This Former Finance Exec Climbed 7 Mountains in 8 Months On this episode of "Spartan UP!," Explorers Grand Slam record holder Masha Gordon shares the lessons she learned on her powerful journey.

By Entrepreneur Staff Jul 13, 2016

Conquering seven summits on seven continents and trekking to both poles is no easy feat. Not only did Masha Gordon complete this challenge, known as the Explorers Grand Slam, but she did it in less than eight months, faster than any other woman in history. She hasn't always been a mountaineering record-breaker, however. In fact, she spent 16 years in the finance world, including time spent as managing director of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. In this episode of the Spartan UP! podcast series, Gordon talks about her experience and the mindset necessary to conquer the mountains and more.

Gordon recounts the most life-threatening aspect of her expedition -- 30 minutes from the summit of Everest, she was faced with an executive decision: Should she risk getting caught in a storm and possibly putting her life in peril, or descend and live to see another day? Luckily the risk was worth taking, but the tough mindedness she gained in business made her decision a sound one. She surmounted the nine-part challenge and made a statement about breaking free of gender stereotypes.

Watch the video above to discover how doing great things has taught Gordon how little it actually takes to be happy and successful.

Watch more videos from Spartan UP! on their YouTube channel here.

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