Marketing Lessons from the Most Face-Meltingly Awesome Leaders of All Time
Intrepidus fortuna adiuvat (Fortune favors the intrepid)
I cannot tell a lie. George Washington was one of the most butt-kickingly awesome generals of all time. He gained ultimate power of this fledgling nation, then re-gifted it back to the people like an ugly sweater. He voluntarily stepped down, refusing to play Game of Thrones. Righteous!
You don’t get your mugshot on a dollar bill and Mt. Rushmore without going through the Fire Swamp with its Royals of Unusual size. Even though George Washington and his rag-tag army were outnumbered something like a zillion to one by the most off-the-hizzle, well-trained army of bayonet-swinging Jason Statham ancestors, G-man just set his wooden teeth resolutely and refused to be beaten.
Even though he spent much of the War of Independence getting slapped around more than an inflatable Bozo-pop bag at Slapsgiving, he eventually served up a steaming cup of whoop-arse tea, and forced the English to say schedule with a hard “k” for a fortnight; he chopped down King George’s cherry tree, redefined the word football, and made the entire Redcoat army watch The Patriot with Mel Gibson–all because he refused to give up, and because he adapted by changing tactics. It’s always the last key in the bunch that opens the door, and Notorious-G didn’t stop till he found it.
“A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn into glorious success.” — Elbert Hubbard.
Building a business is war—war against failure, competition, and against your own fears. It takes an intrepid spirit to prevail and succeed in the long run. There’s a price to pay for the independence business ownership brings. But as Babe Ruth said, “You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.”
That’s it. I don’t have five contrived steps to success to share with you, or some flowery meme. I just wanted to encourage you to George-Up, keep going—gird up your knickers and when it seems you’re failing, start doing things differently.
As boxing legend James Corbett said, “To become a champion, fight one more round.”
Kelly Walker is Creative Director for Intrepid Marketing, a Bend, Oregon ad agency. For more information, contact Kelly at 541-419-9976 or Kelly@intrepidforward.com
(Photo above: “The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.” George Washington | Photo courtesy of Etsy.com/Shop/SharpWriter)
