Did you hear the one...
Published: Fri, 01/17/14
Did you hear about the man who sat down to write a book entitled
"The Inevitability of Failure"? You probably didn't,
he gave up before he had finished the first page.
I am not sure if that qualifies as a joke, it isn't very funny
but it kind of rings true. What might be slightly funnier would be
the story of the man who did complete the book which described
every kind of failure and found himself the author of a best
seller. How would it feel to be a highly successful book on
failure?
Strangely a great many of us seem to live in a world (by this I
mean our current western societies) where definitions of success
and failure have become somewhat blurred or even inverted. I could
rant on about bankers, benefits, health care, politicians and a
general sense of not taking personal responsibility for our lives.
You may well agree with me, or you may have an argument as to how I
am not being fair to people on benefits or that I don't
understand how global economics actually works. I don't
particularly mind upsetting people in an argument but it isn't
specific policy I am interested in today.
I was thinking more about the Viking approach to risk. Building a
viking ship must have been a huge investment for a whole community.
Then it had to be equipped and supplied. It had to be commanded
by someone with real knowledge of sea faring and a crew had to be
convinced that the adventure was going to be worth the risks
involved. The community left behind had to be ready to cope
without their menfolk and be ready for the possibility that they
may not come back at all. Once the voyage was underway there were
risks of storms and shipwreck. You never knew what kind of
reception you were going to receive when your ship reached foreign
parts or whether you were going to acquire anything worth bringing
back.
So when someone in a medieval Scandinavian community suggested.
"Lets spend all our money and time and effort on building a
ship, then sail it across the North Sea and see what we can find to
bring back." I wonder how many times the response was.
"Don't be ridiculous, far too risky, what happens
if..."
Yet thousands of such ships were built and who knows how many men
were willing to sail in them. A lot must have met terrible ends
from drowning and violence and who knows what else. But the world
remembers that the Vikings changed the face of Europe and far
beyond. Whatever difficulties they had to overcome fear of failure
obviously wasn't the major one for the ones that did set sail.
If you wonder if Stav training would be good for you then make your
own voyage and get some training. How big a risk can it be? See
here http://iceandfire.org/calendar.html and it isn't too late
to come to Salisbury tomorrow.
regards
Graham