True personal growth ultimately will lead to fulfillment, and it's my intention with these podcasts to connect more deeply with you. Thank you for joining me and Corbin and my guests, and welcome to this episode. If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those 2 impostors just the same, You will almost certainly recognize these lines.
If you're a tennis fan, you'll be familiar with the quote because players walk below it as they begin the walk to the center court, and that journey has for years been televised as the 2 Wimbledon finalists approach the court to do battle. And you probably know that the lines come from Rudyard Kipling's famous poem If, which most people of my age, bracket, will have been introduced to at school at least in the British system.
It shows up in many anthologies and I think possibly also in English grammar textbooks where students would have to answer perhaps comprehension questions based on the poem or maybe write a precis of the poem's contents. I suspect the art of precis isn't taught anymore but just for completeness it meant summarizing something down to a set number of words usually about 1 fifth of the total in the original without losing the core meaning and intention of the author. It was quite a challenge.
And, oh, honestly, I wish some of our politicians would apply the art of precis from time to time. Never has a breed taken so long to say so little. Well Rudyard Kipling was British Indian and he was born in Bombay, India in 18/6 5. He became a journalist, novelist, poet, and short story writer. Possibly, his best known work these days is The Jungle Book, which Disney made into a really excellent animated film in 1968, and I just checked on IMDB to see how many times it's been remade since.
Strangely enough only once, and that was in 2016 and of course this time around it was done with computer animation. And needless to say I haven't seen it, but the first one was well it was one of its kind. It was a really brilliant film. Also, The Man Who Would Be King unbelievably that was released in 1975. That's very nearly 25 years ago, I mean 50 years ago. Although I've seen it much more recently than that, and in its lifetime I've seen it several times.
The last time I was particularly interested to notice masonic references in the dialogue at the beginning as these two strangers meet each other on a train, I think, And I know I've referred to this in passing in an earlier podcast, but I'm sorry I can't remember which one. Kipling was of an age with Cecil Rhodes of Rhodesia fame, and they became great friends when both of them lived in South Africa at the end of 19th century.
Originally, he and his family arrived in South Africa for their winter holiday, and they liked it so much, not surprisingly, that this holiday became an annual event, and Kipling also became friendly with Leander Star Jameson who had by then spent 6 months in jail back in England following his part in the famous Jameson raid.
From earlier podcasts, my long term listeners will know that I spent my school years in Rhodesia, so not surprisingly, Cecil Rhodes was our national hero, and I know of Leander Star Jameson because of the raid and because one of the main roads in Salisbury, where I lived, was Jamieson Avenue, but actually we pronounced it Jamieson Avenue, so I wonder which pronunciation is the correct one. Nearly all the roads in Salisbury City Center were named after well known pioneers and heroes.
There was Bains, Fife, Livingston, Salu, Courtney, and Stanley to name just a few. I really don't recall ever being taught Rhodesian history as such and yet I grew up being well aware of certain important dates and personalities and events. But I confess that apart from the name I didn't know much at all about the Jameson raid. I recall he was a hero. The raid had failed spectacularly and against expectations and that was about all I knew. I wasn't in any way aware of the full story.
And I'll come back to it shortly but I just want to pull out another famous line from the poem If, which comes just before the triumph and disaster line. If you can dream and not make dreams your master. If you can think but not make thoughts your aim. There's so much wisdom in Kipling's poem.
It was written in 1909 for his young son, of course, and yet it became a firm favorite in British society for decades because it speaks to those old fashioned so called British values of stiff upper lip and stoicism in the face of adversity. Now in a previous pass podcast, might have even been the last one, I spoke at length about the value of having a dream. Cecil Rhodes' dream was to create a strip of British Empire from Cape to Cairo. Regrettably, he's now vilified for having this ambition.
I guess it's next to impossible these days for many to get their heads around anything but the, woke view of colonialism. Martin Luther King famously told us, I have a dream, and sadly he died for it. But his life had purpose and that's something to get you out of bed in the morning no matter what. There's nothing like having dreams and goals to spur us on to achieve great results. And if thoughts like why bother, dare to cross your mind, banish them.
Not caring about anything, not working to achieve something, not believing that you can influence how your life plays out is called apathy. And apathy is an extremely low vibration. Referring to David Hawkins vibration table, apathy is 3rd from bottom with only shame and guilt ranked below it. So if anybody calls you or your peer group apathetic, watch out. It really is a serious insult. Henry David Thoreau back in the 19th century, maybe the previous one. I think it was 19th.
He said the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. I believe there's a lot of truth in that saying. Have these people given up on their situations, or are they hopeful that some savior figure will come and rescue them? That's known as hopium. And it's so unlikely ever to happen. Most of us know that to get results or change our circumstances, we have to take action ourselves.
And the more time, attention, and energy you give to your personal goals and dreams, thinking, visioning, writing, planning, adjusting, the more likely it is that the dreams or goals will be achieved. Some personal development advice recommends that you don't tell your dreams and goals to anyone else. And to an extent, I concur with this, but I'd say rather take care when deciding who you share those goals and dreams with.
If you're in a peer group of like minded supportive people or with a coach or mentor who's on your side, this is what's known as a safe space and your results actually are likely to skyrocket. But be careful who you choose for your audience. Deborah Poneman talks about the discouragement committee, and these can often be friends and family who think they're being helpful or practical.
And your dream that's maybe not much more than a flicker is so easily snuffed out especially in its early stages. I have several coaching programs to help people with goals and dreams even if you don't know exactly what yours is. And there are tried and tested strategies to figure it out.
And truly having a purpose in life is way more preferable than just going through the motions, treading the hamster wheel, showing up for a job you hate where your efforts and even your good self is not appreciated. If you'd like to know more about how I can help you move forward through any of your challenges or towards success in any venture when it just seems to be that bit too far in the future, please contact me. My details are in the show notes. I'm on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Simply search for Anne Corbin. Oh, and the company is Quantum Growth and Connection if you, are struggling to find me amongst more than one Anne Corbin. Now back to if and the Jameson raid, and what was that all about? In the closing years of 19th century, what later became known as South Africa comprised 2 British colonies, the Cape Colony and Natal, and 2 Boer or Dutch republics. A Boer incidentally is a what the Dutch farmers call themselves, the orange free state and the Transvaal.
The Vaal was a very wide and challenging river, so Transvaal was the land across on the other side of the Vaal. There were about 90,000 white males in the Transvaal where Johannesburg and Pretoria are, but only 30,000 of them were Dutch. In fact they were outnumbered by 8 landers. That's spelt u I t and it means outlanders, of course. That meant anyone who was non Dutch, but what we would these days call expatriates, and these 8landers were mainly British.
The Afrikaners or the Dutch were always fussy about who could vote, and they had trekked into the North to escape the British at massive personal cost, and there was no way on earth that they were going that they were going to allow these Brits in their territory to vote and influence how they were going to live now. Cecil Rhodes was prime minister of the Cape Colony at this time, and he wanted to encourage the 8landers, that is the Brits in the Transvaal.
He wanted to encourage them to rebel against the Transvaal government because Rhodes himself had his eye on it on the territory, I suppose. He believed that if he sent a body of armed men to overrun Johannesburg, which in those days was very small, there would be an uprising, and the British government in turn encouraged Rhodes. And by Christmas 18 95, 600 armed men had arrived and they were placed under the command of Leander Starr Jamieson.
Jamieson was an adventurer, a staunch colonialist, and a great friend of Cecil Rhodes, and later a great friend of Rudyard Kipling the writer. Back in Britain under Lord Salisbury's government, the colonial secretary Joseph Chamberlain was initially enthusiastic about the plan. Oh, incidentally, he was the father of Neville Chamberlain who brought Britain into World War 2 when Hitler was attempting to colonize Europe.
Then suddenly, Chamberlain senior changed his mind and no longer wanted to be associated with what was going on in South Africa because he decided that failure would ruin him personally. So Chamberlain ordered the governor general of the Cape Colony to condemn the raid and Cecil Rhodes for planning it. Every British worker in the Transvaal was ordered not to support the raid.
And way up to the north in the Transvaal, Jameson had no idea of these changes because he was camped out in the bush away from news, politics, and most people. Jameson had no idea about these changes, but he got impatient with all the delays waiting waiting for permission to proceed, so he decided to go ahead on his own accord.
Somehow, the Boers, that is the Dutch, got wind of the approaching forces, tracked them, and through a number of minor skirmishes, they deprived Jameson's forces of vital supplies, horses, food, and so on, and there were even a few deaths. And then on January 2nd, there was the major confrontation. Severely outnumbered, Jameson lost 30 of his men right in the beginning of the raid and recognizing the hopelessness of his position, he surrendered.
He and many others were imprisoned by the Boers and it had all been for nothing. The raiders never even reached Johannesburg and there was no uprising among the 8landers and the whole plan failed. The story hit the British press in due course, and London society simply lionized doctor Jameson. Anti boar feelings, which were already running high, were further inflamed, and then Jameson was put on trial in Britain and sentenced to 15 months for leading an illegal raid.
Cecil Rhodes had to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Jameson's loyalty to his country caused him never to reveal the extent of the British government's official support and for its responsibility for the failure of the raid. Many believe that IS was inspired by the vivid example of courage and dignity showed by Jameson in keeping silent about what was a massive betrayal. If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
Jameson, in fact, served 6 months of his sentence. He was released early due to poor health and he returned to South Africa. He became prime minister of the Cape Colony in 19 4 and left office in 1910. That was when the Union of South Africa was originally formed. Rudyard Kipling was incensed by the duplicity of the British government and his anger never abated.
Scholars believe it was this betrayal of his friend by the British establishment that caused him to refuse a knighthood and the posts of poet laureate and companion of honor. These lines reflect his admiration for Jameson in respect of keeping his silence. If you can make a heap of all your winnings and risk it all on just one turn of pitch and toss and lose and start again from your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss.
Kipling's biographer Andrew Lisette believes that if in its entirety was a valedictory poem for Leander Star Jameson. Certainly, Jameson was exactly the sort of hero that Kipling wanted to inspire his young son, and he wrote the poem for that purpose. And the poem ends like this. If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run, yours is the earth and everything that's in it and which is more. You'll be a man, my son.
You can set yourself up to win the game of life, become familiar with the laws of the universe. You have infinite potential. You can influence reality. Quantum growth and connection explores success strategies, power principles, relationship rescue, and the quantum field.