Alex Honnold Quotes

I set my own personal goals; I'm not playing to satisfy fans.

I skate just to satisfy my own desire and not care about other people's desire for me to do well.

It was the first time I traveled alone, but I was not scared.

Anybody that wants to walk out that door and leave home for a few months and rely on themselves instead of fate might have some interesting stories to tell.

It's such a liberating feeling to go out of your comfort zone, to be independent and strike out on my own without my parents.

I remember after a year in London, I was at an MTV party and a friend saying to me that it was such a brave thing to do to come over to London by myself. I never thought it was a big deal. It was my dream. I am so independent. It is just ridiculous. I am too independent for my own good.

Great artists make the roads; good teachers and good companions can point them out. But there ain't no free rides, baby. No hitchhiking. And if you want to strike out in any new direction — you go alone. With a machete in your hand and the fear of God in your heart.

I may climb perhaps to no great heights, but I will climb alone.

I'm not afraid to take chances or go off on my own.

I am restless. I don't mind leaving this comfortable, static life. I could live a year on my own in a remote village.

I'm scared of horses, and I don't know how to shoot them, but that's what excites me. After 40 years old, if you don't do some things that really terrify you, I don't think they're worth doing.

I did not set out to be a poster child for anything. I saw a mountain. I wanted to climb it.

I want to be scared. I want to keep taking insane risks. I want to be scared because you're going to grow through that whether you want to or not. I don't want to play the same guy. I want to keep throwing curveballs to you guys and keep telling stories.

I went to Paris when I was about 18 and then went to Miami and New York. I did all of that alone. I did it to myself.

Moving to New York City by myself at 17 was certainly my bravest moment. I bought a one-way ticket and stayed with a friend of a friend and figured it out along the way.

When I was 23, I climbed this mountain in Alaska called Devil's Thumb alone. It was incredibly dangerous, and I did it because I thought that if I did something that hard and pulled it off, my life was gonna be transformed. And of course, nothing happened. But I get the search for purpose.

The thought of being on my own really terrified me. But then I realized being alone is really a cleansing thing.

The only possibility to have a knowledge of both the Earth's nature and our own internal nature is through traditional climbing when you go on your own, far from safety, and encounter the unknown.

I feel like there's something in me that desires to express myself even more and not be so afraid of a solo endeavor.

Sometimes I sneak out into the streets alone, like Princess Jasmine in 'Aladdin.'

Traditional alpinism is to go where the others are not going and to be self-reliant.

A tourist follows a trail; a mountaineer finds one.

For me, climbing has always been about adventure and that involves difficulties, danger and exposure, so I deliberately set out to climb with as little equipment as possible.

Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no when you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here. Believe in kissing.

Soloing is the most beautiful way of climbing; no material constrains, just you and the rock, the sun, nature; a kind of school for courage, willpower and self-confidence.