”What kind of day will I choose this day to be?” I remember this question, and I know that you will understand why I bring it up at this time. My belief is that you have a choice every day as you open your eyes for the first time that day. Each person in this world is his or her own reality, right?
I remember back in December when I was about to go on Christmas holiday. I was looking on my calendar for January, and to my great disappointment I realized that I had no customers lined up. Imagine that – no customers, no value to add anywhere, no money. 3 days before the year closes, and nothing signed for the months to come. Imagine if you were in my shoes… How would you feel and – more importantly -what would you do?
On the brink of giving up, standing at the edge of the cliff with the gun to my head, I got the call: A customer asked me to come back for January and onwards. All of the sudden, my frustration turned to justification. With just ONE call – everything turned around inside of me.
Ten minutes later I got a call from another customer, and now I was emphatic!!
One call was all I needed to remember how much value is in my life – and now, every time I start doubting my skills or ability to provide value in the lives of other people I simply turn back to remember the day I got that call, and the calls after that call.
Of course, the call in and of itself was without meaning compared to the fact that I choose what to make of each day as I wake up. What really awakened me was when I was talking with a friend of mine about him recently losing his job. How does one move on from that? I mean, it’s not like the job opportunities are plentiful in this global over-consumption crisis we find ourselves in. At one point, when I sensed that his frustration was on maximum level, I asked him: “So, … What are you fighting for?”
My friend paused and thought through the question for some time. ”Well,” he said ”I guess I am fighting for my pride. I fight to prove that I can triumph in the face of adversity. I fight to know that as long as I fight I have a place in the world. I fight because – If I don’t fight, my family will suffer. If I don’t fight, all my previous fighting will have no value to the world.”
The 300 Spartans
His reply echoed deep inside of me and reminded me of what I too am fighting for. And that’s when I came to think about the story of King Leonidas of Sparta and his famous 300.
In 480 B.C. the Persian empire ruled most of the known world and they were expanding their campaign to include the Greek city states. Sparta, a Greek city state famed for their ability to produce the finest warriors in the world, was one of those states.
Upon learning that a massive Persian army counting 10’s of thousands of soldiers was about to invade Greece, the Spartan king Leonidas consulted with an oracle that told him: ”Either Sparta will fall or their King will die.”
Raised in the ways of the warrior Leonidas chose the latter and assembled 300 of his finest soldiers to face the Persians at a mountain pass called Thermopylae - the ”Hot Gates.” 300 of the finest warriors, all trained from birth to master the skill of fighting as one single homogenous unit, against a massive army more than one hundred times stronger in numbers. All they had going for them was the support of a few allies from other cities and a mountain pass that would allow them a tactical avantage; their enemy could only attack them in smaller numbers in each wave.
Above all, what really made the Spartans superior fighters was their ability to trust that the soldier next to him knew exactly what to do in times of heated battle and that every one would make a a strong link in the chain. Every last soldier had superb skill and attitude.
Imagine if you were part of a group of warriors like that every day, … your family, your team, or maybe even your company as a whole – if you are, you know how awesome it feels to be winning against all odds.
Unfortunately for Leonidas and his troops, a traitor led the Persians around the pass and on the third day of the battle, the Spartans faced the full force of their enemy, including the feared ”Immortals,” a 10.000 strong unit of Persian elite troops.
Still, the Spartans fought with every breath, and eventually eradicated the ”Immortals,” holding back the Persian army long enough for the Greek allies to escape and give word to the rest of the Greek states.
It is said that Xerxes, the ruler of Persia, now tedious from the battle, offered Leonidas all the riches in the world and a title as Persia’s most powerful General if he would but surrender. Leonidas, now only with 50 or so men left, refused a surrender. He would rather die as his oracle had foreseen he would, so that his 300 brave had not fought in vain. And so, after killing off the remaining 50 men, Xerxes had the body of Leonidas beheaded.
However, the prophecy of the Orcle would come true. Through the brave acts of the 300 Spartans, the Greek cities would find inspiration to unite under Spartan rule on the battlefield and succeeded in fighting back Xerxes and his armies, liberating many of their kind from Persian rule in the years to come.
I can’t help but wonder what Leonidas was thinking as he went into battle. He knew that he was fighting for his people. He was fighting for everything he held dear back home. He knew that if he didn’t fight, his culture, and everything he valued in it, would fall. He knew, and every one of his 300 men knew. They chose to believe in their training and their desired outcome and lost many of their friends – even so, they kept going. They knew they were fighting for something greater than their existance.
If you are in a tough spot it is my hope that you remember that few can beat many. I hope that you too believe that you are fighting for a reason. I hope that the person sitting next to you is one you can trust with your life. And above all, I wish for you that you will remember what it is that you are fighting for – every day as you get out of bed.
Listen to your heart
Back to my friend from earlier… As we kept talking for a while and my friend said something very wise; something that I keep thinking about every day.
He said: ”You know, sitting here, knowing that I have to write more than 500 job applications just to be somewhat close to getting a new job, I wish I had realized what I was fighting for before it was too late to avoid this situation. But still, now that I know what I’m fighting for, I am happy! When you overcome adversity, you will know that you are growing stronger.”
I’m curious about what you are going to fight for and how you will choose to believe you can win, even when the times are darker than you had ever feared.
What’s it gonna be?
