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2021 is already in full swing for the team at CDS, and as with every new year, we rally the troops and enjoy a company-wide ‘kick off’ meeting to set the scene – and the tone – for the 12 months ahead.
This time around, we welcomed an incredibly special guest, none other than award-winning broadcaster and explorer Ben Fogle! As an adventurous agency, Ben’s drive to push the boundaries of what’s possible really resonated with the entire team – and here’s a little insight into what we heard…
While it was impossible to look ahead without first looking back, Ben began by highlighting the way the pandemic has forced the entire world to make the ‘abnormal, normal’ and accept the ‘extraordinary as ordinary’ – almost overnight.
However, while we are each living through challenging times – juggling work Zoom calls with riotous home schooling – we mustn’t become complacent and take the easy road. It’s so easy to let the pandemic absorb our entire focus, and lead us to feel as though we must simply survive, but we must instead learn to thrive.
He shared a poignant example whereby sailors, who have spent days clinging to the hulls of upturned boats – and indeed their lives – have died the moment they are winched to safety.
This notion that by handing over control of our lives to someone else, we no longer fight to exist, we no longer write our own story, and leave it to another. And, we must treat this ‘new normal’ in much the same way.
How can we push ourselves to do more?
Discussing where his own resilience initially came from, Ben told the story of his rise to fame, which saw him participate in the BBC reality show Castaway. The series followed a group of 36 people who were marooned on the Scottish island of Taransay for a year.
The social experiment was a hit, and Ben’s confidence had grown immensely, but 12 months later – when filming ended – he was helicoptered back to London and moved into his childhood bedroom.
All the belief in himself, which had blossomed while battling the elements, disappeared and he felt lost and directionless.
No longer willing to settle for ‘an easy life’, the desire to push himself out of his comfort zone never waned and he soon signed up to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic.
Despite not being ‘sporty’, having a rowing partner, or even knowing much about rowing, Ben paid the deposit required to get his name on the list, and decided to worry about the practicalities later.
One year on – and with just 12 months before the start of the race – Ben bumped into James Cracknell at a party and decided this was the man to be his partner. Unsurprisingly, the double Olympic gold medallist turned down the offer at first, but perseverance somehow won the athlete over, and a team was formed.
However, the two personalities couldn’t have been more different. One was laser-focused on achieving the end goal, working for years to perfect a single discipline, while the other freely admitted to struggling to commit to a single goal.
Proving the narrators wrong
Once news of the expedition got out, the press dubbed the duo ‘the odd couple’ – with many commentators expecting the entire thing to be a disaster. And they had good reason. Prior to making it to the starting line, both men had rigorous classroom training around navigation, first aid, and the mechanics of the vessel to name just a few. But the morning of the race, they’d been in a boat together just once.
The writing was seemingly on the wall.
But the moral of the story was that it’s about how each man overcame the tallest of orders.
While James was there to compete – keen to cross the finish line first come hell or high water, Ben simply wanted to complete the race, whatever it took. Two quite different targets but one common agreement – a refusal to concede to someone else’s narrative. One that they would fail.
Rowing constantly for 24 hours a day and seven days a week, there were times when both wished they could quit. But they didn’t. Even when the entire vessel capsized in the middle of the Atlantic and some of the vital tech on board the boat was lost.
Ben was close to sending an SOS, but James gave him five minutes to ‘pull himself together and get back on the oars before they lost a place in the race’. Rescue would have taken 10-14 days, but with basic ocean charts, the oars intact, drinking water and food on board, the duo opted to battle on.
This was the moment that defined the journey.
Despite the huge depravations, the pair were fiercely determined to get off that ocean. And 49 days after setting off, they crossed the finish line. The first two-man boat by over 48 hours.
And therein lies the lesson. Defying critics – even if it’s our own inner critic – will only be possible if we harness strength, fortitude, the right mindset, and optimism. With that, we can each achieve great things, whether it’s rowing the Atlantic or something a little more local.
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