Quotes

It's easy to fool yourself into thinking that if you put in half the effort, you can get eighty percent of the results. That definitely doesn't work for anything that matters. There are many things that are gray in our lives, but commitment as such is bipolar: it is black or white.

If you are half trustworthy, you are not trustworthy. If you are often trustworthy, you are not trustworthy. If you are mostly trustworthy, you are not trustworthy. The same goes for integrity, consistency and other essential qualities in a human being. You have to be one hundred percent committed. There are no alternatives. 

Commitment not only helps us be better at what we do, but it also makes other people want to help us achieve our goals. If those around us recognize your commitment to a task, they realize the importance that task has for you and will do everything possible to support you, without you having to ask them. 

In the case of Roberto and Nando it occurred in multiple circumstances. We can take the 4th day of the final trek as an example. They were standing on the first summit and holding on to the faint hope offered by what seemed to be two distant snowless peaks. The lack of snow could mean they were lower peaks. It was a positive sign, but it was small. They decided to head west, even knowing that there was no turning back. That act required enormous mental strength. The same one that Tintin (Antonio Vizintin) had to apply, when he agreed to return alone, without any company other than his courage, from that distant point to the fuselage.

Mental toughness is like a short-term injection. It helps us perform under pressure, but it is very difficult (it can even be unhealthy) to sustain it for long. The good thing is that mental strength balances the extremes. It allows us to accept achievements and setbacks with more equanimity.

A large number of the statues that we see in the squares and the intersections of the great avenues of all the great cities of the world are erected to remember individuals who, at the time, decided to do something that the vast majority did not believe was possible. Alexander the Great, Columbus, Napoleon, George Washington, Gandhi, are some examples of many others who designed a new conception of reality in their heads and then carried it forward with conviction. The road for them was never easy, on the contrary, it was plagued by setbacks, enervating delays, cruel winters and betrayals.

Their successes are better known than their failures, their brilliant moments more than their moments of frustration. But everyone suffered them. It just so happens that humanity advances thanks to the risks that individuals of that dimension decide to take, based on a reasonably optimistic reading and great conviction. It is these readings, what they interpret that could be, that allow them to permanently improve themselves, to reinvent social relations, to incorporate new technologies, to discover new horizons. Little new is achieved in the security of known acts and with fear of failure. 

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At some point in life you will be led or will lead others. The process begins with personal leadership and continues with the effective leadership of other people to achieve agreed-upon goals. Not all of us have to be interested in leading others, but understanding how leadership works is very important to productively integrate into any team.