days. I prefer shorter adventures now.

The biggest experience ever for me was to stand on the summit of Mount Everest knowing that I was on the highest point of the world while having the lowest grade in physical education when I started my adventures.

Thank you Johan for sharing your insights. Swedish Press wishes you all the best with your future adventures and success in inspiring others to take on bigger challenges.

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