Words of wisdom: “Strong motivation is the most important factor in getting to the top. That’s my secret.”

From the utter anonymity of being a professional beekeeper to one of the most famous men in world history, is the remarkable story of Edmund Hillary. A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the summit of Nepal’s Mt. Everest—at 29,028 feet, the highest spot on earth—on May 29, 1953. “We didn’t know if it was humanly possible to reach the top of Everest,” says Hillary. “Even using oxygen as we were, we didn’t know if we did reach the top whether we would just drop dead.” He didn’t drop dead and in later years, scaled other heights on expeditions to the South Pole and seeking the source of the Yangtze River. Hillary, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his accomplishments, is now 87 years old and has focused his attention on humanitarian causes and in the development of hospitals, schools and airstrips in the Himalayan region.