We Aren’t that Tough.

 

After traveling around the world hunting adventure jobs (fruit picking, ship refitting, cattle station hand, construction…) I’ve learned that I’m not that tough. I’m tougher than many… but when I think about historical toughness (e.g. the romans, the mongols, the WWII generation) I expect that I’m actually quite a weakling.

Imagine the toughness of people like the mongols; riding into battle, 50,000 fellow warriors deep; 5 days straight galloping across the barren steeps of Northern China. They would keep 5 horses the whole time, switching off as the horses tired to ride the next one until it became tired. These guys where crazy, hell-driven machines.

How about the Romans? Hiking thousands of miles just to go into battle with strange beastly men from distant cold lands. They had no clocks or penicillin…

No, we have it good these days… The reason I’m contemplating these things, is that Dan Carlin has been keeping me company through my iPhone.

 

Dan Carlin – Excellence in Podcasting.

Dan Carlin does one of my favorite podcasts. He enthralls the listener with modest, yet passionate presentations on the histories of people who come to life through his words. He brings searing descriptions of these mad people that remain with the listener for ages.

His show, Hardcore History, only asks for donations if you stick around until the last 5 seconds of the show. You can support him by going through his Amazon Portal or signing up for Audible. I view these monetizing efforts at the end of his show as opportunities to help someone who has already done me a great service. There is no hard sell. He just delivers something better than I would have thought I wanted.

This is how to succeed in the podcasting world.

Want to know what kicked this blog post off? You can listen to it free by downloading Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: Show 33 – (BLITZ) Old School Toughness

• Download at his website.
• Subscribe here.

 

What this Means

 

It’s important to understand that previous generations where far tougher than us. At the same time, we should enjoy the fact that we live in a world of such luxury. In fact, we should be eternally grateful for every moment that we can climb in a car and drive up the hill to get fresh milk from a refrigerated box.

We stand on the shoulders of giants.

Best of all, things are getting better every day.