“Burn the Boats.”
HOW PERSISTENCE CHANGES WHEN YOU HAVE NO OTHER OPTION
Once you get to war, you “Burn the Boats.”
“Burn the Boats” is a 500+ year old adage that references a tool by conquerors and commanders to ensure loyalty among their troops. Few were actual soldiers, and it can be tough to muster up the courage to potentially die when you have a way out.
By burning the boats, retreat was no longer an option; persistence improved.
This concept is played out from Sun Tzu to 300, where troops are marched into a dead end on purpose, outnumbered 5:1, with no possible outcome but defeat, and yet, they fight. They marched against mountain walls and became instant warriors, even though they may have been farmers beforehand.
To Burn the Boats is to make a commitment to your efforts that radically changes everything about the process and results.
If you have this mentality about what you are doing, the likelihood of failure is far less. When we are all in on something, we act differently. Our level of commitment changes; it has to. The scope of thought becomes exclusively focused on finding a way to prevail.
It’s a mentality that is for people who are looking to achieve and succeed within their fields.
If you want to be a successful grower, you have to burn the fucking boats. You can’t quit after a loss. If quitting isn’t an option, you won’t quit.
This mindset changes everything.
Once you find that level of commitment, you will constantly be solving problems and pivoting accordingly. No thought is wasted. No unnecessary doubt cast.
Most people who are successful, regardless of the space, don’t entertain the alternative.
Subscribe to our Substack to receive new content automatically
This article is featured in Vol. 5 of The ETHOS Magazine.
Grab a collector's edition of the ETHOS magazine in print HERE.