#1968 An Assignment for Life

In our last +1, we chatted about the ancient Athenian Navy and the role it played in the birth of democracy.

I promised to share some wisdom from our Notes on the book, so let’s get to work.

We’ll start by chatting a little more about the author of the book: John Hale.

As per his bio, John R. Hale studied at Yale and Cambridge universities before embarking on an archeological career that has included extensive underwater searches for ancient warships. He has written for a number of prestigious journals and has been featured in documentaries on the Discovery and History channels.

It’s hard to capture the essence of the book better than Donald Kagan, another renowned historian: “Nobody knows more about the history of oared ships around the world than John Hale, and he combines it with a knowledge of and love for the ancient Athenians that helps explain their achievement. The writing is utterly captivating and makes the reader feel he is back in Athens among the great poets, historians, sculptors, architects, soldiers and sailors, all of whom were connected in important ways to the Athenian navy.”

Now…

What’s especially awesome about that blurb is the fact that Donald was the guy who originally inspired John to study the ancient Athenian Navy.

Here’s how he puts it: “The Athenian navy first floated into my consciousness on a winter afternoon in 1969, when I encountered Donald Kagan walking down College Street in New Haven. Across the snowbound expanse of the Yale campus his prizefighter’s stance and rolling gait were instantly recognizable.

I knew him well as the formidable professor of my Introduction to Greek History course but had never worked up the courage to speak to him. On the first day of class Kagan had marshaled the front row of students into an improvised phalanx of Greek warriors, with notebooks for shields and pens for spears, to demonstrate military maneuvers. Though like me a new arrival, Kagan had already ranked as a colossus among the faculty. I tacked across the icy sidewalks to let him pass, but he stopped, asked my name, and inquired what I was doing at Yale. I stammered a few words about majoring in archeology and rowing for the freshman crew. Kagan lit up at once. ‘Ha! A rower. Now you can explain something to me. In autumn 429, after Phormio beat the Peloponnesians, they sent their crews overland to launch a sneak attack on the Paraeus. Thucydides says each rower carried his own oar and cushion. But why on earth should they need cushions? They certainly didn’t have very far to row.’

We talked for an hour of ships and oars and naval heroes, oblivious to the cold. I fished up a recollection of rowing pads that had been used by nineteenth-century American rowers so that they could work their legs during the stroke. Kagan enlarged upon the tactical genius of the little- known Athenian commander Phormio. He went on to speak of the many unexplored issues that obscured the story of the mighty navy of Athens, bulwark of liberty and engine of democracy. As the great man got under way again, he told me that I should investigate Athenian history from the vantage point of a rower’s bench. It was an assignment, I found, for life.”

Those are (literally!) the very first words of the book.

I got goosebumps reading that the first time and again as I typed that out.

We’ll explore a few “Big Ideas” about and inspired by the ancient Athenian navy in the next few +1s, but I don’t think we’ll find any wisdom more powerful than THAT. If it wasn’t for that one chance encounter a young man had with an incredible mentor, this book wouldn’t exist.

The story reminds me of another chance encounter by another legendary scholar.

In 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People, David Yeager tells us the story about an underprivileged 12-year-old boy named Daniel Lapsley who met a college student in a gas station.

That college student was blown away by the young boy as they debated the Vietnam War. At the end of the chat, he asked him if he ever considered going to college. Then he asked him if he read Dante and encouraged him to check it out.

That son of a coal miner went on to become a preeminent scholar of adolescent development.

Professor Lapsley says this about the experience: “the encounter with the stranger at the gas station looms larger than any teacher, larger than anything that happened in any school. The stranger at the gas station planted an idea, raised a possibility that had not occurred to me. ... He made me feel special, talented. ... This clear, vivid memory I have has never shaken. And I credit this encounter, this stranger, with setting me on the path that was unusual for kids in the steel town of my birth.”

I wrote about that experience in one of my all-time favorite +1s called The Gas Station Chat: A Micro-Moment of Life-Changing Encouragement in which I share that story along with an encounter I had with a young man at one of Emerson’s chess tournaments.

And...

Just this morning, Alexandra told me about a father in our Heroic community who wrote a note for one of his daughter’s friends who is going through challenging times. I got emotional as we reflected on the loving wisdom our community strives to embody and the potentially life-changing impact of finding these micro-moments of encouragement. Bless you, Joshua.

As it turns out, just the day before, another one of our Heroic community members, who happens to be one of my dearest friends, shared a post on HIS work at a small Catholic school in Cleveland, Ohio where he is working with the entire student body to help them forge excellence and activate their Heroic potential so we can change the world together. Bless you, Jason. And bless you, Andy for making this happen.

YOU, my friend, are the Hero we’ve been waiting for.

You are also the GUIDE we have been waiting for.

Here’s to playing our roles as humbly yet Heroically well as we can while searching for those micro-moments of encouragement that help the next generation of Heroes see and activate their Heroic potential.

Remember…

In the faces of men and women, WE SEE HEROES!

P.S. Another thing I found incredibly inspiring about this whole story is the fact that John dedicated his life to mastering a very specific domain. His humbly Heroic commitment to excellence reminds me of this +1 on my new job as the guy who changes your front-right tire and inspires me to play MY role as humbly yet Heroically well as I can. It also reminds me of my current Love identity in the Heroic app: “You’re a Good Wingman!”

P.P.S. Another reason why this story touched me so deeply is because the VERY FIRST thing we have our Heroic Workshop Instructors master is what we call their “Origin Story” in which they share their life stories and challenges and how Heroic has helped them activate their potential.

We train them on how to deliver the stories along with the rest of the workshop. Watching them share their origin stories had a PROFOUND impact on me in Athens. You can watch some here.