In 1519, Hern谩n Cort茅s with his army of 600 landed on a vast inland Plateau called, Mexico.
The conquistador was about to embark on taking over an empire. But with just 600 men, none of them who had protective armour, conquering an empire as extensive as Mexico would only be undertaken by those with a death wish.
Many had previously tried to colonise the Yucatan Peninsula unsuccessfully with far more resources than Hern谩n had at his disposal.
Instead of charging through cities and forcing his men into immediate battle, Cort茅s stayed on the beach and began a speech.
His speeches usually inspired the spirit of adventure, on this occasion, however, he just murmured 3 words "Burn the boats".
This command gave his men two choices; fight until victory or die.
There was no exit strategy, the option of retreating was taken away when their boats were burned.
The resulting effect was that they had to give full effort in order to survive.
We know today, how Cort茅s' decision to burn the boats worked out, he became the first man in 600 years to successfully conquer Mexico.
In modern-day "burning the boats" presents itself as a fine exam颅ple of what unwa颅ver颅ing com颅mit颅ment truly, and a mindset we can take on board.
Strat颅egy is all about com颅mit颅ment, If what you're doing isn't irrev颅o颅ca颅ble, then you don't have a strat颅egy because any颅one can do it. That's why burn颅ing the boats is so impor颅tant.
It is in our human nature for one to stay within their comfort zone. Go beyond that - burn the boats.
