The sum total of descriptive words in this want ad is twenty-five. Twenty-five words opened the door to any man who dared brave the unknown. Feeling a sense of adventure, I stepped through and discovered epic tales of expedition.
In 1907, Ernest Shackleton issued a challenge. Journey with him, literally, to the ends of the Earth. A perilous trek where death was imminent, and if you survived, the promised reward of honor and recognition would be yours.
The early twentieth century ushered in the great race of National Antarctic Expeditions, and British, Scottish, and German explorers answered the call. Glory, the prize for himself and his homeland, to the champion who could successfully conquer and claim the frontier known as the South Pole.
From 1907-1909, Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition defied the odds to extend mans reach towards the South Pole. When the expedition could pioneer no further, Shackleton and his landing party were a mere 97 miles from the objective. It was the furthest anyone had traveled into the Antarctic. This was also a noted failure, with a decidedly marked victory.
Was the adventure worth the risk for the members of his landing crew? The estimated salary for the entire shore-party was 6055£. Evenly divided amongst the recorded count of sixteen men, spread over three years, the individual expedition pay equaled low-down dirty wages. For the sum total of $175US per year, what sort of dangerous (and possibly life ending) scenarios would you entertain? Some people could barely make a decent grocery run to Whole Foods for a single week at that rate.
Over a century ago, men danced with fate on the final frontier, daring to boldly tread further than any man before them. Would an opportunity to make history, today, be worth the stretch? Could you relish the Shackleton experience and accept small wages for a chance at honor and recognition, in case of success?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Shackleton was an amazing guy and the men who went with him sure didn’t know what they were getting into.
You raise a VERY interesting point (as usual) in your post. I had never thought about it in this light and of course now you’ve got my mind marinating more then a summer porterhouse.
While I’ve never thought about it in these terms, this kind of attempt to make history has always been fascinating to me. While I was in school (I went to art school to work in advertising/design) my instructors were constantly talking about the new frontiers that the changing media landscape was creating. I was (and still am) fascinated by them and the potential of “making history”, but I think if they had put it in this context a lot more people would have felt the same way. Fantastic post. I may have to borrow this metaphor the next time this subject comes up in conversation :-)
25 words opens a HUGE story. Man. Brevity.
Some men might have only needed one word – Antarctica – but would not have grasped the gravity and danger of such a challenge. Instead, Shackleton presents the theatrical trailer version of his pitch, much better than a snappy slogan or pithy marketingese. And this is personal: There’s no brand to get in the way, no image to shape. It’s honest. Perhaps that’s why he got a crew.
Awesome post! It speaks to the core question nagging each and every one of us: What are we really here for in this life and how far would we go or push ourselves to truly taste it? Just saw a great movie on Apple TV that speaks directly to this, Man On Wire, about the French wire walker, Phillippe Petit, who walked between the Twin towers in ‘74. Talk about living life to the extreme! Forget that he actually did it (and many more such walks), but how he even pulls it off is the stuff of legend. Highly recommend it.
‘preciate everyone coming through and sharing their thoughts on the piece!
One thing I have really come to respect about Shackleton is this success in failure hustle that his life represents. In the research I’ve done for this piece, the leadership qualities he represents, the perseverance throughout all of his expeditions were downright epic.
…I suspect business people eat this up, and raise awareness about the Shackleton experience when mentoring and motivating their organizations.
Tony Santos, The exercise of looking at this well documented man has been a solid experience for me as a writer. Technically everyone knows about Shackleton, but, my aim was definitely to bring a fresh perspective to the mix. Given the recession we are currently in economically, it seemed relevant! Feel free to borrow the metaphor, spread the mindset, and let people Marinate.
Mark Hermann, I recently heard about Man on Wire, and have added it to my queue. I’ve been on a documentary run lately, and this will flow into it nicely! Your endorsement of the film is appreciated.