Sep 15, 2020
T42D: Victory
This week Rodders thinks about what true success is all about.
Ed.
…
Although the Battle of Britain took place between July and October 1940, the 15th September 1940 is the official anniversary date, designated by the Royal Air Force Fighter Command in 1940, in what proved to be a decisive victory over the German Luftwaffe.
I was somewhat saddened to learn that new research carried out on 10 July 2020 from the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund has found that almost half [44%] of the British public surveyed do not know what the Battle of Britain was.
In the days leading up to World War II, the British government commissioned a series of posters. The idea was to capture encouraging slogans and distribute them throughout the country. Capital letters in a distinct typeface were used, and a simple two-colour format selected. The only graphic was the crown of King George VI.
The first poster was distributed in September of 1939: YOUR COURAGE. YOUR CHEERFULNESS. YOUR RESOLUTION WILL BRING US VICTORY.
Soon, thereafter, a second poster was produced: FREEDOM IS IN PERIL. DEFEND IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT.
These two posters appeared on railway platforms and in pubs, shops, and restaurants. A third poster was created but it was never distributed.
More than 2.5 million copies were printed yet never seen until nearly sixty years later, when a bookshop owner in north-east England discovered one in a box of old books he had purchased at an auction. It read: KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. It bore the same crown and style of the first two posters. However, it was never released to the public, but held in reserve for an extreme crisis, such as invasion by Germany.
The bookshop owner framed it and hung it on the wall. It became so popular that the bookshop began producing identical images of the original design on coffee mugs, postcards, and posters.
Watching the 2017 film ‘The Darkest Hour’ with Gary Oldman playing Winston Churchill, I was reminded again of the powerful speech Churchill made on first entering the House of Commons as the Prime Minister, delivered on 13 May 1940.
The speech was a call-to-arms aimed at uniting the British public against the threat of the Nazis: “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined the government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory; victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”
President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “There is no victory at bargain basement prices”.
George Patton said, “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory”.
Walt Disney is quoted as saying, “The difference between winning and losing is simply not quitting”, and this was exemplified in the life of George Frideric Handel.
Handel spent much of his up-and-down career moving from one failure to another. In the eighteenth century bankruptcy wasn’t an option, and by 1741, Handel was drowning in debt. Without a miracle, prison was inevitable. He decided to perform his farewell concert and retire a failure at age fifty-six. But when a friend handed him a libretto on the life of Jesus based on selected Scriptures from the Bible, everything changed.
Handel threw himself into writing and composing, and in a staggering stretch completed Part One in six days, Part Two in nine days, and Part Three six days later. He worked feverishly, driven by one overwhelming purpose. Servants left meals outside his door, afraid to disturb him. Once, when a servant did find the courage to open the door, the startled composer cried out, with tears streaming down his face, “I think I did see all heaven before me, and the great God Himself!”
He had just finished the much-celebrated ‘Hallelujah Chorus’.
Handel credited the completion of his masterpiece to one thing: joy.
He is also quoted as saying that he felt as if he would ‘burst with joy’ at what he was hearing in his mind and heart. Instead of dying, as he thought he would, he lived to see his oratorio become a cherished tradition and a popular work. He also saw it succeed in raising vast sums of money for the poor and destitute.
The apostle John wrote, “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith”. [1 John 5:4]
Sometimes we have to push through to victory. Michael Phelps captured the gold for his country in the Beijing 2008 Olympics and brought home a record eight best-time gold medals. It will not be just be the number of medals we’ll remember, but his invincible spirit when things turned drastically against him in the 200 metre butterfly. As he touched the wall, winning the race, nobody knew what he had undergone to accomplish it.
As Michael pulled off his goggles and the world watched, incredulous, water poured out of them. He’d swum 200 metres almost blind, an experience swimmers dread. Counting strokes, looking desperately for any marks on the pool floor, he finally touched the finish wall, an Olympic conqueror in every sense.
Phelps used his frustration to increase his stamina and determination to win.
So putting some thoughts together on victory, both corporately and individually, I leave you with this thought that Lord Byron wrote shortly before he died, “My days are in the yellow leaf; The flowers and fruits of love are gone; The worm, the canker, and the grief are mine alone”.
Whereas the apostle Paul wrote just before he died: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: hence-forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness”.
What a victory!
…
Rodders
