In May 1916 three men caked in blood, dirt, blisters, and sweat arrived at the Stromness Whaling Station on South Georgia Island in the Atlantic Ocean suffering from severe exhaustion.
They had endured a journey both by boat and on foot from Antarctica that was harrowing and miraculous in equal measure. In charge of the three men was Sir Ernest Shackleton, one of history’s most famous explorers and leaders.
In my latest conversation I discuss what is known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration with David Cornell. In 2009 David went to the South Pole a hundred years after his great grandfather embarked on the Nimrod expedition that was led by Shackleton.
He took me through Shackleton’s Boat Journey which has been described as the greatest story ever told. Our conversation covered what it takes to get to the South Pole as well as the leadership skills that Ernest Shackleton showed time and again through loyalty and care to his men right until his during his final attempt to reach the Pole.
Since that Centenary Expedition, David helped launch the Shackleton Foundation which provides seed funding and support to early stage social ventures with a primary focus on benefiting young people in the UK.
A narrative of decline is permeating the developed world. Hopefully conversations like this one with David can revivify the spirit of adventure as an antidote to all the negativity and noise
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