Bonita Norris

When she was just 20 years old, Bonita Norris set her sights on the summit of Mount Everest, despite never having climbed a mountain before. In the process of getting to Everest, she climbed the world's 8th highest mountain in the Himalayas, Mount Manaslu, becoming one of the youngest people ever to climb it.

The following year, she secured nearly £50,000 in corporate sponsorship after cold calling countless British businesses and was able to fulfil her dream of reaching the summit of Everest. Upon successfully completing the expedition, Bonita set a record as the Youngest British Woman to reach the top of the world.

The following year, Bonita skied to the North Pole, finishing the expedition aged 23, she became the youngest person ever to reach both "tops of the world: the summit of Everest and the North Pole."

Not content with her performance on Everest (she fell on the descent), Bonita set herself the challenge of climbing another 8000m peak - the formidable Mt Lhotse, the world's 4th highest mountain. Lhotse is a much more committing and dangerous climb than Everest and it took Bonita another year to train for the mountain, in doing so, she climbed Ama Dablam, a peak in the Himalayas often described as the world's most beautiful mountain.

Finally, Bonita reached the summit of Mt Lhotse at the age of 24, becoming only the third British woman in history to climb it. From there, she has also attempted K2 in Pakistan and guided multiple teams to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, the world's highest freestanding mountain.

Bonita began speaking about her experiences in the mountains in schools but quickly found herself invited to speak on stages all over the world.

In 2024 she became an award winning motivational speaker, winning ‘Best Speaker Storyteller’ at the Speaker Awards in London.

Bonita is also the bestselling author of her memoir, The Girl Who Climbed Everest, which reached the top of the mountaineering book chart in 2022.

What does it take to go beyond your limits and your personal comfort zone? To have an impossible dream and turn it into a reality? For beginner climber Bonita Norris it was to reach the summit of Everest, but as she came to learn, the biggest challenge wasn’t Everest itself.

Creating a mindset that works for us, not against us, is vital for success.

In her keynote motivational talks, Bonita passionately and humorously tells of how she woke up one morning and decided to climb Mt Everest, despite no prior experience. Failure seemed inevitable, and there was so much uncertainty ahead, but Bonita had a clear vision and showed up for her goal, no matter how many times others around her told her what she was doing was impossible.

She focussed on the process and let progress look after itself. In doing so, she taught herself how to climb, found a team and became the youngest Briton to reach the summit of the world’s 8th highest peak in the Himalayas.

Today, Bonita Norris is now a highly sought-after and accomplished motivational speaker with more than 650 talks to her name.

Her presentations focus on the theme of ‘success by smallness’ and the mindset you need when the challenge ahead feels impossible. Bonita speaks internationally for the world’s largest corporations, including Microsoft and Google, and adapts her story for after dinner events, award ceremonies, conferences and team meetings.

Bonita Norris’ story, though awe-inspiring and spellbinding, is also relatable - Bonita is the ordinary person who did something extraordinary, who managed to turn a vision into reality not with talent, but with dogged determination.

The lessons in Bonita’s talks of ‘success by smallness’, ‘focus not fret’ and ‘mountains of the mind’ are applicable to businesses and individuals struggling with seemingly insurmountable challenges ahead.

Bonita’s speech topics include:
• Personal leadership
• Marginal gains
• Teamwork
• Resilience
• Goal setting

Audience members leave Bonita’s talks feeling not only inspired and motivated,
but also with memorable takeaways designed to unlock an individual’s potential and become more successful.

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Bonita Norris. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.