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Old-School Grit:

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Lessons from History on Willpower,

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Tenacity,

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and Resilience (Live a Disciplined Life Book 13)

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Written by

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Pete Hollins

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Narrated by Russell Newton.

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Few stories of resilience are as

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amazing as that of the British

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Endurance Expedition,

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launched in 1914.

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The mission was to cross the Antarctic

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on foot,

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but sadly,

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this lofty goal was never to be

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achieved.

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Instead,

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the Endurance mission took a completely

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different shape - the ship,

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aptly named Endurance,

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got trapped in thick sheet ice on its

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journey out.

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The crew of Endurance was stranded for

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months in the ice as they battled

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abject cold,

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hunger,

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desperation,

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and even insanity.

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The expedition leader,

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Ernest Shackleton,

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first led his men to abandon the

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trapped ship to the safety of nearby

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Elephant Island,

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and after that,

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he bravely left his crew to seek help.

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Because of his continued courage and

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discipline,

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he managed to save that crew,

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even though everything else was lost.

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The ship lay at the bottom of the ocean

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for 107 years before it was

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rediscovered recently in March 2022.

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As the ghost of this vessel was brought

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back to the surface,

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historians were again reminded of

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Ernest Shackleton and his crew.

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But who was Shackleton,

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and what exactly happened on the

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expedition?

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There were actually two ships – one

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called the Ross Sea Party on the ship

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Aurora that would drop supplies for the

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other,

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the Endurance.

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On this ship were 69 dogs,

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a tomcat,

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27 men,

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and one ship stowaway,

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who was later put to work as a steward.

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The expedition leader was Shackleton,

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who saw the voyage as a way to make a

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name for himself by establishing a base

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on the Weddell sea coast.

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Setting out in August,

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the ship was trapped in thick sheet ice

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in the Wendell Sea by December that

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year,

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and there was nothing the crew could do

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to free her.

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Though they could move the vessel for a

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little while,

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eventually the ice surrounded them so

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they could not budge either forward or

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backward.

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As the ice creaked and shifted,

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it took the ship with it,

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slowly drifting the men off course and

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crushing the hull bit by bit.

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They had been within only a day’s

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reach of their destination,

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but with every day spent trapped,

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they drifted further away.

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For ten long months,

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the crew sat on the trapped ship,

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waiting out the winter.

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One of the ship’s doctors,

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Alexander Macklin,

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later wrote that Shackleton,

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“did not rage at all,

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or show outwardly the slightest sign of

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disappointment;

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he told us simply and calmly that we

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must winter in the Pack;

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explained its dangers and

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possibilities;

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never lost his optimism and prepared

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for winter."

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For months,

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Shackleton tried to lead his men

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through the perilous Antarctic ice

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packs on dwindling provisions and scant

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morale.

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But he could not ignore the writing on

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the wall – they were going nowhere

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and running out of provisions.

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As seasoned sailors know,

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“What the ice gets,

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the ice keeps."

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Waiting patiently was a recipe for

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certain death.

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Shackleton eventually ordered the crew

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to abandon ship,

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and in good time too,

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since it sank shortly afterwards –

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around 28 days later.

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The team escaped with their lives on

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just 3 lifeboats.

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They made difficult decisions about

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which of the barest essentials to take,

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discarding everything else.

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Most of the smaller dogs and the cat

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were shot,

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and the rest of their possessions were

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left behind to go down with the ship.

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It was gut-wrenching,

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but the ordeal was just getting started.

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Try to imagine it - these 6 men braved

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the frozen wilderness in a small boat

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roughly 7m or 22 feet long and pressed

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on in this way for 800 miles,

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heading for the whaling stations they

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knew they’d find in South Georgia.

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It’s hard for people to understand

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the suffering they would have endured -

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battered by gale force winds and near

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constant freezing rain,

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the men huddled in groups,

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riddled with seasickness,

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wondering which giant ice cap would

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capsize the boat in an instant and kill

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them all... Shackleton even wrote later

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in his memoirs that they once

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encountered a tidal wave so enormous

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that he originally mistook it for the

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sky.

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Later,

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in his book South!,

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Shackleton recounts,

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“Huge blocks of ice,

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weighing many tons,

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were lifted into the air and tossed

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aside as other masses rose beneath them.

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We were helpless intruders in a strange

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world,

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our lives dependent upon the play of

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grim elementary forces that made a mock

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of our puny efforts."

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It's hard to imagine that these were

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men who had already gone through one

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unthinkable trial and had started this

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second journey cold,

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miserable,

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hungry,

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and ill.

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The crew had already lived for months

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trapped on board the Endurance in the

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ice floes.

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And now they were pitted against the

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merciless elements,

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each of them likely resigned to the

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fact that they would die.

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It was later reported that half the men

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on the boats were already mad,

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and some were viciously ill with

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dysentery.

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Some were chronically sleep-deprived,

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not having rested for 80 hours or so.

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Finally,

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exhausted and barely holding things

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together,

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they reached the uninhabited Elephant

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Island.

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When they set foot on that dry land,

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it had been a staggering 497 days since

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the Endurance first set sail.

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Shackleton’s second-in-command,

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Frank Wild,

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led the team to create a makeshift

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shelter out of two upturned lifeboats.

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The third boat was their last hope.

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Giving himself ten days to recover and

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prepare,

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Shackleton then left to seek help.

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He took with him five other men and set

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sail on the third lifeboat named

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“James Caird."

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This time,

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they knew what to expect.

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They’d wake every morning to beat the

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ice out of the sails and bail freezing

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water from the boat before pushing on.

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The punishing winds howled and tossed

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the fragile boat on the open seas,

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and the men,

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with their last splinters of hope

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barely intact,

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somehow found it in them to keep rowing

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until they reached their destination.

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After 17 further days of fighting to

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survive,

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they landed on the shores of South

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Georgia.

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The men rested briefly before the

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marathon hike of 36 hours across the

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island,

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finally finding Stromness Whaling

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station.

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It took beating out a path that no

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human had walked before,

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over mountain peaks and through icy

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terrain and frozen cliffs,

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but they did it – to the astonishment

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of those at the whaling station.

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Can you imagine the sight of these

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three men turning up in the middle of

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nowhere?

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After nearly two years of suffering and

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desperation,

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they had long,

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stringy beards,

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ruined clothing,

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and gaunt faces.

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Thoralf Sørlle,

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the station manager,

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was so shocked at the sight of them

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that he turned and wept when Shackleton

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explained what had happened.

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From there,

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Shackleton could arrange for a rescue

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ship to fetch the 22 sailors that still

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remained on Elephant Island.

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Again,

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this was a story of one disaster after

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another.

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The first ship that Shackleton launched

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ran out of fuel and was forced to turn

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back.

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A vessel offered by Uruguay made it to

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within 100 miles of Elephant Island

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before ice packs forced it to give up

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and return.

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It took several more attempts,

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but eventually the Chilean government

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agreed to lend him a small tugboat,

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called Yelcho.

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Heading back,

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Shackleton must have secretly feared

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the worst,

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wondering about the men he’d left

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behind.

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He had taken a full 128 days to return

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to them with help.

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As he approached,

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he noticed a smoke signal emerging from

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the makeshift shelter,

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and soon the men emerged,

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calling to him – all of them had made

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it.

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In the meantime,

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Frank Wild had been tasked with keeping

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spirits up on the desolate Island

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wasteland.

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Every single morning,

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he would instruct the crew to prepare

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their belongings and get ready,

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since Shackleton might return any day

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now.

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Despite how despondent and despairing

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the crew felt,

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Wild kept it up.

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Many of the men had utterly given up

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and had resigned themselves to their

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fate,

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rather than keep clinging to hope.

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Their daily life was one of misery and

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privation,

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and they had little to do but ruminate

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on their doomed fate and boil up seal

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bones for nourishment.

290
00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,760
But that fateful morning on day 128,

291
00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:27,840
Shackleton really did return,

292
00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:29,400
and the crew was packed and ready,

293
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:31,160
not quite believing that their

294
00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,040
nightmare was finally coming to an end.

295
00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:36,240
The crew all made it back to England,

296
00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:37,560
and years later,

297
00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:39,600
all were still alive and well.

298
00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,880
Are you wondering what happened to the

299
00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:43,440
other ship,

300
00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:44,120
the Aurora?

301
00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:45,520
Sadly,

302
00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:47,720
this ship and its crew were essentially

303
00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,960
left to fend for themselves and were

304
00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:50,520
stranded.

305
00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,200
The commander of the ship and two other

306
00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:54,240
crew members perished,

307
00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:56,360
despite faithfully fulfilling their

308
00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,480
task of delivering food and supplies

309
00:09:58,480 --> 00:09:59,800
needed by the Endurance.

310
00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,400
The plan was to meet the Endurance in

311
00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:04,360
the Ross Sea,

312
00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:05,400
south of New Zealand,

313
00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:06,400
bringing supplies.

314
00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:06,680
So,

315
00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:08,680
although Shackleton’s tale of

316
00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:10,560
endurance and daring rescue was the

317
00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:12,360
most compelling story to emerge from

318
00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:12,920
these events,

319
00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,720
the fact is that none of the original

320
00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:17,240
aims of the expedition were met – in

321
00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:18,160
fact,

322
00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,400
the Antarctic was only explored on foot

323
00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:21,560
decades later,

324
00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:24,960
in the 1950s by Sir Vivian Fuchs.

325
00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,520
Whatever happened to Shackleton?

326
00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:28,440
Well,

327
00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:30,360
he never did reach the South Pole or

328
00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:32,480
cross the Antarctic on foot,

329
00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:34,880
but he did attempt another expedition

330
00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:35,480
years later,

331
00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,800
with many of the same crew he had been

332
00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:39,280
with on the Endurance.

333
00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,560
They noted that he was never the same

334
00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:42,840
again.

335
00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:43,840
In fact,

336
00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,040
Shackleton died at just 47 years of age

337
00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:47,720
of a heart attack.

338
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:49,120
Granted,

339
00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:50,600
the days of high adventure and

340
00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,240
fantastic explorations to the poles

341
00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:55,560
seem like they belong to a bygone era,

342
00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:58,480
but the story of the Endurance and her

343
00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,480
crew still captures hearts and minds

344
00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:00,960
today.

345
00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,400
People continue to be astonished at

346
00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,720
just how much Shackleton and his men

347
00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:07,920
must have endured – how on earth

348
00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:09,360
could they have survived all that?

349
00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,080
Take a look at any of the photographs

350
00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:13,240
of the crew throughout their doomed

351
00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,400
expedition and you cannot help but feel

352
00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,760
awe at the black and white faces

353
00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:18,800
peering back out at you.

354
00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,240
The ship was a small,

355
00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:22,840
wooden one with canvas sails,

356
00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,120
and the men aboard it were working with

357
00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:27,360
what we’d now consider rudimentary

358
00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:27,840
instruments.

359
00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:29,240
The men had,

360
00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:30,000
in total,

361
00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,000
spent years battling despair,

362
00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:33,960
insanity,

363
00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:34,840
starvation,

364
00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:36,000
exhaustion,

365
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,320
and illness – all in a frighteningly

366
00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,840
hostile landscape where temperatures

367
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:47,520
averaged roughly -66 F (-54 C).

368
00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,520
Shackleton and his crew were forever

369
00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,400
considered impressive proof of the

370
00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,800
extent to which the human spirit can

371
00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:56,640
endure and prevail.

372
00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,400
Shackleton wrote a book about his

373
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,520
experiences that gives a peek into his

374
00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,280
mind and allows us to guess at what it

375
00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:05,680
must have been like out there in the

376
00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:09,240
Antarctic wilderness - “When I look

377
00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,720
back at those days I have no doubt that

378
00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:13,120
Providence guided us,

379
00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,120
not only across those snowfields,

380
00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:17,520
but across the storm-white sea that

381
00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,200
separated Elephant Island from our

382
00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,440
landing-place on South Georgia.

383
00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,120
I know that during that long and

384
00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,280
racking march of thirty-six hours over

385
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,480
the unnamed mountains and glaciers of

386
00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,720
South Georgia it seemed to me often

387
00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:32,040
that we were four,

388
00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:33,120
not three.

389
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,960
I said nothing to my companions on the

390
00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:36,360
point,

391
00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,440
but afterwards Worsley said to me,

392
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:40,680
‘Boss,

393
00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:43,040
I had a curious feeling on the march

394
00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:44,800
that there was another person with

395
00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,240
us.’ Crean confessed to the same idea.

396
00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,800
One feels ‘the dearth of human words,

397
00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,280
the roughness of mortal speech’ in

398
00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,560
trying to describe things intangible,

399
00:12:57,560 --> 00:12:59,840
but a record of our journeys would be

400
00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:01,680
incomplete without a reference to a

401
00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:04,360
subject very near to our hearts."

402
00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,520
Who was the fourth person on the

403
00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:08,240
journey with them?

404
00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,760
Shackleton knows that he can never

405
00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:12,680
fully express what he experienced out

406
00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:12,840
there,

407
00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:14,640
but we can conjecture.

408
00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,840
Perhaps he felt a divine spirit guiding

409
00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:18,440
and protecting him.

410
00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,120
Perhaps it was his own sense of hope

411
00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,120
and the fearsome refusal to give up and

412
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:25,280
let go of his life.

413
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,040
Perhaps it was simply raw human

414
00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:29,040
survival instinct,

415
00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:30,720
wordless and unconscious.

416
00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:32,920
Many of the men did give up.

417
00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:35,400
Shackleton was a flawed man,

418
00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,000
who had certainly been criticized for

419
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:39,480
his leadership skills over the course

420
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:40,160
of his career,

421
00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,440
but one thing that people could agree

422
00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,440
on was that he took his duty to inspire

423
00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:46,760
hope and courage in his crew very

424
00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:47,840
seriously.

425
00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,200
Even though he was doubtless tormented

426
00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:51,960
internally,

427
00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:54,840
he never permitted himself to despair

428
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:55,720
openly to the others.

429
00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,360
Besides his clear faith in something

430
00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:00,960
greater than himself (“We had seen

431
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:02,280
God in His splendors,

432
00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,280
heard the text that Nature renders.

433
00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,080
We had reached the naked soul of man”

434
00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:09,160
– Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage),

435
00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:11,280
he also was a practical man.

436
00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,360
He speaks about the importance of

437
00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,440
grounding one’s daily life in

438
00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:15,960
routine,

439
00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,120
about humility,

440
00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,920
and about simply getting on with what

441
00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:20,920
must be done,

442
00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:22,160
one way or another.

443
00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,600
He remarked once,

444
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,920
after his team had already endured

445
00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:28,680
countless months of sickness and

446
00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:29,280
starvation,

447
00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,520
the power of the little,

448
00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,640
everyday things - “I heard one man

449
00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:34,960
say,

450
00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:36,160
"Cook,

451
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:37,840
I like my tea strong."

452
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,320
Another joined in,

453
00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:40,160
"Cook,

454
00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:41,440
I like mine weak."

455
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,240
It was pleasant to know that their

456
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:45,520
minds were untroubled,

457
00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,560
but I thought the time opportune to

458
00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,640
mention that the tea would be the same

459
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,040
for all hands and that we would be

460
00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:54,360
fortunate if two months later we had

461
00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:55,320
any tea at all.

462
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,120
It occurred to me at the time that the

463
00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,960
incident had psychological interest.

464
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:02,240
Here were men,

465
00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:03,680
their home crushed,

466
00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,600
the camp pitched on the unstable floes,

467
00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,040
and their chance of reaching safety

468
00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:10,240
apparently remote,

469
00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:12,600
calmly attending to the details of

470
00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:14,560
existence and giving their attention to

471
00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:16,880
such trifles as the strength of a brew

472
00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:17,240
of tea."

473
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:22,080
Brave hope and the will to survive are

474
00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,680
very grand endeavors – but they often

475
00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:26,240
play out in mundane ways.

476
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,920
If we can focus on what is in front of

477
00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:29,120
us,

478
00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:30,520
no matter how small,

479
00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,640
we can find a kind of dignity in them.

480
00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,360
No matter how dire the situation is,

481
00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:39,000
we can take solace in ritual,

482
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,440
in doing what little we can,

483
00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,480
and in sticking with routines – even

484
00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:46,080
if we don’t quite have faith in them

485
00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:46,640
anymore.

486
00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:48,480
Finally,

487
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,600
perhaps the most noteworthy of

488
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,840
Shackleton’s attitudes was his

489
00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,200
seeming unwillingness to think about

490
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,280
defeat even as a possibility.

491
00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,200
Like many deeply devoted and ambitious

492
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:00,840
people,

493
00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,680
Shackleton simply did not allow himself

494
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:04,120
to give up.

495
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,800
“Difficulties,” he claimed,

496
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:08,800
“are just things to overcome."

497
00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,120
No matter the size of the difficulty,

498
00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:13,440
or how frequent they are,

499
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,120
they were never a reason to stop,

500
00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:17,040
give up,

501
00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:17,840
or turn back.

502
00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,640
They were simply things that needed to

503
00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:22,680
be gone around – speed bumps rather

504
00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,280
than roadblocks that forever close off

505
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:25,680
the path.

506
00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,960
If we can replicate make this subtle

507
00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:29,680
shift in perspective,

508
00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,800
we allow ourselves to stay proactive

509
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,360
and ask – how can I get around this?

510
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,760
If we assume that we will do everything

511
00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,000
we humanly can do to get around it,

512
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,480
it simply becomes a matter of how.

513
00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,720
“Just when things looked their worst,

514
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:48,200
they changed for the best.

515
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,600
I have marveled often at the thin line

516
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,880
that divides success from failure and

517
00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,320
the sudden turn that leads from

518
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,080
apparently certain disaster to

519
00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:58,400
comparative safety."

520
00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,320
If you genuinely think this way about

521
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:01,600
life,

522
00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,840
then no situation is so dire or so

523
00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,480
hopeless that it cannot one day turn

524
00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:09,600
completely and become something new.

525
00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:10,800
Hope,

526
00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:11,080
then,

527
00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:13,720
is like keeping your belongings packed

528
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:14,720
and ready so that,

529
00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:16,000
when better things come,

530
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,840
you are ready and waiting to seize them.

531
00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:22,200
Real life example.

532
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,000
Not many of us will ever endure the

533
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,920
kind of suffering Shackleton and his

534
00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:27,400
men did,

535
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,120
but we may well face other challenges,

536
00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:31,600
like major illness,

537
00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:32,480
poverty,

538
00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:34,120
or natural disasters.

539
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:35,800
In more recent history,

540
00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,680
there are plenty of examples of people

541
00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:39,280
rising to extreme challenges,

542
00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,920
like the brave firefighters who worked

543
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,040
tirelessly to retrieve survivors from

544
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:46,080
the rubble of the bombing of the world

545
00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:47,800
Trade Center.

546
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,920
They did precisely what Shackleton did;

547
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,480
they dug deep and allowed the magnitude

548
00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,440
of their task to sober them and inspire

549
00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:57,080
them,

550
00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,360
then they refused to give up as they

551
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:00,720
did what needed to be done.

552
00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,200
Shackleton’s men were forced to find

553
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:05,880
out what they were really made of.

554
00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,920
Senator John Kerry hints at the same

555
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,000
phenomenon when he remarked of the 9/11

556
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:12,320
attacks,

557
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,640
“It was the worst day we have ever

558
00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:15,160
seen,

559
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,880
but it brought out the best in all of

560
00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:18,160
us."

561
00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,520
Shackleton’s lessons -

562
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,520
•Find purpose.

563
00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,680
Seek a deeper meaning and significance

564
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:28,040
in your life,

565
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:28,400
and,

566
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:29,600
if it strengthens you,

567
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,800
anchor yourself in religion or

568
00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:32,880
spirituality.

569
00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,360
Shackleton never felt alone during his

570
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:37,680
most arduous challenges,

571
00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,120
and that’s because he was a man of

572
00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:40,440
faith.

573
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,000
•When times are challenging,

574
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,880
keep sane and even-keeled by engrossing

575
00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:48,720
yourself in the details of day to day

576
00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:49,160
life.

577
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:50,560
Keep a routine,

578
00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,400
look after the basics of life,

579
00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:53,600
and if need be,

580
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,840
find relieving distractions when things

581
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,200
get especially difficult.

582
00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,000
•Finally,

583
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:01,360
don’t give up.

584
00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:04,320
When you encounter a challenge,

585
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,360
reframe the way you look at it - it’s

586
00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:08,000
not the end.

587
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,320
Difficulties are not a sign that your

588
00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:11,040
journey is over,

589
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,080
just that the route has changed.

590
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,200
Difficulties are just things to

591
00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:15,800
overcome.

592
00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:17,200
If you have hope,

593
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,800
then you’ll be prepared and ready to

594
00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,000
grasp opportunity when it does finally

595
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:22,600
come your way.

596
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,640
This has been

597
00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:28,720
Old-School Grit:

598
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,960
Lessons from History on Willpower,

599
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:32,120
Tenacity,

600
00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:38,560
and Resilience (Live a Disciplined Life Book 13) Written by

601
00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:39,280
Pete Hollins

602
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:44,880
Narrated by Russell Newton.