What would you do if the plane you were on crashed into the snow-covered Andes, you survived the crash with an injury, but then you had to figure out how to survive a night in horribly cold and treacherous conditions? Imagine what that would be like--not having food, enough clothing, perhaps even injured, and never having seen or felt cold snow before.
Now imagine having to face those conditions for 72 days.
That was precisely Nando Parrado's experience in 1972 when his rugby team's plane crashed en route to a match in Chile. The movie "Alive" was based on the team's experience. I had the pleasure of hearing Parrado's powerful story a couple of weeks ago when he spoke at a joint EO Boston and YPO event at Mount Wachusett. It was nothing short of inspirational. He described how, after 60 days wasting away on the mountaintop, he and his friend, Roberto, decided they were going to leave the crash site and try to find help. It seemed like a foolish idea--after all, they were surrounded by hundreds of miles of mountains on either side of them, and had no idea where they were going. But to hear Parrado tell it, they had no other choice. He said he preferred to die trying to get out of that nightmare scenario rather than wait for death to come.
Parrado's presentation was filled with amazing lessons about the human spirit, but he also shared a lot of the wisdom he gained from the experience on the mountain in 1972. Although he survived, Parrado lost his mother and his sister in the crash--he and many other players had invited family on the trip because there were extra seats on the plane. In light of this, Parrado has a lot to teach people about life and about loss. I found what he had to say extremely valuable.
Key take-aways from Nando Parrado:
"If you look back, you get nothing more than a damn pain in your neck." When Parrado uttered these words, I took note. He was talking about looking back at that fateful flight and the loss of not only his teammates and friends, but his mother and sister, too. It was clear he'd suffered initially thinking about all of the "what-if" questions that pop up after a decimating loss like his. But in the end, it was his father--who lost his wife and daughter in the event, too--who told Nando that looking back only serves to paralyze you in the present. That's an important lesson.
"Be a little irresponsible and love a little more. Enjoy life but never give up your family." Coming from a successful entrepreneur--Nando has launched many successful businesses in his lifetime--this really hit home. What Nando was saying was that he loved all the cushy things life had to offer, but if he had to choose between working all of the time to afford those things, and being able to spend time with his family, he'd always choose his family over working non-stop. By saying be more "irresponsible," he was asking the audience to slow down. Enjoy life and stop trying to think about how you're going to take over the universe. Live right now.
"Each day is a gift." Nothing we face as entrepreneurs will ever be as intense and cataclysmic as trying to survive in the Andes for 72 days. After the 60th day on the mountain, Nando and his friend set off to get help. They had no real food, and they weren't dressed for the snow. They climbed without equipment. And finally, after almost two weeks of climbing and walking, they got help. Each day after that, Nando said, was a gift. I think everyone could benefit from this kind of thinking.
If you're an entrepreneur--and even if you're not--no doubt you've gone through ups and downs in business, and in life. You may have regrets, you may even replay pivotal moments over in your head from time to time wondering how you could've done better in some way shape or form. Or, perhaps you get so passionate about your ideas that you have very little time for family or friends. If you've experienced either, you have something to learn from Parrado's advice. Learn to slow down and appreciate what life has to offer you. As Nando discovered after his harrowing ordeal in 1972, every day really is a gift and we all have to learn to appreciate it.
Like this post -''Nothing we face as entrepreneurs will ever be as intense and cataclysmic as trying to survive in the Andes for 72 days.'' Watched an inspiring film ''the YES movie''about young entrepreneurs of today - at
www.TheYESmovie.com.made by Louis Lautman.
David
This is an awesome post. Too often I've looked back on what I've had difficulties doing, or decisions I wish I'd made differently and he's right - it just paralyses me and makes me feel bad.
For me the challenge from this post is to realise that looking back obsessively isn't healthy or helpful. Look back to see what you could learn, fine. But then move forwards and resign the mistakes of the past to the past.
This is a particularly relevant message to me now, when I feel like I've not used 2009 as effectively as I could have to build my product. And I'm now under a lot of self imposed pressure to get something in Beta by May. My money is running out and that's meaning I'm getting panicky.
The message for me in this post is "Calm down. Focus on what you have to do right now, rather than worrying about the future or what you've not done well last year."
And that's a message I really need to hear right now, so thanks!
John
Thank you for the comment and great point about looking at 2009. Best of luck with a great 2010!