To Succeed in Life, Burn Your Boats

Make Your Life A Success Story 

“If you want to take the island, you need to burn the boats.” This famous line of Tony Robbins has a great relevance not only for those who are already on their expedition to touch the pinnacles of success and see all their dreams fulfilled but   for those also who come across situations when they find themselves in a terrible dilemma as how to choose and what to choose out of the plethora of the options since it’s very important to make a right choice in order to bring the plans to their fruition. A good decision with strong will power impacts not only the process but the outcome also and can attribute to achieve an uncompromising mental reservoir of strength. 

Enriching Read: Where There’s a Will There’s a Way

The phrase ‘Burning the Boats’ has its origin in the year 1519 highlighting History’s one of the most inspiring leadership stories. During those days it was known to all that Mexico had a magnificent treasure for which many invaders attempted for over 600 years but none of them could succeed. When Hernán Cortés, a young Spanish commander heard about the same he decided to acquire it and started sailing towards Mexico with a convoy of 11 boats, 16 horses and 600 Spaniards. The clamour of their excitement was enough to break the silence of the sea. But gradually fear and despair loomed large with sailing farther from their homeland. The fact that none could acquire the treasure hitherto the crew began to develop cold feet and it turned to be an evanescent ambition for them. Hernán Cortés could sense the despondency and fear but he kept waiting for a right moment. When they reached Mexico, he ordered his people to evacuate the boats. Once everything was settled he called a lieutenant and instructed him to burn all the boats and he began his address which created history then. He sent a clear message to all that there was no turning back as all the boats had already been burnt. With no exit strategy either they would win or they would perish. The soldiers fought with indomitable courage and conquered the island with its magnificent treasure.

The story gives a life-changing message to all. The boats are the insecurities, fear, escape, and anxiety which always hinder our growth and weaken our commitment with self to accept challenges in life. When we want to improve our careers, personal lives or emotional status we must understand that once a strong and earnest decision is made there is no turning back, no escape. Now every effort and thought must be focused on succeeding and achieving what we have yearned for. Burning the boats means making your mind to reject all those fears and preparing yourself for no turning back and accept that there is no plan B. When you don’t have a plan B for your dreams and ambitions it gives a message to your mind that there is no point of return now and it strengthens your commitment to yourself and you put in your best efforts to achieve your goals in life. This strategy is the key determinant of both personal and professional success despite challenges that inevitably happen on the way.

Hebrew tradition teaches a similar value, the Israelite armies would besiege enemy cities from three sides only facilitating them with an escape route. They knew it very well that the enemy would no longer remain a formidable opponent if they had a possibility of flight. In most cases, they celebrated the conquest.

We all face difficult times when we need to make a decision especially when we are confused which path to travel. We research on our plans, collect facts from good resources, take advice from our best friends and well wishers, measure the risks, analyze the ups and downs and then we trust our own judgment whether to step ahead or not. And the most important factor of this process must be once we have made our decision we have to be committed and focus only on our diligent efforts to make it a success story of our life.