What You can Learn from the First People Who Reached the South Pole

From the book “Grit” by Martin Meadows

In 1911, two teams of explorers set out to reach the South Pole. One of the teams was led by Roald Amundsen, who set a consistent goal for his team. The other team was led by Robert Falcon Scott, who let the external factors and his feelings lead to the tragic outcome of his and his team’s journey.

Amundsen decided to follow a simple routine – each day, he and his team had to travel on average 15 nautical miles per day. It was a realistic pace; not too exhausting, and not too easy, either. No matter the weather (except extreme conditions), he and his team traveled for no more (and no less) than 15 to 20 nautical miles. The rest of the time, he and his team rested in their sleeping bags.

Scott, on the other hand, drove his team to exhaustion when the weather was good and didn’t leave his tent when the weather was ugly. He believed that the efforts don’t count until you tax yourself completely.

Amundsen and his team reached the South Pole first – and returned a couple of months later to tell the tale. Scott and his team died on their way back – left without strength for a much more arduous return journey.

There’s no doubt that both men were persistent. It was no easy feat (and still isn’t) to reach the South Pole on foot. Yet, it was Amundsen who succeeded – thanks to strategic persistence and the power of proper rest, not because of pushing him and his team as hard as possible.

When I’m writing a book, I have a simple routine – no matter what happens, I have to write 3,000 words per day. Even if I accomplish nothing else during the day, I consider it a productive day of work and feel good about what I’ve achieved.

I don’t spend hours thinking whether I want to write or not. I’ve made writing 3,000 words a part of my daily routine that happens in pretty much the same way as brushing my teeth.

I never make exceptions and write less – unless I’m writing the last words in the book. I also don’t write much more than 3000 words, as I know it’s a sure-fire way to burn out.

The daunting process of writing a book becomes much easier when it’s broken into smaller steps repeated every single day as an automatic behaviour.

This simple habit allows me to write up to ten times faster than other authors who write when they feel like doing it. Waiting for inspiration doesn’t work for me. Neither does it work for Stephen King, who wrote in his book “On Writing,”v “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”