Things may come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle. Abraham. Welcome to the Classic Influence Podcast, episode number one. of today's message The power of initiative to transform your life. Welcome. Olha, já quero falar. where we explore the timeless lessons learned from the legends of influence, Persuasion.
and grit. Listen in and wisdom and insights of the hustlers and heroes of Discover the strategies, tactics, tips, and tools you can use to master the power of influence to achieve your own most daring dreams and goals. Stay tuned as we uncover the secrets of the saints, sages, sinners, and superstars of success. And now, your host, Author. Hello, and welcome to the very first episode of Classic Influence. This is Johnny Welch. Thank you for joining me on the Classic Influence Show.
You can find the notes for this show, as well as more information about us, including my new book, which I'm very excited about, called Mastering the Power of Grit. And it's all on our website at ClassicInfluence.com. Okay, well let's get into today's episode. Seize the initiative, President McKinley's message to Garcia. The world bestows its big prizes, both in money and honors, for one thing, and that is initiative. Albert Hubbard, 1856-1956.
In the early part of 1898, the United States was on the precipice of war with Spain. President McKinley was resolved not to intervene in Cuba's war of independence from the Spaniards. But the pressures were mounting, and men were sickened by the bloodshed and horrific conditions the Cubans were suffering under Spanish rule, and public opinion was beginning to favor some kind of intervention on behalf of the Cuban revolutionaries.
As reports rolled in, Americans became increasingly alarmed by the toll of the economic depression and stories of Cuban peasants being herded into concentration camps, many others to their death. The revolt in Cuba, wrote Theodore Roosevelt, had dragged its weary length until conditions in the island had become so dreadful as to be a standing disgrace to us for committing them to exist.
The unspeakable horror, degradation, and misery, Roosevelt continued, was not war at all, but murderous oppression. When the USS Maine was sunk in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, Americans were universally outraged, and President William McKinley had little choice but to intervene. McKinley was desperate to get a message to the Cuban revolutionary leader, General Calixto Garcia, of the insurgents.
who were fighting for independence from Spain. The problem was that the only thing anyone knew was that Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba. Without knowing where or even how to go about finding Garcia, President McKinley was at a significant loss. When he presented the situation to his aides, Colonel Arthur L. Wagner said to the president, There's a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia. If anyone can, he added,
With no other viable options, President McKinley quickly agreed. When Captain Andrew Summers Rowan received his order from the President, he didn't ask where he could find Garcia. He didn't ask for detailed instructions. He didn't hesitate or equivocate.
He didn't schedule a meeting or set up a committee. Rowan simply took President McKinley's letter, sealed it in an oilskin pouch, strapped it over his heart, and headed for Cuba. In four days, Albert Hubbard writes, Captain Rowan landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks, came out on the other side.
side of the island, having traversed a hostile country on foot and delivered his letter to Garcia. Captain Rowan seized the initiative with boldness and he received the Distinguished Service Cross from the U.S. Army as a result. In 1916, Thomas Edison made the story into a motion picture. Rowan was also immortalized in Albert Hubbard's essay, A Message to Garcia.
Hubbard declared that Rowan was, quote, a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and a statue placed in every college of the land. It was the way Rowan boldly seized the initiative that made him a hero. Even though his life would be on the line, even though none of the Americans knew where Garcia could be found, Rowan accepted the responsibility as if it was no more difficult and with no more fanfare than delivering a piece of mail across the street.
Civilization is one long, anxious search for just such individuals. Hubbard concludes in his essay. Anything such a man asks shall be granted. His kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town, and village, in every office, shop, store, and factory. The world cries out for such. He is needed, and needed badly. The man who can carry a message to Garcia.
The story of Captain Rowan illustrates a valuable lesson in success. Initiative is exceptionally rare, and as a result, it is exceptionally valuable and abundantly rewarded. Most people recognize that initiative is beneficial, writes John Maxwell, yet they still frequently underestimate its true value. The greatest rewards come not in the form of medals and ribbons, however. The greatest value of seizing the initiative comes in the form of results.
And those who don't is literally the difference between night and day. I'm not talking about a 25-50% difference in effectiveness. writes Covey. I'm talking about a 5,000% difference, particularly if they're smart, aware, and sensitive to others. The need for this kind of get-up-and-go gumption and understanding of the results that are brought by those who boldly seize the initiative can be seen in a demand for Hubbard's essay.
Hubbard himself was entirely unaware of how popular his essay would be. He originally wrote a message to Garcia without a title. and included the scant 1,500-word essay as filler in the March issue of his monthly magazine, The Philistine. When requests started coming in for reprints of the issue, Hubbard, assuming it was one of the main articles he had spent considerable time writing and researching, had to ask his staff which of the articles it was that everyone wanted.
Inspired by its message, George Daniels of the New York Central Railroad ordered 100,000 reprints to distribute to his employees. Once word got out, business and military from around the world followed suit. Overwhelmed with requests for reprints, Hubbard's small press could no longer keep up with demand. In less than a year, it was reprinted more than 9 million times. outselling every other publication at the time, with the exception of the Bible and the dictionary.
By 1936, 80 million copies had been printed and had been translated into virtually every written language on earth. Rowan's success in getting President McKinley's message to Garcia, despite the hostile, war-torn terrain and the utter lack of detailed instructions or military intelligence, was not simply the result of his actions on that fateful day. It was the result of an ingrained habit. of taking initiative.
In fact, this habit was so deeply ingrained in Rowan that when he saw that something needed to be done, he scarcely thought of anything else. In instances of this kind, Rowan wrote later, where one's reputation as well as his life is at stake, It is usual to ask for written instructions, but in this case, it never occurred to me to ask for written instructions. My sole thought was that I was charged with a message to Garcia, and that I was going to do it.
But it was not just with mission-centered objectives handed down directly from the President of the United States that Rowan exercised initiative. It was equally so with the small matters he confronted. When, for example, Rowan met Colonel Wagner for lunch at the Army and Navy Club in Washington just a few hours before he left for Cuba, Wagner asked Rowan when the next boat left for Jamaica. Rowan did not know the answer but is that what he told Colonel Wagner? No.
Instead, he politely excused himself from the table and quickly returned with the precise information Wagner requested. The Adirondack, he said, of the Atlas Line, a British boat, would sail from New York the next day at noon. It was this way of thinking and acting that led to Rowan's success, and the success of every great hustler throughout time. The greatest of all success secrets is initiative, wrote Robert Collier in The Secret of the Ages.
It is the one quality which more than any other has put men and women in high places. To master the art of hustle, you must also make initiative a habit. Begin with the mindset of ownership. Assume responsibility, whether you're launching a political campaign or an entrepreneurial endeavor, or whether you're carrying out the will of the President of the United States. Your success depends on the degree to which you seize and take ownership of the initiative. Grab the bull by the horns.
recognize the urgency of opportunity, be decisive, and act. Opportunities multiply as they are seen. said Sun Tzu. Make it a habit to look first to yourself for the answers and solutions you need to succeed. The importance of this get-up-and-go resourcefulness extends well beyond where most people assume. Understanding the different ways that it can be used and applied, the different areas where it matters most, to learn to maximize its power, as we'll explore in future episodes.
And that's a wrap for today's episode. Thanks for listening. This is your host, Johnny Walsh, from ClassicInfluence.com. Thanks for listening to the Classic Influence Podcast. For show notes, resource guides, and subscription information, visit the website at Please take a moment now to subscribe to the show and leave a review.