Stop looking for the Telamons
THE RUB
I’m more of an explorer than a warrior. Sure, I’ve done some tough stuff. And I find the warrior archetype compelling! Warriors model courage, discipline, and action. All qualities I want to master.
When I was in my 20s, I quit my well-paying job to sell real estate full time. I had never even closed a sale. But I took my certification exam, and I was inspired by real estate warriors who drove fancy cars and made the path to success look easy. “Burn the ships! Fully commit.”
Six months later I had only sold one house and depleted our savings. I was defeated and ready to quit. Warriors continue to fight when things get bleak. I just move on.
I’m great at starting projects. I love new and shiny, and I’m fearless in trying something new, but I fall down on the follow through. I’m an explorer.
THE FRAMEWORK
A recent warrior role model for me was Steven Pressfield’s A Man at Arms. Telamon of Arcadia is a mercenary hired by the ancient Roman governor of Judea to track down a letter from Paul the Apostle in AD 55.
On Telamon’s journey, he takes on two children, a young would-be soldier named David and a mute girl named Ruth. Telamon trains them both to become warriors, and through his decisions and actions I was once again inspired to be more warrior-like. Thankfully, there’s not much business in the “Man at Arms” trade these days.
I aspired to be Telamon, but in reality I’m closer to David. He gets excited at the start of the battle, but as soon as he gets knocked down (which is often), he’s ready to give up and run away.
After many battles and relentless training, Telamon tells David:
“What I have been teaching you and Ruth is called in the Legion mens bellator, ‘warrior mind.’ I have known men who fought bravely and well for twenty years but who still had not mastered this. This girl has it already. That's why she's better at exercise of arms than you are. Do not fault yourself on this account. The child simply has the gift. She is a complete warrior already. Do not compete with her, fight at her side, be proud of her, learn from her.”
Was he speaking to David or me?
THE PRACTICE
Willie Lambert has a warrior mind. He’s the first person I met in real life who had run a 100 miles. One morning at 6 am, I was going for a three-mile run, and I ran into Willie, who was finishing up a 15-mile run that he had started three hours earlier. He has grit and discipline. He is like Telamon.
Ashley Mullins was my first ultra running “Ruth.” I met her running the Hawk 50-Miler in 2016. I had DNF'd my first attempt at a 50-Miler two weeks earlier. Ashley was a seasoned ultra-runner, a gifted warrior. Instead of trying to keep pace with my own ego, I ran beside her.
She taught me how to fuel with real food and to never trust a fart. She made me laugh and helped me think past the pain to the finish. What I admired most, was when we crossed the finish line she turned to me and said, “Go get a chair and a beer, because now we sit here and cheer in all the other runners.”