In 1519, Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortez led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of Mexico under Spanish rule. Upon landing in South America, Cortez ordered his men to “burn the boats”. There was no turning back and conquering the new land was the only option for survival! Failure meant death! Do you think it motivated his soldiers to fight harder? Do you think he gained their commitment? Absolutely!

Have you had a “burn the boats” moment in your life, personally or professionally? If you haven’t, perhaps it’s coming soon. What would it take for you to make that type of decision? To eliminate the easy way out. Many of you have made the decision to continue your education and seek a college degree or advanced degree. Maybe not the dramatic example of Cortez, however, failure wasn’t an option! Your family and friends knew that you were going back to school. The humiliation and disappointment were enough that failure was not an option.

I’d like to take it one step further. When you make the commitment of “burning the boats,” does that mean you forsake your morals or standards? Allow me to use myself as an example. In March, I announced my candidacy for state representative of District 33 (Anderson County). I made a commitment to myself, my family and supporters to not run a negative campaign. Today’s politics have become too polarizing and messaging often doesn’t focus on the issues.

I met with my first campaign consultant and put together a strategy and budget for the campaign. I made it clear and even joked that we were going to push “sunshine and rainbows” about what I would bring to the table and allow my opponent to make the contrast between us obvious! Unfortunately, raising money is a necessary evil. Campaign mailers can cost as much as $6,500 per release (county-wide coverage). Staffing a campaign requires both volunteers and paid help. We had recent high school graduates and college students on our payroll. Friends and family helped where they could.

I initially quoted “burn the boats” when my opponent released his first negative mailer targeting me. Supporters insisted that I “hit him back!” I responded, “burn the boats,” and told our team Cortez’s story. While losing was not an option, we stayed on message (remember sunshine and rainbows). We were going to outwork our opponent! I haven’t spent 35 of my life serving the public, to play the stereotypical politician. “Burn the boats” became our team’s common response to each challenge. It was important to show our young staffers the importance of maintaining standards during adversity.

The challenge continues today for all of us at IPS. We need to understand where we draw the line and maintain our standards, both personally and professionally. Adversity isn’t an excuse to forsake those standards; adversity may be why we need those standards to begin with!