> [!alert] > These are probably bullshit legends because I can't find other sources and John Zimmer is basically a motivational speaker / executive corporate consultant. Still want to keep this as a reference because it's useful for the piece I'm doing as a follow-up to [[2021.10.20a Did conquerors ever burn their ships]] ## Highlights ### View Highlight > The legendary Alexander the Great built an empire that, at its height, stretched from Ancient Greece to India. One of his strongest and most formidable enemies was the Persian Empire of Darius III. In 334 BC, Alexander led a fleet of Greek and Macedonian ships across the Dardanelles Straits and into Asia Minor. When he reached the shore, Alexander ordered his men to burn the ships. He told his men, “We will either return home in Persian ships or we will die here.” - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fgn4td6mjb78kjpye5z7p61f) ### View Highlight > Centuries later, in 1519, the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortéz, employed the same strategy and had his men burn the ships when he landed on the shores of (what is today) Mexico to embark on his campaign against the Aztecs. Similar tales are told of the Vikings and other warriors throughout the ages. > By burning his ships, Alexander hoped to galvanize and motivate his troops. They knew that they had to fight in order to survive. There was no other way. To borrow from Ed Harris’s line in *[Apollo 13](https://mannerofspeaking.org/2012/09/24/when-things-go-wrong-ten-presentation-lessons-from-apollo-13/)*, failure was not an option. And so Alexander’s men were fully committed to the campaign ahead. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fgn4tk6fp948vhntsr51eztg)