Rule 1: Talk is cheap.

Dr Frederick Cook would have been a justly famous arctic explorer had he been content to claim to have done only that which he had done. The lesson here is that as long as we claim to do only that which we do, and claim to have done only that which we have done, then we shall not likely get into trouble in the credibility department.

 

H W Tilman has commented on such matters in his inimitable way:

"…it is a rash marksman who calls his shots, announces which particular coconut he is shying at…so when going to the Himalaya it is foolish to broadcast one’s intentions, for after the event it is not easy to describe an unsuccessful attempt on a mountain as mere reconnaissance."