Health
The Wild, True Story of a Man Who Refused to Give Up
You might not know his name.
But you should.
Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart was a soldier. A real soldier. The kind they write stories about. He was born over 140 years ago, but his story still teaches us something today.
He fought in three different wars.
He was hurt more times than we can count: shot in the face, stomach, leg, hip, ear… and even in the head. He lost one eye. He lost a hand. He literally tore off his own fingers when a doctor said he wouldn’t.
He was in four plane crashes. He escaped a prison camp by digging a tunnel for seven months… with one arm.
And after all that?
He still didn’t quit.
Adrian was born into a rich family in Belgium. His dad wanted him to be a lawyer, so he sent him to Oxford University. But Adrian had other plans.
He left Oxford without telling anyone… and went to fight in a war. He even lied about his age so they’d let him join.
He was shot in the stomach and groin.
But when asked how many enemies there were, he just smiled and said, “Not many, but they were very good shots.”
That was just the beginning.
Later, he rode into battle on a camel (yep, really) and got shot three times in the face. He lost his eye and part of an ear.
His response?
“It was all most exhilarating fun.”
During World War I, he was hit with shrapnel. His hand was hanging on by two fingers. The doctor hesitated to help.
So Adrian just pulled the fingers off himself.
They cut off the whole arm later. He didn’t care. He just wanted to get back in the fight.
At the Battle of the Somme, he led three groups of men. There were no phones or radios. So he ran between them, through gunfire, with messages.
He threw grenades with his teeth. Reloaded a revolver with one hand.
He got shot again, in the head, hip, leg, and ankle.
Still. Didn’t. Die.
He kept going.
In World War II, at age 60, he got called back into duty. His plane was shot down over water. Instead of hiding in a life raft, he swam with one arm until the enemy flew away.
Another plane crash later, he swam again, this time while carrying an injured teammate.
He got caught by the enemy. Was locked up in a high-security prison.
So what did he do?
He dug a tunnel. For 7 months. With one arm. Then escaped dressed like a local farmer. He couldn’t speak the language and had an eyepatch, but still made it 8 days on the run before being found again.
He eventually ended up on missions in China assigned especially by Winston Churchill’s. He then retired in Ireland. He lived to 83 years old and said:
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war.”
I found his story fascinating, it is a story of agency. Of choosing your own path. Of not waiting for permission.
It’s also a story of how strong and adaptable the human body and mind really are.
No matter what life throws at you… You can handle it.
You can rebuild.
You can keep going.
And if all else fails?
Pull your own fingers off and get on with it.
Wealth
Vikings use to burn their boats on the shores of foreign lands as they would arrive for the first time, it wasn’t recklessness it was intention. It was a mental message to themselves that would impact their every action. They knew there was no turning back, only forward.
Journal prompt: If today was the day you burned the boat, what would you do differently?
Relationships
How do you cut through small talk and skip the automated responses of "I'm good, and you?"
Some ideas:
"What’s the highlight of your day or week?"
"What’s been good?"
"Working on anything exciting at the moment or recently?"
Similar to the standard questions most people ask, but you'd be surprised how different the answers are.
Freedom
“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realise we only have one.”
― Confucius