Bear Grylls Quotes & Sayings

How you speak about others speaks loudest about yourself. — Bear Grylls

You only get one chance at life and you have to grab it boldly. — Bear Grylls

I joined the Army at 19 as a soldier and spent about four and a half years with them. Then I broke my back in a freefall parachuting accident and spent a year in rehabilitation back in the U.K. — Bear Grylls

Empty vessels make the most noise. It is true. The best adventurers and climbers, and the most successful people I know in life, are all great listeners, and they don't talk too much. — Bear Grylls

A challenge that tested Tom to his limit but in return gave him more than he could ever have imagined. — Bear Grylls

The greatest journeys all start with a single step. — Bear Grylls

I've fallen down crevasses, been bitten by snakes, been knocked unconscious, had various limbs broken and once, a heavy camera came plunging down which very nearly decapitated me. — Bear Grylls

There is little faith involved in setting out on a journey where the destination is certain and every step in between has been mapped in detail. Bravery, trust, is about leaving camp in the dark, when we do not know the route ahead and cannot be certain we will ever return. — Bear Grylls

Survival requires us to leave our prejudices at home. It's about doing whatever it takes - and ultimately those with the biggest heart will win. — Bear Grylls

Sir Edmund Hillary, Everest's first conqueror, once said that the mountains gave him strength. I'd never really understood this until now. But it was intoxicating.
Something deep inside me knew that I could do this. — Bear Grylls

I look back and understand the world a bit better and know how competitive it is . — Bear Grylls

All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. — Bear Grylls

The extremes of jungles, mountains, and deserts are inherently dangerous places. — Bear Grylls

I think fire is so critical in the wild. You can cook with it, you can make tools, you can deter a predator, you can dry your clothes and you get that element of morale that matters so much when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere. — Bear Grylls

Eating any of these things, goat testicles or what have you, isn't going to be nice, but you get into that zone, you become focussed and you do what you need to do. It's all about one thing: coming home in one piece. — Bear Grylls

I think it's fun running with dogs. They're always so fit and fast. — Bear Grylls

Many great people over the centuries have depended on their faith- it is a sign of great strength to need Jesus in your life. — Bear Grylls

Some of the greatest survivors have been women. Look at the courage so many women have shown after surviving earthquakes in the rubble for days on end. — Bear Grylls

Above all, I feel a quiet pride that for the rest of my days I can look at myself in the mirror and know that once upon a time I was good enough. Good enough to call myself a member of the SAS. Some things don't have a price tag. — Bear Grylls

Any blisters on your shoulder blades would weep painfully, as the weight of the pack went back on. Then somehow your mind would shut out the pain, for a while. Until, by the end of the march, your shoulders would start to wilt and cramp up as if they were on fire. — Bear Grylls

Scouts should be progressive and should be adapting. If you're gay or not it's irrelevant, Scouting values respect. — Bear Grylls

I mean, in the last few months alone, I've been pinned in a big set of white-water rapids, been bitten by an angry snake in a jungle, had a close escapewith a big mountain rockfall, narrowly avoided being eaten by a huge croc in the Australian swamps, and had to cut away from my main parachute and come down on my reserve, some five thousand feet above the Arctic plateau.
When did all this craziness become my world?
It's as if - almost accidentally - this madness had become my life. And don't get me wrong - I love it all.
The game, though, now, is to hang on to that life.
Every day is the most wonderful of blessings, and a gift that I never, ever take for granted.
Oh, and as for the scars, broken bones, aching limbs and sore back?
I consider them just gentle reminders that life is precious - and that maybe, just maybe, I am more fragile than I dare to admit. — Bear Grylls

I have held healthy respects of bears along with assorted crocodiles, snakes and lots of other animals. You know, bears are dangerous, you have to be super careful. — Bear Grylls

I find skydiving really hard. I broke my back while skydiving when I was in the military, and for 18 months all my nightmares were about falling. — Bear Grylls

Whenever I got out of bed I had to wear a big metal brace that was strapped around me.
I felt like an invalid. I was an invalid. This was crazy.
I'm screwed.
You stupid, stupid idiot, Bear. You could have landed that canopy if you hadn't panicked, or you should have cut it away and pulled that reserve early.
As it was, I had done the worst of both worlds: I had neither gone for the reserve straight away nor had I managed to land the canopy with any degree of skill.
I felt I could have avoided this accident if I had been smarter, faster, clearer-headed. I had messed up, and I knew it.
I vowed that I would never fall short in those areas again.
I would learn from this, and go on to become the fastest, clearest-thinking dude on the planet.
But for now, the tears kept coming. — Bear Grylls

Textbook survival tells you to stay put. Stop. Wait for rescue. Don't take any risks. But there'd been a whole host of survival shows like that and I didn't really want to do that. — Bear Grylls

Unless you have shelter, fire is going to be very hard and if you have fire, but no water, you're going to die. They're all super important. — Bear Grylls

I learned two very strong lessons from them: the grass isn't always greener elsewhere, and true love is worth fighting for. — Bear Grylls

Life is an adventure that is best lived boldly — Bear Grylls

Always keep the big picture in mind- you are greatly loved by Jesus and your job is to love Him and others in return. The rest is detail. — Bear Grylls

I've seen extreme bravery from the least likely of people. Life is about the moments when it's all gone wrong. That's when we define ourselves. — Bear Grylls

Look, sometimes, no matter how hard you try, sometimes you need a bit of luck. — Bear Grylls

Life's full of lots of dream-stealers always telling you you need to do something more sensible. I think it doesn't matter what your dream is, just fight the dream-stealers and hold onto it. — Bear Grylls

When I'm filming, survival requires movement. You need your energy, and you've got to eat the bad stuff, and survival food is rarely pretty, but you kind of do it. I get in that zone, and I eat the nasty stuff, but I'm not like that when I'm back home. — Bear Grylls

The SAS Reserve tends to be made up of former paratroopers and commandos who still want a challenge, but it is open to civilians. — Bear Grylls

At this point, my greatest enemy was myself. Self-doubt can be crushing, and sometimes it is hard to see outside the black bubble. — Bear Grylls

I try and eat really healthy when I'm home, but I certainly don't eat worms and snakes. — Bear Grylls

If you want it bad enough, you'll pass. — Bear Grylls

For me, my training is a key part of my work as so often my life has depended on being able to move fast and haul myself up and out of something fast! — Bear Grylls

You can't become a decent horseman until you fall off and get up again, a good number of times.
There's life in a nutshell. — Bear Grylls

Time and experience have taught me that fame and money very rarely go to the worthy, by the way - hence we shouldn't ever be too impressed by either of those impostors. Value folk for who they are, how they live and what they give - that's a much better benchmark. — Bear Grylls

I exercise about 40 minutes a day, and I'll run one day and do circuit training the next day. I live in an area where there are brilliant hills and mountains, so I get a good hill run with my dog. At home, I'll do the circuit training with old weights, along with pull-ups in the trees and that sort of stuff. — Bear Grylls

You can't live someone else's expectations in life. It's a recipe for disaster. — Bear Grylls

To me, adventure has always been to me the connections and bounds you create with people when you're there. And you can have that anywhere. — Bear Grylls

Why is it that the finish line always tends to appear just after the point at which we most want to give up? is it the universe's way of reserving the best for those who can give the most? What I do know, from nature, is that the dawn only appears after the darkest hour. — Bear Grylls

I come from a line of self-motivated, determined folk - not grand, not high society, but no-nonsense, family-minded go-getters. — Bear Grylls

The hardest thing about my job isn't the snake bites or the crocodiles, it's being away from my children. I have a really religious satellite phone call every day back to the boys, wherever we are, whatever time zone, to say goodnight. — Bear Grylls

Yes, the Boy Scouts of America should definitely allow gay adult leaders and I think it's really going to hold them back if they don't. — Bear Grylls

I'm probably going to be the scruffiest Chief Scout you've ever had and my health and safety policy is non-existent. — Bear Grylls

But I also knew if I could somehow replace my doubt with hope, my fear with courage, and my self-pity with a sense of pride, then I just might be able to do this. — Bear Grylls

Life doesn't reward the naturally clever or strong but those who can learn to fight and work hard and never quit. — Bear Grylls

The truth is, I need 10 lifetimes to scratch the surface of the things I'd love to do. — Bear Grylls

I never wanted to do TV. I just did what I was trained to do through the Special Forces, and I've been doing that from a very young age. — Bear Grylls

In the British Special Air Service, combat fitness is all about running. — Bear Grylls

Dreams, though, are cheap, and the real task comes when you start putting in place the steps needed to make those dreams a reality. — Bear Grylls

Aim to live a wild, generous, full, exciting life - blessing those around you and seeing the good in all. — Bear Grylls

But, that guy who quit also missed the real point. Good things come through grit and hard work, and all things worthwhile have a cost. In the case of the SAS, the cost was somewhere around a thousand barrels of sweat. — Bear Grylls

The only difference between 'try' and 'triumph' is varying degrees of 'umph' — Bear Grylls

The line between life or death is determined by what we are willing to do. — Bear Grylls

You climb only because the mountain allows it. If it says wait, then you must wait, and when it allows you to go, then you must struggle and strain in the thin air with all your might. Listening to the mountain and having patience on it are the keys to survival. — Bear Grylls

As a society, we've become terrified of failure, but you can't grow without risking it. — Bear Grylls

Nothing inspires people more than reckless acts of courage. — Bear Grylls

Life rewards the dogged, not the qualified. — Bear Grylls

Textbook survival says stay still, don't take any chances, wait for rescue. That's a boring TV show. My thing was always, "Listen, shoelace, dead squirrel and no other way down this rock face. You can do this!" — Bear Grylls

Life has taught me to be very cautious of a man with a dream, especially a man who has teetered on the edge of life. It gives a fire and recklessness inside that is hard to quantify. It can also make them fun to be around. — Bear Grylls

I was super skeptical about doing TV. I said no three times, part of which was confidence because I didn't really understand that world. I know how to climb mountains and do all that, but I wasn't a TV person. — Bear Grylls

Make a little time to be quiet by yourself every day and just be. — Bear Grylls

The difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary is so often just simply that little word - extra. And for me, I had always grown up with the belief that if someone succeeds it is because they are brilliant or talented or just better than me ... and the more of these words I heard the smaller I always felt! But the truth is often very different ... and for me to learn that ordinary me can achieve something extra-ordinary by giving that little bit extra, when everyone else gives up, meant the world to me and I really clung to it ... — Bear Grylls

That feeling when you're so cold you'd give anything to be warm - I've had it before, literally huddled around a candle flame on an ice sheet. — Bear Grylls

Well, wolves will pretty rarely hunt. You're vulnerable if you're on your own or injured. But for lone wolves, get up high, show them that you're not injured, face 'em off, be authoritarian with it, and look 'em in the eye. — Bear Grylls

And Jesus, the heart of the Christian faith is the wildest, most radical guy you'd ever come across. — Bear Grylls

Without risk, there can be no growth. — Bear Grylls

I don't thrive on stress. I love lying on the deck on our houseboat reading a book. — Bear Grylls

When you find yourself thinking about someone or something in the same old negative way, just stop yourself. Think. Check. Change. Refresh. Job done. Smile. Move on. Do this enough times and you will change. For the better; for the stronger. — Bear Grylls

Exercise helps my back. If I don't exercise, that's when it starts to hurt. The pain is a good motivator to run and exercise. — Bear Grylls

You are wonderfully and powerfully made. In other words: it is no accident you are good at certain things! — Bear Grylls

I love Ray Mears. He's brilliant. He's so rude about me in the press, it's outrageous! — Bear Grylls

My best life lessons and education didn't come from a classroom - they've come from the wild. How you act in the big moments, the ones that challenge you, scare you, tempt you, and force you to make the right decisions, is what defines you. — Bear Grylls

The rules of survival never change, whether you're in a desert or in an arena. — Bear Grylls

I was in and out of the hospital almost daily from then on.
They X-rayed, poked, and prodded me, and then they did it again for good measure. — Bear Grylls

Adventure should be 80 percent 'I think this is manageable,' but it's good to have that last 20 percent where you're right outside your comfort zone. Still safe, but outside your comfort zone. — Bear Grylls

Don't be scared to dream big, and don't be afraid to be close to people. And never give up! It's the tenacious not the talented that win. — Bear Grylls

When I'm in 'Man vs. Wild' mode, it's not pleasure. Every sensor is firing and I'm on reserve power all the time and I'm digging deep - and that's the magic of it as well, and that's raw and it's great. — Bear Grylls

To get ready to climb Everest, I did a lot of hill running with a daypack on and a lot of underwater swimming. I would swim a couple of lengths underwater and then a couple above. It gets your body going with limited oxygen. — Bear Grylls

Faith is personal if it's to be real. — Bear Grylls

I don't like expeditions where it is a total lottery whether you live or die. You have to keep those sort of good luck cards for rare occasions! — Bear Grylls

Survival can be summed up in three words - never give up. That's the heart of it really. Just keep trying. — Bear Grylls

Juice Plus+ is great stuff that I have used through all of my expeditions. What I like about it is that the research behind it is so strong. It is 100% natural, is whole food based, and I love the fact that it provides raw, anti-oxidant fruit and veg in a capsule form. For me it fulfills a key part of my nutrition, training and recovery needs. — Bear Grylls

When I take kids into the woods, I tell them, "What we're going to do today is going to be incredibly dangerous." And you just see 20 smiles go up. "But, we're also going to learn to look after each other, who to work together and who to understand and manage that risk." That's what it's about, you don't empower kids if you don't expose them to risk. — Bear Grylls

I love home cooking, and I'm not a great one for fast food. — Bear Grylls

People ask me, "How do I succeed?" Whatever it is they do, I say, "Go and find 20 ways of messing it up. By 21, you'll be getting there." Life is an adventure, go back with cuts, scars and bruises. — Bear Grylls

I always wanted to be Robin Hood or John the Baptist when I was growing up. — Bear Grylls

What Scouting says to people is: Every child has a right to have an adventure. Life is about grabbing opportunities — Bear Grylls

Nobody wants to end up super rich and famous - but divorced. I'm always clear on that and try to stay on the right side of the line. — Bear Grylls

So, before we go too much further, now is a good chance to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, we are all a little guilty of sometimes living someone else's aspirations for us instead of our own. And this is a great time to say 'No more!' to living out of fear and other people's expectations. — Bear Grylls

My Christian faith is my backbone — Bear Grylls

The lesson is, the rewards in life don't always go to the biggest, or the bravest, or the smartest. The rewards go to the dogged; and when your going though hell, to the person who just keeps going. — Bear Grylls

Weather can kill you so fast. The first priority of survival is getting protection from the extreme weather. — Bear Grylls

I am not fearless. I get scared plenty. But I have also learned how to channel that emotion to sharpen me. — Bear Grylls

I wanted to work hard. I wanted to prove myself somehow worthy of the good things I had known. — Bear Grylls