The history of
humanity is replete with stories of brave and noble soldiers fighting the good
fight. We are inspired by stories of bravery and triumphing over long odds. Be
it the brave 300 that fought at Thermopylae, the soldiers of the American
Revolution, the fighters at the Alamo. I am certain that there are dozens –
hundreds! – of examples throughout history. In my recent studies, I have been
researching the Norse mythology and their legends.
Nordic
warriors were some bad mamma-jammers and to truly understand why they were this
way, I think you have to understand their mentality. You see movie footage of
soldier moments before battle, before hitting the beach at Normandy, on
choppers being airlifted to the battlefields, that one dude peeing himself in
the entry tunnel to the arena in Gladiator.
You see the nervousness, the fear. I am thankful to say that I have never been
on a battlefield. The closest I have ever been is the football field. And I can
tell you that the most prevalent thing that always went through my mind was I
didn’t want to let my teammates down. And in battle, we are starting to see
more and more stories that do not glorify war but honor the soldier’s mentality
of “It is not about me. It is about the man next to me.” It is that bonding of
brotherhood and honor.
Now,
let’s get back to the Nordic legends. See, in Norse mythology, the greatest
honor you could receive is to die in battle. If that happened, one of Odin’s Valkyries
would swoop down, collect your soul, and escort you to the shield hall where
you got to drink and party with Odin himself. Sounds a little bit like Heaven,
right? But you see, that was only Stage One.
There
was a reason why Odin called the souls of great warriors to be at his side in
Valhalla. Because something bad was coming. Surtr, the fire giant with a
flaming sword would break free from Muspell (think of it like Hell) and would
attack Odin’s forces in the greatest battle of all time. It was called
Ragnarok. And here is the real kicker. Odin and all his forces? They lose. They
die. And moreover, they KNOW they are going to die.
But
it is not about winning or losing. It is about fighting the good fight. It is
about taking up a sword and fighting back evil, tyranny, injustice and all the
other tribulations of the world. Even if you fight and fail, you have fought
the good fight. And that is a life worth living. Those that live life without
passion or just go in saying “Well, let’s see what happens”? They are dead
already. They just fail to realize it.
Now
modern day philosophers will tell you things like a man’s greatest hour is when
he lies exhausted on the field of battle… victorious. Or that no bastard ever
accomplished anything by dying for his country. (That was a mangled George
Patton quote where he was saying that soldiers aren’t any good dead because
they cannot fight anymore.)
But I would much
rather live a life where I putting my heart and soul into something, leaving
nothing in the tank at the end of the day. That is how everyone should approach
their lives. This new YOLO attitude is just an excuse to be stupid. Instead,
when you approach something, don’t do anything half-assed. If your job is to be
a ditch digger, then be the best ditch digger in the world.
All aspects of
your life should be attacked full force, with nothing held back. A job, a
relationship, a marriage, parenting, heck, even hobbies. Go out there, full
force, and leave nothing in the tank. Be the best you can possibly be. And even
if you fail, you will never be amongst those cold and timid souls who know
neither victory nor defeat…
Life is waiting.
Go get it.
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