Nothing perks my interest like a good tale of outdoor adventure. I have been occupied over the last few evenings reading a book titled “Skywalker- Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail” by Bill Walker. This gentlemen provides a lot of entertainment, by describing his straight through walk on the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail in one season. That is a lot of hiking! It is remarkable that someone in their mid-40’s as he was, who had never spent a night ‘sleeping outside’, thus having no camping experience whatever, would have the fortitude to endure such an undertaking.
Besides being a good read for outdoor minded people, his story once again reinforced a theory that I have about what makes people tick. I have observed many times that in almost any field of activity, the people we often judge to be the least likely to succeed, are the very ones left standing at the end of the day.
My personal work life has brought me into the presence of a lot of sawmills, where, no matter which one you choose, there are some hard jobs. I have seen time and again some young, tough looking fellow, show up full of confidence that he can outwork anyone around. By the time mid-day arrives the fellow has fallen very quiet, but stays with it for the day, then never shows up again. I have often puzzled about that kind of thing and wonder why some people who seem ‘fragile’ can outwork the ‘tough guys’ nearly every time.
Take soldiers as another example. Those who are familiar with the extreme training required for many special forces units, know that it takes more than pure physical fitness to successfully finish one of those courses. There is an element of mental toughness that is required, which is beyond the average person.
As I grow older it becomes more clear what makes the difference in people, who otherwise might be equal. It boils down to ‘desire’ and the mental ability to accept death itself rather than failure. That means there must be a ‘fire in the belly’ to successfully accomplish something that otherwise would seem impossible under normal circumstances.
Bill Walker did not fit the profile of a “hiker”. The man is 6’11” tall to start with, that is why he had the nickname “Skywalker”, plus he was totally inexperienced as an outdoorsman. I am not getting commissions off his book either, in fact I got it free as an e-book from Amazon. I would imagine many public libraries might have the book. It would only be of interest to people who enjoy outdoor adventure stories, or study human nature.
In many ways people are like some animals in their psychological makeup. The biggest common breed of dog, the St. Bernard, are known for their mild manners, while many ‘little dogs’, my little beagle included, are willing to take on the whole world, if given a chance.
In most things we go about doing, attitude makes all the difference in the world. It is the ‘desire’ to do something that makes or breaks us, generally. Maybe that is why I have never been a very good mechanic. I hate working on vehicles, I have a mental block about my ability to successfully fix most things, automotive related. Not that I have not tried on many occasions and sometimes it works, but most often, after I have spent a day or two under the hood, even a “real mechanic” can’t fix what I have done!
Wood is different. Wood is my friend. I am not the best craftsman in the world, but if I need a piece of furniture I can build it to suit my needs. I even like working with wood, most of the time.
Some abilities we are born with. A good example of this is an artist. There is an art gene evidently. No matter what training might be available, some of us could not draw a stick person very good, I’m in that group. I marvel at the ability of our oldest daughter, who is an excellent artist; she did not get the ‘gene’ from me, for certain, I have trouble drawing a straight line with a ruler!
This shows us that certain realities exist. One is, just ‘desire’ alone is not enough to make us successful in everything we would like to do. Our ‘desire’ must be peppered with a degree of reality. There are some things that we simply cannot do, due to physical and scientific laws of nature. But there are many things we could do if we really wanted to bad enough, and are willing to pay the price in time, pain and pure grit. There are some people who appear to accomplish marvelous things without effort, but my observation is that most ‘success stories’ are of people who had to reach deep inside for the motivation and fire to achieve their goals.
One of the outstanding features of American life has been in the number of people who have been so successful at inventing and creativity. Without question much of the credit lays in the fact that Americans have lived in a country that allowed them the ‘freedom’ to reap the rewards of their own hard work. There is no force so destructive to ‘motivation’, as taking away the reward for successful ventures. It was not until the 19th century, when Americans believed in private ownership for all, that the great inventions of the automobile, modern communication and thousands of other useful items came into existence.
If anything reveals the mystery of modern marvels and how they came into being over the last couple centuries, it is the realization that the freedom to either succeed or fail, is the foundation of all our advancements. This is why socialist and welfare ideals are so destructive to a society. For countries or individuals, to achieve outstanding results they must be free to try, reaping the rewards, whether it be failure or success. The ideal of “welfare” was to give those who were down and out a “lifting hand”, not a “handout” to an easy “way of life”.
It should be safe to say, that nothing will destroy motivation to succeed as fast as an “easy out”, such as the welfare system has come to be in many instances. We humans are adaptable, if nothing else. It is much easier to adapt to a low standard of living, if we don’t have to lift a hand to provide it.
On the other hand, nothing will motivate a human like “hunger”. For the thousands of years in which we have recorded history, peoples of all nations have realized that the “struggle to survive” is a great motivator. Remove that motivation by giving “handouts”, on a continual basis, and you destroy the ‘desire’ God gave man to lift himself up, no matter what the struggle. There is no moral hazard in allowing a healthy person to starve to death.
It is not without benefit, that we have the history of our countries early struggles, to be freed from the British king. That young nation had a collective “desire” for their ideal of freedom, a desire that motivated them to risk, not only their own positions and wealth, but their very lives to be free. That is why Ben Franklin is reported to have said, “Gentlemen, either we stick together or we hang one at a time.” They knew the risk they took for freedom. We ought not to forget their motivation. It can be found in any history book of the times. Freedom was a dream that would not die, nor do I believe it will ever die, now that we have seen the results of a free people and what wonderful accomplishments they have delivered to the world.
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