Douglas Mercer
December 21 2024
When the Spanish landed in Mexico they had about a thousand men and were facing a population of 2 million. It's true that the Spanish had guns and horses and unequaled courage--but still, those are fateful odds.
According to legend, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés issued a rather interesting order to his men as they began their conquest of the Aztec empire in 1519.
The order was simple: Burn the boats.
He wanted his men to realize that they had no opportunity to retreat, so they had to give this fight everything they had. Failure was no longer an option and winning this battle became a matter of life and death.
This illustrates a crucial point which can be applied to all quests of a great nature. The notion of burning the boats is something that goes back to ancient times when a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said: You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win!
Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success. If in the back of our minds we know that we have an escape plan if a new venture fails our minds will not be concentrated to the highest possible pitch--which will spell doom in the event. So give fortune as many hostages as she desires--for you won't be coming back.
