Say Your Audacious Goals Out Loud | Holly Budge

Doug is joined by Holly Budge, one of the UK's most accomplished female adventurers. From becoming a professional skydiver to being the first woman to skydive Mount Everest, racing horses across Mongolia and summiting Everest, Holly shares how setting audacious goals transformed her life. But her most meaningful adventure came when she founded "How Many Elephants," working with female anti-poaching rangers in Africa. Holly's enthusiasm for setting and achieving seemingly impossible goals will leave you inspired to voice your own audacious dreams and step outside your comfort zone.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• At 21, Holly set an audacious goal to become a professional skydiving camera woman despite having no experience in skydiving or filming. By saving money, learning the skills, and persisting despite gender barriers, she achieved this goal, setting a foundation of self-confidence that influenced her future adventures.
• Holly's experience becoming the first woman to skydive Everest taught her the power of intention setting and perseverance in securing sponsorships. Despite not having £24,000 for the expedition, she said "yes" first and then found sponsors to fund her vision, demonstrating how commitment precedes resources.
• When faced with unexpected challenges during her adventures, like being caught in a storm on Everest or losing horses in Mongolia, Holly learned to make critical decisions independently.
• Holly transformed from wanting selfish indulgences in adventure to creating adventure with purpose by founding "How Many Elephants" and "World Female Ranger Week," using her platform to raise funds and awareness for conservation causes that received 500 million views.
• Her work with female anti-poaching rangers in Africa represents her most meaningful adventure because it combines real danger with genuine purpose beyond personal achievement.
• Despite feeling like an imposter during her master's degree, Holly earned the highest mark ever given because she discovered something she was truly passionate about.
• Having supportive parents who didn't push her but encouraged her to follow her interests allowed Holly to develop a natural drive and confidence to pursue unconventional goals, from competing in sports to skydiving professionally.
• Holly's golden nugget for goal-setting is to "Say it out loud and watch what happens." Voicing your goals to others gives them momentum, creates accountability, and transforms them from thoughts to actions—pushing you beyond your comfort zone where true growth happens.

BEST MOMENTS

"This 60 seconds of sheer terror completely changed the course of my life. I loved it and I wanted to go back up and do it again straight away. But nobody had told me that people were getting paid to jump out of perfectly good airplanes every day of the year." 

"I call this hanging onto my 21-year-old mindset, and now I'm 46 and I've kept trying to keep this mindset going over the last two and a half decades, and that's taken me on some pretty incredible sponsored adventures around the world." 

"These days, for me, it's all about adventure with purpose. I use adventure as a platform to raise funds and raise global media attention for a greater good than me jumping out of an airplane or me climbing a mountain." 

"Conservation without funding is just conversation. So it's about getting the money to the right places without the middleman." 

"When you've got your big audacious goal, say it out loud and watch what happens. The minute you voice it and you start chatting to people about it, it suddenly grows arms and legs, but in a really good way." 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Website: www.hollybudge.com