A Lesson in Fearlessness from Alexander The Great
Alexander the Great and his men arrived on the shores of Persia in 334BC, ready for war. It didn't take long for Alexander and his army of a few thousand men to realize they were vastly outnumbered.
Alexander’s men pleaded to their master that they retreat immediately and return with more men at a later date, stacking the odds in their favour.
This is the response you’d expect from 99.9% of men, no one wants to enter the battle when they’re the underdog, why fight when the odds are stacked against you?
Alexander the Great did not see this situation in the same light.
‘Burn the boats at once!’ Alexander told his men.
As their only means of retreat went up in flames, legend has it that Alexander turned to his men and said “we go home in Persian ships, or we die”
This heroic feat led to one of the greatest victories of all time.
We love to have options, Alexander’s men saw it a way that they had options
- Stay and fight
- Retreat
Alexander did not believe in options, one eye on the battle and one eye focused on retreat was no way to overthrow the enemy. By burning the boats he eliminated plan B for both himself and his entire army… with only one way to make it out alive 100% focus, determination and grit was to be put into the battle at hand, by focusing our mind on one thing and one thing only we too in modern times can achieve great things.
This isn’t the only victory that has resulted from a ‘do or die’ style war tactic, in 207BC Chinese general Xiang Yu ordered his men across a bridge, as his troops crossed this river bridge he set fire to the bridge behind them. This tactic was enough to motivate his troops to defeat Qin in the Battle of Julu.
Perhaps you’re working a mediocre job while working on your side hustle, you might be making a bit of cash on the side already but when are you going to go all in? When are you going to give your entrepreneurial ventures your undivided attention?
Struggling to find the motivation to stay consistent with your fitness endeavours? If you’re constantly flaking on your diet and putting off going to the gym until tomorrow burn your boats and sign yourself up for a professional photoshoot or enter a fitness show – whichever event you choose for ensure you pay in full beforehand. Now you’ve got no way out, you have to look your best otherwise you’ll be made out to be an idiot.
No ifs, no buts, no ways out.
Burn your boats and go all in, having an exit plan – a safe escape, a way out if things don’t go your way is a sure fire way to ensure mediocre levels of commitment.