You May Have Ships to Burn

May 11th, 2012

Let me tell you a little story about Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés who led his men to newly discovered Mexico in the year 1519. Cortés wanted to conquer the powerful Aztec empire and claim the territory for Spain.

When they landed near the present-day site of Vera Cruz on April 21, he did something his men did not expect, and ordered his men to burn their ships.

The soldiers were stunned, shocked, but were obedient and did as instructed.

Photo-source link: http://www.victusspiritus.com/2010/08/21/burn-the-ships/

Can you imagine how the soldiers felt watching their ships go up in flames, knowing there was no escape but to conquer or die? They destroyed all possible way to escape…

To make along story short, they found a new level of commitment, and knew the only way to get back to Spain was to conquer the Aztecs!

A little more than two years later, after numerous battles, setbacks, and losses, victory was finally complete when the emperor surrendered and the Aztec empire was no more.

Now pay attention here to what was taking place. Based on a single decision to burn their boats, new levels of commitment were put into action.

Think about this for a moment.

How does this apply to your everyday life with your own level of commitments? We always hear the phrase to never burn your bridges, and that is a true statement. I wouldn’t ask you to burn your bridges if you didn’t have to, but sometimes when we desire change in our own lives we’re unable to let go of what’s keeping us from moving forward.

Everyone has dreams; some dreams are just buried deeper than others, but it’s there…You may not see it due to your own perspective of your circumstances, but it’s there. And it’s waiting to be recaptured and lived out fully.

So what is it that you really want to do…Really? What will make you the happiest? What escape route is keeping you from moving in that direction?

If where you are in life is not acceptable and you know there has got to be a better way to get to where you want to be, what bold action are you willing to take that will force you to a new level of commitment?

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http://www.totalfusionministries.org Rob Coburn

Rob, this is an unbelievable post. Thanks for making me think through my life. We often hold on to what we know just because it is easy. I will keep you updated on the changes this blog is igniting in my life. Thanks, @missioncoach
http://www.theleaderforge.com/ Rick Seigmund

I love this! I’ve always been a ship burner, much to the chagrin of others. Yo can’t please everyone in life, and always having the safe option available doesn’t do much good when you’re trying to Forge ahead! Rock-nRoll Rob!!!
Ann Musico

I reminds me of something I heard about how a mother eagle prepares her babies to learn to fly. She systematically takes all the “toys” – leaves, twigs and material that makes the nest comfortable out until there is nothing left and then she pushes them out of the nest! Sometimes we have to just leave ourselves with no alternative before we’ll take the plunge!
http://www.designercam.com/ Cam

Hi Rob,
I have not heard this specific story, but have heard of other similar ones.

The thing that this story reminds me of the most is the power behind
singular focus. It is the essence of the ‘one thing’ argument that I see
floating around — with two sides opposing two different ideas of what
the ‘one thing’ is. On one side, people who oppose the one thing
argument feel as though finding one thing to define their life is
restrictive and killing the creative spark in their life.

On the other side, those who support one thing understand that in order to accomplish anything truly magnificent and otherwise ‘impossible’ will need to have 100%-dedicated, distraction-ignoring, sold-out focus on achieving the
goal in mind. Another way of saying it is that those who see the ‘one-thing’ as replacing/defining their identity oppose it, while those who see the ‘one-thing’ as a tool to achieve Big Hairy Audacious Goals support it.

The story you share above reminds me of the true power behind having a
singular focus. Every soldier knew that anything they wanted to do
later in life was tied directly to accomplishing ‘the one thing’ goal of
defeating the Aztecs. They did not change their identity, or even their
position in life. The one goal united them, because they were all
soldiers, husbands, fathers, and sons — and the only way for them to
see their families again and accomplish more goals in the future would
be to achieve this one-thing goal that was now placed before them.
Burning the boats made them 100%-dedicated to the mission at hand, and
the mission at hand was the portal to every other mission they would
ever get the chance to do later.

Relating this story in my life shows the opposite. It’s sad, but I
have diluted myself with my many interests in such a way that together
they will slow my progress towards all my goals. I have a problem with
adding things to my plate if I see them helping advance my progress (or
if I see a use for them in the future). Instead, with my BHAG, I should
scale back and limit myself to things needed for the next two steps and
not the next ten. At the end of May, I will be finished with one season
of busyness, and ready to move ahead with some of my BHAG goal steps.

This has inspired me . . . I think I will write about this idea in an upcoming blog/newsletter.

Thanks Rob!
~Cam
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

As we know, easy never made anyone stronger… If we want the best in life, we have to be willing to bite down and push through to challenges, even if it means forcing ourselves to push through. Looking forward to seeing your continued success…
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

Rock-n-Roll back-atcha Rick! Let’s burn those ships and keep pushing up this magnificent hill of greatness!
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

Mother Eagle was a Wise Mother! Can you imagine what would have happened to those babies if she never removed pieces of the nest and nudge them along? They would have never learned to fly!
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

Cam, awesome response there buddy! You make
excellent points about the ‘One Thing’… Both sides are true… There’s also the preliminary
‘One Thing’ which I speak of and that is people don’t move forward because they
wait until they find ‘One Thing’, when really they should be seeking that One
Direction.

Sometimes
we’ll never know until we try something out. But once you do know, and once you’re
fixed on what you need to do to make your like meaningful to move in that
direction of purpose, remove all obstacles that keep you from achieving that
dream, and watch everything flourish!
Archie

Let’s face it, we ALL get “burned” out living in our comfort zones at times. I’m thinking; it’s because God didn’t create us as mediocre beings, and that’s where the unrestful (not a word in the dictionary, but you get the point! feeling comes in. Granted, often times I still have this comfort zone mediocre feeling, but each day I learn more and more about who I am and what I SHOULD be doing. I’m “burning ships”, maybe small and one day at a time, but I feel it is in God’s timing. Thanks Rob. Love this post.
http://www.designercam.com/ Cam

Great point Rob.

In my mind I had kinda grouped the idea of holding off until you find
your ‘One Thing’ as part of the identity defining group that people
push back on, however I can understand how it is a third way of looking at the idea.

Too many people are waiting for the “One-Thing” perfect opportunity to show up before they move. However, in your illustration, we see the commander re-framing the soldier’s perfect opportunity to the current opportunity. The soldiers get to make this the best opportunity they have because it’s the only opportunity they have.

For us today, it is really easy to sit on the sidelines and think people who ‘make it’ are lucky because we never see them honing their craft and practicing behind the scenes. There is alot of preparation that goes into winning, and for us to think we can win without trying is about as effective as us thinking we can win the lottery without buying a ticket.

Thanks for continually challenging us (me) to think deeper than we might regularly do.

~Cam
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

You said it well, Archie… Doesn’t matter how small the ship is at first you’re burning. This is your story and journey, and in the end all those small burns will have created a lasting impact in your life and others.

One thing that I know, is nothing ever seems to be able to come between you and your ability to keep people uplifted and encouraged. I’m sure if there was a ship that tried, you would probably burn that ship, and keep doing what you do so well… Thanks Archie!
http://cindyhirch.com/ Cindy Hirch

Rob – what I took from that is often when we are forced out of our comfort zones and our natural resources are taken away then we need to have a new resolve to get to the next level. As long as we have a crutch we often don’t excel as we could otherwise. Great post Rob ~
http://www.fatherofone.com/ Michael Wright

Rob, I’m just reading this, but it’s amazing that I referenced ole Cortez in my post this past Monday – I guess great minds think alike! Most recently Rob, I finally took a long needed step to completely rid myself of credit cards this month. The couple of accounts I had actual cards for, I cut up (I could have burned them too!) Not because we have a balance on one of them, but even when we’ve owed nothing, I realized than when something came up with finances regarding if we should invest in or purchase this item (even for good things, like medical treatments for my family), I never had to “think” about it too hard, because I had a card to charge it to and pay it back later. Now, I’d rather put something off, even it if is very important, for the short term, and save up to have that nest where it’s not an issue.
http://rise365.com Claudia Good

Rob,
This post really speaks to my heart (as many of your posts do)
I constantly struggle with this balance… Michael and I however, have decided that burning some boats are absolutely necessary to provide the impetus to GREAT change in our lives… so that is what we are pursuing!

Thanks for always providing encouragement and challenge for us as people to pursue the marvelous creatures we could be… but many times aren’t because we choose not to be!

Here’s to the marvelous days that will be created by burning the boats and running full force after our dreams!
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

Thank you as well, brother… A winner gives off that “lucky illusion” to some; but like you said, much preparation goes into winning…
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

Here, Here! I can toast to that Claudia…

You and Michael are prime examples of making things happen, even if we have to lay the torch on the deck sometimes we all know that just kicks our ambitions in overtime and we make sure that we get over that hill!
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

Way to go on the cards Michael; now you have no choice but to make it work through other means… And hey about the posting of the same story! I saw that… That is sooo cool; I guess great minds do think alike WOW!
http://www.180coach.com/ Rob Clinton

You read it right, Cindy! And that’s a great way to look at those things that hold us back sometimes; a crutch… Sometimes we just have to throw the crutch out, and kick it in overdrive…

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