Running The Gauntlet, A Parable Of Success – When You Keep Moving Forward

By Richard Ravarino

It was the morning of the young Shoshone brave’s seventeeth birthday. The air was crisp and cool. He drew in a breath remembering what day it was and what awaited him.

The other boy’s his age would also be celebrating their birthday today (as age was actually measured in moons, not in solar years. He and three other boys would all celebrate the morning of 200 moons today.

Those that survived the ritual would be welcomed as men of the tribe by day’s end. Last night, the tribal chief danced a blessing to the Great Spirit. . . praying that the boys would today be guided by their animal spirits.

As the young brave rose to the day, strapping on his buck-knife and war tomahawk, he drew back the door of his family’s teepee. As the sun shone on his face, the tribe, already beginning to assemble, cheered on the young boy preparing for manhood.

As he walked forth among his people, the men of the tribe assembled along either side of the fire pit, holding their blunted war spears by their sides. These spears weren’t meant to kill, but they would sure “hurt like Hell” if one of the braves landed a blow. The tribal drums began pounding in rhythm as the brave approached the line.

The first two warriors on either side of the line drew their spears forward to block his path, as if to say, “not yet”. As the other boys assembled near him, the four were brought to attention by the call of the tribal medicine man, who with a gesture brought the drums to silence.

“This is your day of 200 moons, boys. This is the day you honor the tribe with your skills, your mettle and most importantly. . . your heart. Yes, you may be bloodied in battle today. You may even pass over to become one with the Great Spirit, but what is important is you never quit, you never surrender and you live up to the title bestowed on you last night. . . A Brave of our tribe.”

The Medicine man continued, “If you survive, this will be just the first of many challenges in your life, but you will prove to yourself today you are man enough to handle them all. You need never fear death, as it is simply a part of our lives and it comes to each of us, in its own time.”

With that he drew his hand high above his head and spoke one last time, “When I give the signal, I command you boys to your spirit guides and I command that your fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins and friends become your enemies.

They will do their best to stop you. Prove the power of youth and thwart their attacks, keep moving forward, you will have proven yourself worthy when you have crossed the river. Good luck!”

Before the boys even had a chance to focus on their distant goal, some 1,000 yards away, the Medicine Man began a blood curdling war chant, as the drums resumed, the boys dove forward towards their fate. The young brave dove into the gauntlet of his former family and friends, all who seemed intent on killing him now. As he ducked the swipe of one spear, the thrust of a second threatened to knock his feet out from under him. He struck the shaft away with his tomahawk, as he heard the first spear impact on the skull of the next runner. The boy fell with a hard “thud”.

As the young boy bobbed and weaved through the line, it seemed to get easier. . . almost as if he had met some primal rhythm as he spread the lines. Another spear swung at his head, he ducked and swung back, buck-knife in hand he shattered the man’s jaw and still he ran. Now at a full stride he could sense the tribe’s men at his back, their hot breath breathing down on his neck. The idea of it sent chills down his spine as a blunted spear drove down hard through his stride nearly catching the young Brave in his thigh. While it didn’t pierce his flesh, it was enough to break his stride and he rolled into a ball as he neared the rocky slope. He managed to tumble once, twice and then leapt out of the ball as if possessed by the soul of a great cat. As a matter of fact, he had been.

As the initial fall had dazed him and he struggled to maintain consciousness, the Spirit of a Great Mountain Cat guided his moves. At first, the roaring shriek of the great beast stifled the haze clouding his head and forced him back to full attention. Although he knew that mountain lions can’t speak, he couldn’t explain what he did next, but he knew he was following the Great Cat’s orders. As he tightened his body into a ball with near rigidity, just before he exploded out of it into an amazing leap.

Truly, the tribesmen chasing him closest stopped in awe of this seemingly inhuman move.
Where his fellow brave’s would have to slow their descent to the river’s edge, he flew forward in the great leap and as altitude was lost, he heard another command from deep within, that told him to tuck his feet at just the right moment and then the command came to push forward one more time.

The young brave’s feet touched down on a flat rocky outcropping and as he pushed forward into a final leap, the cold creek lay in wait for him below. As he opened his eyes, he saw that he had just jumped from the rocks he and the other boys had jumped from 1,000 times before, as he splashed down into a deep pool, in the creek below, the boy he had been faded away and the man he was to be, took his first breath when he emerged.

He let out a war cry, shaking his hand above his head and the men hollered back in approval. As he turned to swim towards the distant shore, he noticed the mountain lion above on the mesa, wandering back into hiding, swinging its great tail in approval.

Ready, FIRE. . . Aim?
The above story illustrates one of the great coming of age stories that has been told for time immamorium. It’s the coming of age tale of a boy and the running of a gauntlet, which whether a native american, an Arthurian knight, or an ancient Sumerian warrior is a tale as old as time. But what are the symbols within? What are the modern lessons to be learned? What should we take from these stories into our daily lives?

Well according to serial entrepreneur, former Kodak CMO and author of Running the Gauntlet, Jeff Hayzlett its all about movement. “Don’t just stand there”, he says. “MOVE!”

“Live by saying Ready, FIRE. . . Aim!” he continues, “What’s the worst thing that is going to happen? This is business – No one is going to die!”

Hayzlett came to Kodak in 1997, when the company was really starting to feel the squeeze of the digital revolution. Although, history may still pass Kodak into the dustbin of failed industry in the coming year, Hayzlett was able to breathe life into their dying shell for one last generation of professional and amateur photographers alike.

“The entire printer paper product line was something I brought to Kodak” says Hayzlett. “When I got there everyone was telling themselves, ‘Our time has passed. Our best days are behind us, not in front of us.’”

According to Hayzett, this generally bad attitude pervaded the entire company and was the reason behind a sinking stock price and a failing company. “So much of being a success, is managing the attitude that is brought to the table. You can’t expect to be successful when everyone around you is expecting to fail”, Hayzlett adds.

“It just seems to become such a culture of fear, once the negative Nelly’s take hold”, he explains. “It then falls on you as a good manager – as a good leader in your company – You have to rout out this destructive attitude.”

Hayslett leans in now and says with a genuine smile, “Look, even if you make a big mistake, the momentum of your forward progress will usually be enough to save the mistake from becoming detrimental. . . But if you never moved in the first place, what is being accomplished then? Just give it a shot!”

Another thing he warns executives against is to not be afraid to try new things. He starts, “Don’t be afraid to learn new things. As an example, you want to learn to ride a horse, great. First learn to strap on the saddle and take the reins. Even if you have to turn to a fourteen-year-old girl for the advice (as I did). If she knows something you need to learn and if she has that knowledge, you are only a fool if you don’t listen to her!”

Hayzlett continues, “We all have to start somewhere. I don’t care if you are 38 and you are learning from an eight year old. There is never any shame in being a beginner. We always learn by putting one foot in front of the other. But shrinking away in fear and allowing fear to influence our decisions is where failure starts.”

The message is clearly, you can’t accomplish anything standing still and when mistakes happen, we shouldn’t equate mistakes with failure. At least if you are making mistakes, you are trying. . . You are moving. You are making an effort.
“That’s right”, Hayzlett concludes.

Nobody is Going To Hit As Hard As Life
This all reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from a movie.

In Rocky Balboa (Rocky VI), when Rocky is telling his son, “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.”

“You, me, or nobody. . . is gonna hit as hard as life!”

“But it ain’t about how hard you hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s about how much you can take and keep moving forward! That’s how winning is done! Now if you know your worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. . .But you’ve got to be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers, saying you ain’t where you want to be, because of him, or her, or anybody! That’s what cowards do and that ain’t you! You’re better than that and until you start believing in yourself, you’re not going to have a life.”

If I had to wait another six Rocky movies for more wisdom that profound, sign me up for Rocky XII now, I’ll be there! What a great quote. What a great pronouncement of how we succeed in life! Don’t ever allow yourself to believe your best days are behind you.

The Fight Of The Century
Not to dwell on boxing examples, but let me next take you back to 1972 and the “Fight of the Century”. The first match-up of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, the fighter who in 1964 had declared himself, “The Greatest” after winning the belt for the first time.
But in 1967, Ali (Cassius Clay, at the time) would be stripped of his title, lose his license to fight and was not allowed to leave the country, as a result of his “Consciencess objector” status over the Viet Nam war.

Before the 1972 fight would happen, Joe Frazier would even loan Ali the money to fight his court battle to regain his license.
Well, regain it he did and after 14 rounds, in the 15th Frazier landed a brilliant punch. A flying jab that would catch Ali unaware, and knock him out for the first time in his career.

Again in 1972, Ali would lose two more times, the first to Elmo Henderson(?) and then to Ken Norton, who would bust Ali’s jaw in the process.

What happened to the “greatness”? Was Ali still “the greatest”?

Perhaps this is what Jeff Hayzlett was referring to, when he said, “Don’t ever allow yourself to believe your best days are behind you”.

In 1973, Ali was to prove he was still, “The Greatest” by first defeating Ken Norton in a fiery rematch and then returning again in early 1974 to defeat his rival Joe Frazier in a 12 round unanimous decision..

By October of 1974, Ali would defeat Champion George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle”. By the 8th round Ali would wear down the younger champion and finally knock him out, reaffirming his place in history, despite long odds and an incredible struggle back to the top.

He didn’t just defeat Foreman, Frazier and Norton, but the boxing establishment and the U.S. Government. It was perhaps the greatest comeback in sports history.

Despite what we may tell ourselves in business, our trials on a daily basis are rarely as insurmountable as what Ali overcame and just as the old adage suggests, 90% of success is just showing up, surely the other 10% is to keep moving forward. Remember as Jeff Hayzlett suggests, Ready, FIRE. . .Aim! The fair bet is you’ll hit far more often than if you had never taken the shot. Don’t think about it. Just do it!

And haven’t we all heard that somewhere before?