04: The Ships Are Burning
Chris Suarez (00:13):
In the early morning hours of the coast of the Yucatan peninsula in the year 1519, there were 11 ships, 500 soldiers and a hundred sailors committed to teaching all of us a lesson. Of course, at that moment, what ensued was not for us, but today it is rather at that moment, Hernan Cortes needed a commitment level from his people, from himself, unlike had ever been delivered by the Spaniards. You see Cortes had no choice without turning this into a history podcast. The Spanish Explorer and commander had no where to go but forward. A year earlier, he had been assigned to lead an expedition to Mexico in search of treasure. Now, the expedition was called off by the governor at the time, Velasquez, but Cortez had rebelled. Now there's a lesson there too, and it ticking these, these few hundred men and 11 ships and struck out with the goal of conquering, the Aztecs and empire that had been around for as many years as he had men, right?
Chris Suarez (01:16):
600 years when his men saw how numbered they were, and also learned that the journey to conquer the Aztec empire would be, uh, a three-month track over impossible terrain, man, they started talking about mutiny, right? Some of the soldiers and sailors presented this idea of, gosh, let's just go back to Cuba in the ships that sat just off shore. And that is when as history tells it Cortes or did the ships burned? See Cortez had no other option. If you went back to Cuba, he was sure to be killed or imprisoned for his rebellion against the governor's orders. So he only had one option. He only had the option to move forward. So he made that immediate call to burn the ships and make sure that his entire army or his entire organization was as committed as himself to one goal victory over death. Cortez, wasn't just living, he was about to experience what commitment looked like and felt and was. Now, although this expression burned, the ships committed is attributed to Cortes. He wasn't. The first leader said to have done this over 1700 years earlier, Xiang Yu of China after crossing a river at the Battle of Julu in 207BC, he ordered all of his boats destroyed so that there was only one option. Victory over death, right? They had crossed the river. They weren't going back. In fact, there's an ancient Chinese proverb that says "break the kettles and sink the boat". That originated from that moment in 207BC, then in 711AD Muslim forces, right? Invaded the Iberian peninsula. And then the commander Tariq ibn Ziyad also ordered his ships, burned, leaving only one option for his army -- victory, over death. She has 500 years after those ships were burned off the coast of Mexico.
Chris Suarez (03:28):
And it's time to strike a match and burn some more ships. And here's why over the past two months, I have heard more business owners use expressions like, ah, this was going to be my best year ever or, man, this was my breakout year. I've heard more people use those expressions and I can ever remember. And I have two immediate thoughts when I hear that. Well, first it wasn't going to be everybody's best year. And second, nothing has changed while everything has changed. See, we need to stop using unexpected change in our immediate environment is an excuse for not showing up yet again. If it wasn't a pandemic, it would be the market. If it wasn't the market, it'd be a personal problem. If it wasn't a personal problem, it'd be a problem with a person, right? How many years will we go not hitting our goals or living up to the expectations we have for ourselves or, or doing what we said we were going to do or experience what we said we were going to experience while disguising our lack of commitment as something external. The main reason for that? You see, we have this boat sitting in the Harbor. We all have a backup plan. And that's because most of us are in a place where we will be okay, no matter what. We set goals, we have dream boards. We've made promises to ourselves and even those around us. And then we set out unknowingly looking for reasons or excuses, why it's not possible or necessary to hit that goal, achieve that dream or deliver on that promise. Well, this year showed up and gave us all reasons real quick. We didn't have to look too far away. We find ourselves in the second quarter of the year 2020 many have simply decided to take that reason. Now I'm calling on all of you to burn that idea.
Chris Suarez (05:18):
My challenge to everyone in any organization right now is that to decide to burn the ships behind you, maybe that ship is a savings account. Maybe that ship has just showed up in the form of government assistance. Maybe that ship has a spouse or a partner that has a job. Maybe that ship is that, is a safe and small life. Maybe that ship is that right? Sense of good enough? Well, just burn it. Stop using that ship behind you to allow yourself to come up with all the reasons why this year was going to be your best year. We lose the right to say that today, we either show up committed or we don't right now, commitment is our competitive. It was the secret weapon of Cortes, Yu, of Tariq ibn Ziyad and countless leaders before us. And even before that, I'm sure of that.
Chris Suarez (06:08):
It will be your secret weapon. In fact, we've shared this secret with the world as we want them to join us in this commitment. It's victory or death. Stop convincing yourself that the reason it isn't your best year ever is based on the external. It's not it wasn't last year. It wasn't the year before it wasn't the year before that it's never external. It's always internal. The lack of victory is based on the ship that you have sitting in your Harbor. I've learned not to be afraid of failure. I've learned that just like Cortes, the three months ahead might look impossible or insurmountable, or it just might look like a lot of hard work over that terrain. I know that there are expected battles just ahead. And I'm certain that there will be ambushes that are completely unexpected along the way. And the alternative, sit still and wait?
Chris Suarez (07:03):
Everything may be changing around us right now. So what? We've been preparing ourselves for change since birth, nothing has changed there, right? The only lack of change is change. Those that respond and react, the swiftest or the fastest will win. Our goals remain unchanged. The purpose of the goal is to inform the strategy guys. The goal is some may say is irrelevant. The goal tells us what the strategy is going to be. And the purpose of strategy is to inform the activity. The purpose of the activity is to inform the calendar and the purpose of the calendar -- that's just to assure the victory. If we're unwilling to follow a calendar, filled with the activities, to execute the strategies of our goal, then just be upfront and honest today. Just acknowledge the fact that isn't the goal that really you want to change. It's your calendar. It's your schedule. It's your day to day, right? You just don't want to work as much as it might take to hit that goal. See if that's the case, the ships waiting in your Harbor, just take it, set up, set sail now. As I reflected this week on, on each of the people in our organization, here's one thing I know no one is running back to that boat. Why? Well, the smoke is rising from the Harbor guys. The ships are burning.
Chris Suarez (08:29):
We choose victory.
