Lewis Pugh Quotes

70 Sourced Quotes

I resolved to follow my dream. I wanted to push every boundary. I wanted to swim further than anyone else. I wanted to cross seas and round capes that no one had dreamed of swimming before. And I wanted to swim in waters that were so cold no one thought it was possible to survive in them. And though it promised to make me poor and would take away the security provided by a career in law, that didn't worry me.

Lewis Pugh
A massive turquoise glacier feeds into Magdalenefjord, with chunks of ice as big as buildings breaking off and landing in the water to float away as icebergs. As I swam past them, with my head in the water, I heard a tantalising sound: a snap-crackle-pop, just like Rice Krispies in milk. It was the sound of tiny air bubbles being released from the ice – air that had been trapped there as much as 3,000 years ago. To swim through this sound, I thought, is to swim in history.

Lewis Pugh
If you have a passion, follow it. It's the best barometer of what you will be good at. And choose a career that you enjoy – the extra money of a job you detest isn't worth it.

Lewis Pugh
Too little confidence, and you're unable to act; too much confidence, and you're unable to hear.

Lewis Pugh
These are areas of unparalleled natural beauty to be handed to our children undisturbed. We are merely custodians. You would not build a toll plaza and an administration block in the Grand Canyon or next to the Victoria Falls or within any other World Heritage Site.

Lewis Pugh
My mind has to be ready. My body also has to be ready. But even more important, my heart has to be ready. What I mean by that is for the swims I do, I must have a burning reason.

Lewis Pugh
Never plan for victory and defeat in your mind at the same time.

Lewis Pugh
It took me over three years to get the beret and the most enriching part of the experience was getting to know men for whom you would have given your life on the battlefield. It is a big thing to say there are people who are not your family for whom you would give up your life. But that is how close we became.

Lewis Pugh
I look for swims where I can carry a powerful message. No message, no swim. I don't get wet now unless it's for a reason.

Lewis Pugh
To do anything worthwhile, you will face periods of grinding doubt and fear.

Lewis Pugh
I've been swimming for 25 years, and I don't think there is one swim that I have done where someone didn't say beforehand, 'I don't think it's possible' or 'You'll never make it'. If someone tells you that you can't achieve your dream, don't waste good time arguing. Walk away and do it.

Lewis Pugh
I knew now that I had to stand up and start speaking about protecting our environment. From that moment on, every swim should have the aim of inspiring people to protect and preserve the world's oceans and all that live in them.

Lewis Pugh
When I can't decide which path to take, I have a meeting with the 75-year-old me. That person usually knows what to do.

Lewis Pugh
Ultimately I wanted to be a pioneer swimmer, a distant descendant of Scott, Amundsen and Hillary, except that I would be an explorer of the water.

Lewis Pugh
The essence of any great achievement is to believe in your purpose.

Lewis Pugh
When you have hope in the future, you have power in the present. And when you lose that hope, your dream goes with it.

Lewis Pugh
No matter how tough my day has been, when I dive into the sea, the world seems perfect.

Lewis Pugh
I always tell young swimmers: 'Practice things until you can't get them wrong. Not until you get them right.' There's a big difference.

Lewis Pugh
Sometimes the moments that challenge us the most, define us.

Lewis Pugh
There's a tyranny in perfection. Just do things to the very best of your ability. Then move on.

Lewis Pugh
... when you swim from England to France you've got to leave your doubt on the beach at Dover.

Lewis Pugh
I think it foolhardy to predict the absolute limits of human endurance.

Lewis Pugh
There is nothing more powerful than the made-up mind.

Lewis Pugh
Now is the time for change. We cannot drill our way out of the energy crisis. The era of fossil fuels is over. We must invest in renewable energy. And we must not delay.

Lewis Pugh
The English Channel is the perfect stretch of water to truly test the human mind.

Lewis Pugh
[...] it's much easier to achieve big dreams than it is small ones. Big dreams require big passion. And when you've got passion it's easier to inspire others to come along and help you.

Lewis Pugh
The trick is to make fear your friend. Fear forces you to prepare more rigorously and see potential problems more quickly.

Lewis Pugh
An estimated 100 million sharks are fished out of the world's oceans every year. Take a minute to mull over that figure. That's over a quarter of a million animals each day … If this number of humans were killed in a year, it would be called genocide. There is a name for what is happening in our oceans today: it is ecocide.

Lewis Pugh
My love for the water would always be tempered by respect for dangers that must never be underestimated.

Lewis Pugh
Thoughts alone won't make extraordinary things happen. But nothing ever happens if you don't visualise it first.

Lewis Pugh