Make a Commitment: “Burn the Boats”
As part of a motivational speech Coach Rex Ryan told the New York Jets football team the story of Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador who went to Mexico in 1519 and, despite being outnumbered, ordered his charges to burn the boats they had arrived on! (NYTimes Jan. 8, 2011). In other words, they couldn’t go back. They had to make the commitment, give it all they had, right then and there. In his talk, Ryan also stressed respect and how to …