EnTrends

Eighty-six years ago, Ernest Shackleton
and a crew of 28 men aboard the ship
Endurance entered the pack ice off the
continent of Antarctica. Their goal? To be
the first party to trek across the continent
on foot. It was a goal they would never
achieve.

Nearly a century later, the taleof
Endurance remains one of the most
fascinating examples of human triumph in
the face of adversity. The Endurance
would sail, through the ice, for just over a
month until January 18, 1915 when the
ship was trapped in the crushing ice of the
Antarctic pack. Despite the efforts of the
crew, Endurance would remain lodged in
the ice for the next nine months.

The thick ice of the Antarctic pack
pressed constantly, threatening to crush
Endurance to splinters. That threat forced
the crew to abandon ship in October 1915.
From now on the party would live on the
ice. One month later, the ship sank,
stranding the crew -- with minimal stores
and three short-boats -- on the drifting
pack ice. The men survived for the next six

months, killing seals, penguins, and
ultimately their own sled-dogs for food.

In April 1916, the 28 men spotted an island
on the horizon. The ice floe broke just
enough, allowing them to put to sea in
some of the roughest waters on Earth.
Seven days later they landed on the
uninhabited and inhospitable Elephant
Island. Far from regular shipping lanes,
Shackleton knew the chances of a rescue
from their location were nonexistent. They
may be on land but they were far from safe,
farther from home. On April 24th he set
sail, with a crew of five men, for the
populated island of South Georgia -- 800
miles away.

They sailed for 17 days, navigating by
sextant, fighting their through storming
high seas of freezing water and they made
it. They reached South Georgia Island! The
weather and their own condition forced
them, however, to land on the uninhabited
side of the island. Shackleton and two
other men were forced trek on foot across
the island. In 36 hours they traversed 22
miles across the glacier-clad, thousand-feet

high mountains to reach the whaling port
of Stromness on May 20, 1916.

His attempts to rescue his crewmen left
behind on Elephant Island would not be
successful until August 30, 1916, a full 22
months after they'd initially set out.
Remarkably, all 28 men survived the
ordeal.

The next time you face an obstacle that
seems impossible to overcome remember
the story of Endurance... and press on.

Success is gained not by taking the
easiest path (or even the one you planned
on taking); it is achieved by taking
consistent and persistent action until your
goals have been achieved.

Jim Allen is a professional life coach,
speaker, and writer. Get more great ideas
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