People Who Inspire Us
I was recently browsing National Geographic’s Space Issue from earlier this year and there was an article about astronaut Scott Kelly, a man who spent 340 days straight working and researching at the International Space Station.
Initially as I began reading the article, I wondered in my mind what a person might do to motivate them to keep going for such a long time away from friends and family and in a completely foreign environment. It’s not like you would be able to bring a lot on a trip into space. About midway through my reading, Scott talks about getting ready for breakfast one day and accidentally kicking loose a paperback book he had brought with him. In his own words he states:
" I accidentally kick loose a paperback book: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing. I brought this book with me on my previous flight as well, and sometimes I flip through it after a long day on the station and reflect on what these explorers went through almost exactly a hundred years before. They were stranded on ice floes for months at a time, forced to kill their dogs for food, and nearly froze to death in the biting cold. They hiked across mountains that had been considered impassable by explorers who were better equipped and not half-starved. Most remarkable, not a single member of the expedition was lost"
I reflected on my own reading of the same book a few years ago. Sir Ernest Shackleton failed at his goal of crossing Antarctica in an age where such an accomplishment would have been lauded, if not practically worshipped. In our time, however, the lessons we can learn from a man whose body lies in a quiet, small cemetery on the island of South Georgia, are invaluable.
The one thing I remember about Shackleton from the book was his concern for the crew he led and his willingness to do what it took to get them out of a horrible situation. It was he who took the lead and did some of the most risky and dangerous steps required to get rescued. He truly was an example of a great leader and we can learn a lot from his experiences at the bottom of the world.
Read the book, if you have a hankering to find out what true leaders are made of!