From Endurance to Eagle, last month the Men’s Club heard about lessons of leadership from two excellent speakers. Endurance—Brilliant. Enlightening. On June 4, Lance Miller used his world champion Toast Master storytelling skills to convey the inspirational story of Ernest Shackleton challenging
Antarctica in his ship the Endurance.
All survived. Leadership worked. Shackleton’s success in leading and completing a mission that seemed to be failing makes an interesting story.
How did he inspire his people to work together? Especially when it seems that the Good Lord, unfortunately, does not give us youth and wisdom
at the same time. Who among us would sign on for a voyage with the following description, except those with the most eager, young,
independent, daring spirits and little regard for consequences?
“MEN WANTED for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful,
honor and recognition in case of success.”
Frequently, as we look back, our best experiences in life were the worst at the time, but they strengthened us in facing them. How do we handle adversity? How do we handle failure? Lance Miller told of Ernest Shackleton’s challenges and how he handled them. In his first attempt for the South Pole in 1907, Shackleton failed when he was less than 100 miles
from his goal of reaching the Pole, but he brought his team home alive! Others then made it to the Pole. Shackleton, in 1914, returned to cross the Antarctic continent on land/ice.
His ship Endurance, was designed and built for the adventure with a rounded hull enabling it to pop up out of ice jams. Irrespective of rank and status, the crew shared quarters, victuals, and equipment. Officers and crew worked together, along with 69 sled dogs, as a uniform team. After arriving in the frozen waters of the Antarctic, Shackleton soon realized they
would have to encamp in or on the ice through an entire winter to begin the cross-continent trek. Shackleton had a plan—to one day be the man his dog thought he was. Build morale. Play football. Conduct sing-alongs. Keep the team active. Keep bad experiences from overcoming the psyche. In a bleak environment, people with high morale solve problems.
Shackleton’s ship wrecks, breaks up, and sinks. The crew dives to the cabin to recover photographic plates. The goal: survival. The strategy:
The weak and strong must survive together on a thin line separating success from failure. Where reality is impossible, the solution must defy reality.
After 497 days in the Antarctic ice and through all the perils of the sea, the entire crew returned home. Lance tells the story as though he was there, as if we are there.
We have a street here in Niguel Shores named for Ernest Shackleton, as Lance Miller points out in this photo.
On June 18, Bill Cunningham joined us to address helping veterans. Cunningham described himself as a veteran, starting his adult life as one
of the men who “go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters . . .” (Psalm 107:23).
He began his service on the USCG Barque Eagle. Riding the undulating arc and flow at the top of a 150-foot mast trains Seamen in the fundamentals
necessary for the Coast Guard’s principal mission— search and rescue.
Cunningham carries his Coast Guard training forward today by helping
veterans with their business adventures and, more significantly, helping us
understand and deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Veterans experiencing PTSD feel a sense of loss coupled with separation
from their natural support group. PTSD presents a real hazard if vets say “NO” in answer to the question, “Are you OK?” Cunningham advised to watch for trigger incidents in people that break the causative initial incident out of its contained box. In the absence of a helpful infrastructure the PTSD victim hides in escape and addiction. That’s when the veteran must be carefully guided away from his box.
Cunningham praised the work ethic of veterans who are given a chance to prove themselves. “Give a veteran a job and it will be done fifteen minutes early, with passion and intensity.” He said we need to guide the veteran with a helping hand, not with a handout. His message was well received
by the members gathered that day.
Remember, everyone in the Shores is invited to the Men’s Club Pancake Breakfast on the 4th of July. The best $5 breakfast in town!
—Robert Saint-Aubin
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