Resilience, Patience, and Prospice

Prospice, you say? Read on.

Farewell from Elephant Island

“Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.” — Charlie Chaplin

Any time I have a setback, I think about others who have struggled far longer and through more difficult times than I have. I think of them and their resilience.

And I’m reminded that the payoff of resilience can take a while.

We’ve spoken before about the leadership skills of Ernest Shackleton. If you’re not familiar, go and read this now, then come back.

His two-year ordeal in the Antarctic is legendary in leadership circles, but there is a mini-story buried within it that also speaks volumes about resilience — not resilience for its own sake, but for the sake of the team.

We’re going to weave in some previous related topics in this essay, including the importance of communication and heliotropism (or optimism). Both of these topics include an underlying sense of hope and confidence in a path forward.