Eliminate all other options
Alexander the Great is great for a number of reasons.
He was one of the strongest military leaders the world has ever seen. He built an empire that stretched from Greece to India. Despite all his accomplishments, he is often remembered for a single quote.
“We will either return home in Persian ships or we will die here,” he said.
He told his soldiers this shortly after he ordered them to burn the ships they had arrived on. By doing this, he left them two options.
The first option was to kill all of the Persians and use their ships to sail back home. The second option was to be slaughtered by the Persians and thus not need a way back home.
Alexander the Great had eliminated the third option, which would have been to retreat back home using their own ships.
I can’t imagine how the soldiers were feeling at the moment. I imagine fear and adrenaline were fueling their every movement and thought.
The point is, Alexander the Great did this to motivate his troops to fight as hard as they possibly could. He wanted them to give every ounce of effort in their bodies.
What greater motivation is there than trying to avoid death?
He told his troops this shortly before facing one of his strongest opponents ever. The Persian Empire had one of the largest and best-trained militaries during the time. Few crossed their path and lived to tell the tale.
The troops needed every edge they could get. Burning the ships was a way to motivate the soldiers to kill and be merciless. This was an edge they had over the Persians.
What does this mean for you?
While you may not be in a life or death situation, eliminating the safety of a plan B can help you reach plan A.
This is not to say that you need to rush into anything and ignore all your other responsibilities.
For example, if your plan A is to play for the Boston Celtics, you probably shouldn’t quit your day job. This would leave you with no income and a very low possibility of success.
However, you can still have the no plan B mentality. Realize that staying at your job is mental death for you. You will be miserable in life and staying there for 30 years is the same as death.
So, give minimal effort at that job and put in as much time as possible to become whatever you want. I have heard musicians and others sleep on friend’s couches for a bit while they produced music before they made it.
If you can do this, I would say go for it. I wouldn’t do it for long, but if you really want something and that’s what it takes to succeed, then you need to try.
You don’t want to wake up 20 years from now and realized you never even tried to achieve plan A.
Eliminate all options to achieve plan A. You never know what could happen. At least you know you won’t have regret down the line.
