Burning Ships: Go Big or Go Home

No escape route means a more determined effort for success.

In July 1519, Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes determined he would invade the interior of Mexico to subdue the Aztec Empire and gain gold and glory for Spain and himself.  He had 500 men, 15 cannon, and 15 horses to accomplish what seemed to be an impossible task.  In an effort to motivate his men to accept nothing but success, he scuttled his fleet, leaving themselves with no opportunity to return to Cuba should the need arise.  He burned his ships with the idea in mind, "Go big or go home."  He definitely decided to "go big" and ultimately conquered all of the Aztec Empire for Spain.

I don't necessarily agree with his motivations and subsequent actions, but I do admire his desire to succeed at all costs. Unfortunately, the end result of his dedication decimated an entire race and destroyed a sophisticated civilization, but his tactics can teach all of us something about perseverance and a possessing an unshakable determination.

Although I taught my students about the conquest of Mexico in world history classes for a dozen years, I hadn't thought about this topic for quite some time.  Recently, however, a friend and I discussed how a person should go about setting personal and professional goals.  We argued the merits of having a laser-like focus on an objective versus leaving room for other options if failure occurs. Cortes and his conquest popped into my head, and I told my friend he should burn his ships and make it impossible for his attention to be diverted to plan B's or escape routes.  Once you've determined what you want, work for it with all your being and it will assuredly be yours.

Sometimes having an escape route means that we always know something else is available and then we don't give 100 percent of our efforts to attaining our objectives.  In addition, mentally holding onto the idea that failure could occur can actually, in my opinion, draw failure to a person.  There should be absolutely no room in your mind for the idea that what you want isn't going to happen.  I believe Cortes succeeded in his efforts because he knew that he had to either succeed or die. He had no escape route and thus solely focused his everything on completing what he set out to do.

It may be a drastic measure to not prepare for outcomes other than absolute success, but I truly think it allows a person to channel all of his or her energy, drive, and dedication to attaining whatever is important to him or her.  With a divided mind, success becomes more difficult and definitely more random.  Besides, if on the outside chance you don't get exactly what you want, at the end point of your journey towards achieving your objective, you can regroup and develop a new goal.  At least you have the satisfaction of knowing you tried your best and gave it your all.  Odds are, you will have grown and developed skills on your journey that will aid in future successes.

The older I get, the more of a "go big" kind of woman I become.  I used to try and prepare for all eventualities, but I realized that half the battle in obtaining objectives is choosing the objective and the other half lies in focusing solely on the goal.  Being scattered makes for mediocrity in everything you do.  I would rather be masterful at one thing than a Jane of all trades and a master of none.  Focus is everything.  I am going to continue to "go big" and burn my ships when necessary, and I hope my friend takes my advice and burns his ships too.  If he does, there is no telling what levels of success he will experience and the idea of that makes me very excited for him.