A Motivated Leader

Part One, Chapter Two: A Motivated Leader

Term: motivation

This next chapter of Endurance discusses the main goal of Ernest Shackleton and his crew and  reveals information about how their expedition began. Shackleton and his crew were part of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The goal of this expedition was to cross the Antarctic continent overland from west to east. At the time, many explorers attempted the same quest, but none of them were successful. This was already Shackleton's third expedition to the Antarctic. He was a member of two other expeditions in 1901 and 1907. Shackleton's two failed expeditions only motivated him  to reach his goal on his third attempt. The thought of being so close to achieving something that had never been done before irritated Ernest. "He had been within 97 miles of the Pole, and he knew better than anyone that it was only a matter of time until some expedition attained the goal that had been denied him" (Lansing 10). Shackleton motivation was driven by the thought of being the first one to lead an expedition across the Antarctic continent. He was determined to push forward and complete the vigorous task that had been so hard to conquer. Almost immediately after his last failed attempt in 1907, he began working hard trying to solicit funds for his third expedition. Although some criticized the expedition, Shackleton was motivated and determined to pursue and fulfill his dream. After reading this chapter, I realized that life is too short to sit around and think about what could have been. I learned that one must always strive to make his or her dreams a reality.  This chapter reassures me that all of my hard work and determination will eventually pay off in the near future.