As well as being an accomplished adventurer and Chief Scout, Bear Grylls is a best-selling author. He has written over 90 books, and his new book, You Vs the World, is written for young people, aiming to help them develop the mindset they need to thrive in the world.
Videos by Outdoors
Bear recognizes that kids today have to deal with an overwhelming amount of challenges while facing an uncertain future and feeling the pressure to thrive in a fast-paced world. In the book, Bear gives young people the tools they need to survive and thrive in their lives.
He tells the stories of some of his extreme adventures and the life lessons that he learned. From being one of the youngest people to climb Mount Everest to surviving on raw snakes and leading the Scouts, Bear knows about surviving extreme environments and negotiating life effectively. He writes about how some of the skills that he has needed to survive in the wild can be used in everyday life, whether it’s building confidence or handling fear.
While the book is for children, much of the advice is also useful for adults to remember – here are some of our favorite tips:
Appreciate the freedom found in nature
Bear says he has always found freedom in the great outdoors – and that when he was a child, he always tried to look for nature in open spaces, even when in a city, he would find a park or a bicycle shed roof. “Nature is often closer to us than we might imagine,” he writes in You Vs The World.
It’s okay to be afraid
Bear also advises how it’s okay to be afraid sometimes, telling the story in the book of how he broke his back during a parachute jump, and how every time he has jumped since – whether from a helicopter, hot-air balloon, a plane, or a cliff – he still feels fear but has learned how to control the adrenalin.
Never give up
Bear’s favorite motto is ‘never give up’, and he often talks about how he had dreamed of climbing Mount Everest since was a child, but his parachute accident nearly ended that dream. He says that never giving up on his dream was how he was able to reach the summit of that mountain 18 months after the accident.
Kindness makes the world go around
“It’s something that’s in all of us. We’ve just got to make the decision to break it out every single day and use it as much as we can,” writes Bear in You Vs The World, reminding people to be kind to one another whenever possible and how kindness makes us all better.
In the book, Bear also describes how to build confidence, how to trust your gut, and the importance of teamwork, gratitude, and passion. He also gives advice on how to bounce back from failure and writes about the power of positivity and of friendship. These are all things that someone of any age can learn.
You Vs The World, The Bear Grylls Guide to Never Giving Up (DK) is in bookshops and online, RRP hardcover $16.99/£12.99, eBook $7.99, audiobook $5.99.
