THE JOURNEY OF CAPTAIN ROBERT SCOTT
In 1911, Captain Robert Scott, a renowned British ship’s captain, was in a race against a Norwegian Captain to get to the South Pole and set the first flag on that frozen tundra. (Not unlike our race with the Russians to be the first to put a flag on the moon….just a difference in decades and technology!) There were dogs, ponies and sleds to cover the 1700+ mile trek….all done on foot. There were many groups of men in Scott’s expedition but only 5 made it to their destination. Those 5 consistently faced -40 degree temperatures, blizzards and all suffered frostbite and gangrene in the 2 month+ long trek. They stayed in wet clothes for the entire expedition….often 3 men sleeping together in one sleeping bag to maintain any kind of warmth. Their breath condensed and froze their beards. Their noses were eaten by frostbite. When they miraculously made it to the South Pole, whooping and hollering with excitement, they saw a black dot in the distance. As they neared, they saw that the Norweigan flag was planted….the Norwegians had beat the British team just days earlier.
Disheartened, the five men turned to make the arduous journey back. One by one they were consumed by the cold, hunger, and injury. They were hit by blinding blizzards as they tried to make it to One Ton Depot, a place where one ton of food and supplies were waiting for them.
Cherry Garrard, a volunteer on the expedition had severe myopia and suffered snow blindness early in the journey. Because of those issues he couldn’t continue with Scott and the other 4 men. Weeks had passed the due date for Scott and his men to return. Cherry Garrard was ordered to go to One Ton Depot and gladly obeyed the order to wait for his friend, Robert Scott and the rest of his party to return.
He waited for one week, all the while wondering if he should go further out into the blizzard to try and find the seemingly lost men. He was torn… his orders were to come back after one week. He second guessed himself… he second guessed his orders… should he stay and wait beyond the 7 days; should he go out and try to find the men and perhaps die in that quest; should he go back as ordered. He followed his orders.
7 months later the 5 men from Scott’s expedition were found 11 miles from One Ton Depot… all dead because of exhaustion, hunger, illness and injury. Cherry Garrard spent the rest of his life tormented because he didn’t trust his instincts and give it a shot. He obeyed his boss and stayed in his safety zone. Should he or shouldn’t he have gone out to try and save the men from his expedition. Should he have followed his heart… or his head? He eventually was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown.
The question you may be asking yourself… should I or shouldn’t I? Here’s what I know. If you don’t take the plunge, you will regret for the rest of your life that you didn’t give it a try. You need some personal grace right now, but know that indecision is a decision in itself. Weigh your options; ask for good counsel and guidance from wise leaders; call me if you wish at 978-836-6263. I’m out of my safety zone and every day I do one thing that’s really hard for me… because I’m on my journey for my next million dollars, for financial freedom, for personal achievement, for my family, for philanthropy. Won’t you join me?
My name is Lori Redding and I am living my dream! In 2009 I started using a system called Sendoutcards. I told a few people about it and now…I wake up when I’m done sleeping and take time to myself when I want. Feel free to contact me at http://www.lorireddingsuccess.com or 978-836-6263 with questions or comments.
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