Ernest Shackleton

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. We had reached the naked soul of man.

   After their ship was crushed, an open-boat voyage and a mountain crossing, Shackleton says they had seen people stripped to their core. Extreme hardship shows what is left when everything else is gone. Most of us never find out; he did.

   South (1919), ch. 10, Across South Georgia, Original English (South, 1919)

2. We had pierced the veneer of outside things.

   Shackleton's men came out of the Antarctic with almost nothing. What they gained was a look beneath the surface of life. Hard journeys strip away the decoration.

   South (1919), ch. 10, Across South Georgia, Original English (South, 1919)

3. In memories we were rich.

   The three men reached the whaling station with their clothes, a stove, an adze and a logbook. Everything else was experience. Collect stories, not stuff.

   South (1919), ch. 10, Across South Georgia, Original English (South, 1919)

4. I have marvelled often at the thin line that divides success from failure.

   Off the coast of South Georgia, the wind shifted just as the boat was about to be wrecked. Shackleton never forgot how close it was. The line between disaster and safety is thin, so keep fighting until the last moment.

   South (1919), ch. 9, The Boat Journey, Original English (South, 1919)

5. Just when things looked their worst, they changed for the best.

   Shackleton describes a moment off a cliff-lined coast when the wind turned and freed the boat. The darkest point is often right before the turn. Hold on through it.

   South (1919), ch. 9, The Boat Journey, Original English (South, 1919)

6. Shape yourself to a new mark the moment the old one goes to ground.

   As his ship was crushed by ice, Shackleton dropped the goal of crossing Antarctica and took up a new one: getting every man home. When the plan dies, set a new one at once. He did, and all his men survived.

   South (1919), ch. 4, Loss of the Endurance, Original English (South, 1919)

7. An ordered mind and a clear programme were essential.

   Pacing the ice the night his ship went down, Shackleton planned. Panic is the enemy in a crisis; order is the cure. Make a list, then work it.

   South (1919), ch. 4, Loss of the Endurance, Original English (South, 1919)

8. It seemed to me often that we were four, not three.

   Crossing the mountains of South Georgia, Shackleton and his two companions each felt another presence walking with them. He did not explain it. Some help in hard places cannot be named.

   South (1919), ch. 10, Across South Georgia, Original English (South, 1919)