The 18th century writer Samuel Johnson, who is best known perhaps for his wit, once said that "the prospect of hanging in the morning concentrates the mind wonderfully." That has close parallels with the meaning now associated with burning your boats. It simply means that you cut off any possible means of retreat. Once you commit to a particular action, there's no going back. But, is it really necessary or even prudent to do so when starting a business?
Many a commander, from the Roman Empire to modern times, has ordered his troops to burn their boats. The phrase originated with the Roman army for whom this seemed to be a normal practice. It happened when the mutineers of the Bounty settled on the island of Pitcairn; and it could be argued that the same thing happened on D-Day, when allied soldiers attacked the Normandy beaches. In each of these cases, retreat would have been impossible, or nearly so.
And, it's not uncommon to read of entrepreneurs who have mortgaged their houses, once or twice, and maxed out their credit cards in order to sustain them while building their business.
Hands up if you think that this is a good idea. That's what I thought. Although it may motivate some people, for others it could be like headlights to a rabbit.
So, what is the alternative?
In word, it's discipline. This is a word that most of us experience, unfortunately, as a result of misbehavior at one time or another; especially childhood. And so we associate bad things with it, instead of good ones.
But, the freedom to run amok isn't good for us either. We have to find a happy medium.
It seems to me that the way to avoid burnt boats, or bridges depending on who you ask, is to establish a regimen (another one of those negatively-associated words) through which we apply ourselves to all that we know we should do as if there was no retreat.
The received wisdom among business gurus is that unless you cut off any possible means of retreat, that you are more likely to do so. But, if you don't work well under that kind of pressure, it will probably make matters much worse.
You have the power to take control of your circumstances. It makes much more sense to do it now, then to wait until you are overtaken by events.
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