An image I saw at Kathmandu, Nepal last year still stuck with me and I got reminded of it yesterday on the train.

The image of an Audi Convertible in the form of a newspaper cutout kept in the wallet of one of our most loved Sherpa, J.

J said with a huge grin that it’s his dream car when I asked him about it. Cute. J rides a motorbike in Nepal, one of those which are so ubiquitous on the streets of Nepal. My guess is that J is your average Nepali wage earner. Probably not struggling to make ends meet but also not so highly paid to be labeled wealthy. In fact, high altitude sherpas are generally already decently paid. ( or so I gather from my limited knowledge) I also know he has many repeat clients who ask for him simply because he is competent and such affable character. But to afford an Audi, that’s a hell lot of money.

In fact, I have never seen an Audi being driven in Nepal. Do they even import it there?

Maybe I’m being terribly pessimistic but before I wrote this entry, I was thinking it would be so difficult to fufill his dream given his situation and location. However, as I write, I begin to think that the scale of his dream is not so different from the typical Singaporean’s dream of exclusive condos, fancy cars, premier club membership etc. It’s not so different from our team’s dream to scale everest despite the lack of funds. Maybe things are not that unattainable afterall. If J has successfully summitted Mt Everest (besides other honourable mountains) so many times, he must possess the qualities many of us attribute mountaineering to – determined, focussed, peservering etc. Qualities which most believe can steer us through almost anything.

So perhaps, to achieve great things, one must dare to aim for the seemingly impossible and not be afraid that it would be ridiculed or unattainable.