Upon securing the beach, Cortez ordered his ships destroyed. This removed his army’s retreat option, forcing his men to conquer the enemy or die. Having nothing to lose awakens a cornered animal’s survival instinct.
The history of successful businesses is full of “go for broke” examples. A study by the SBA into business success among veterans showed that veterans without a retirement were more likely to succeed than ones who could rely on retirement income. One might think that having a guaranteed income while you were starting a new business would help the start-up entrepreneur.
However, the opposite was true. Veterans who separated before retirement had nothing to fall back on and were forced to make their business a success or go bankrupt trying, which awakened their survival instinct.
Are you playing it too safe to be successful? How can you awaken your survival instinct?
