Hernan Cortes: Burn your own Boats

INTRODUCTION

There was a treasure trove in the Aztec Empire but even the biggest armies were not able to win that treasure from the Aztec army. In 1519, a brave person started his journey from Cuba to the Aztec Empire. He was accompanied by 11 ships with mere 450 soldiers, 150 sailors, and 20 horses. He knew that his army can never win a war against the Aztec army and hence he started telling them about their bright future. He observed that the Aztec army can never be defeated even with 1500 soldiers but if his soldiers have a very high spirit then there are some chances of victory. He tried his best to motivate his army but still, there were few people who might run away. Those few people were still in a dilemma. But when their crew reached the shore of their enemy, Hernán Cortés does not attack the enemy but he spent a whole day to further boost the morale of his army. On the final day, he started addressing his army and everybody expected that he will discuss plan B so that in case of failure they can meet at some common point and leave from the country. But to their surprise, he ordered that their ships must be burned immediately. He said, " either we will win the battle and go in enemy's ships or die in that country.

POINT OF NO RETURN (PONR)

His army saw its burning ships and got convinced that there are no other options available now. They resonated for the victory as they all wanted to win the treasure. Mere army of 600 people devasted the Aztec empire and also won their ships. They became the winner of the war and distributed the treasure among themselves. The burning ships can also be termed as Point of no return. We used to perform exceptionally well when we do not have any other option with us. We can also question ourselves what is that thing which is still far from us just because of those 11 ships and how those ships are not allowing us to reach our destination.

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PRACTICAL APPLICATION

We can analyze our own situation by observing how many Plan B or C do we have with us. These substitute plans are stumbling blocks of our own life. The practical solution for this problem is a burning desire and the burning desire can be created by completely convincing ourselves about the ultimate benefit of achieving any goal. We can take the example of any competitive exam, toppers of the exam are totally convinced with the benefits of the result but mediocre people always remain in self-doubt and they sometimes question the necessity of the exam.

CONCLUSION

Hernán Cortés won that war just because of his long term vision. There is also one analogy pertaining to long term vision. One person asked the same question from three brick masons. The question was " What are you doing right now ?". First brick mason answered I am laying bricks, the second one answered that he is earning 5 dollars per hour but the third one answered that he is building a great temple. First, two brick masons do not have a clear vision but third brick mason had a clear goal in his mind and obviously, there are good chances that third brick mason will become a supervisor or construction in charge in near future. Just be consistent and have a great vision in your mind.

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