Success Lessons for Legionnaires
The French Foreign Legion was founded in 1831. Their spiritual home and former training centers are in the former French colonial North Africa, though they now train mainly in southern France. What made them the legendary force they were and still are? What success lessons can we learn from them?
Twelve volunteers recently chose to do a four-week Legion-style basic training in the Western Sahara desert. They were under the harsh but experienced and encouraging regime of three former Legionnaires, Chef Sergeant Peter Hauser, Sergeant Glenn Ferguson and Corporal Richard Sutter.
Their experiences were filmed by Channel 4 TV and can teach us a lot about motivation and success. I also spoke with Sergeant Glenn Ferguson and learned more about what motivated him and the other Legendary Legionnaires.
He joined the Legion at the age of 19. He was motivated first by fear of punishment and then by pride. He hated failing at something and could also appreciate the pride of an elite group. One of his favorite sayings is:
“You will never be the best if you have to constantly lower the bar for the weaker elements to join”
Throughout the program, the three ex-legionnaires were interested in having some of the volunteers ring a bell as a symbol of their desire to leave the group. They wanted to eliminate the weaker elements. Legionnaires with low standards can get their fellow legionnaires killed.
Elite groups don’t have time to tolerate the weak or halfhearted. They only want members who are willing to give 100% of their effort. They would rather the ‘losers’ (lazy, half-hearted people) not join. Another saying by Sergeant Glenn Ferguson puts it well:
“If you didn’t get to be the best, then stay with the other losers”
In the modern world, where everyone should be encouraged to join everything, this seems very old-fashioned and elitist, but keep in mind that this saying makes sense even today. It’s not saying you have to be the best before you join.
You just have to want to be the best. This leaves room for the less talented as long as they have the right attitude. Any weaknesses will soon leave them as they endure the pain of the Legion’s harsh training regimen.
As the Sergeant commented on his sheltered suffering on the TV show:
“Pain is the weakness that leaves your body”
Several of the volunteers started the training as ‘weak ones’ but ended up as ‘strong ones’. A former legionnaire commented on the program that when he joined the legion he believed that he could not do anything. When he left after five years, he believed that he could do anything. Such a belief is a key element in any success.
I was a teacher for over 30 years in London comprehensive schools. Everyone is accepted into these schools, whether they are ‘weak’ or ‘strong’. Everyone is given the opportunity to learn. Unfortunately, a minority is not just ‘weak’; they don’t want to become ‘strong’ or are too lazy to become ‘strong’ and they don’t want anyone else to be ‘strong’.
When these lazy and disruptive students drop out of school, the rest of them progress much faster and may even enjoy their education. A touch of the French Foreign Legion’s attitude towards the lukewarm and disruptive might well improve our Integral system.
Every once in a while a ‘loser’ shows up in my martial arts classes; they don’t want to work hard except for the parts they enjoy and distract others. I don’t care about his ability or lack thereof. The key factor is his attitude. Fortunately, the government does not force me to support these students. I can ask them to leave or give them a chance to improve.
I usually give them a chance, but if their attitude doesn’t improve, I’m glad when they leave. I don’t want the majority of the class with an enthusiastic attitude to lose the opportunity to focus and make rapid progress. Training with like-minded people is the fastest path to success in any undertaking.
The French Foreign Legion don’t usually give the lazy a second chance. They are out of earshot immediately or quickly disciplined into agreeing to the rules.
I was impressed with the ‘aperitif’ of the French Foreign Legion. This took the form of 10 pull-ups before dinner. The volunteers found this just as difficult as most of us.
Sergeant Glenn Ferguson explained that this ‘snack’ was important in battle. There is no use being able to travel miles on foot and then not being able to climb over a wall when you arrive at the battle site. Upper body strength is essential for a soldier. One of the sergeant’s favorite sayings makes the point:
A man who can’t pull his own body weight is a waste of oxygen.
I especially liked the ‘snack’ exercise because it involves a daily effort at a precise moment. Any consistent daily effort produces impressive results. Holding the drill before a meal or treat is also a great idea. Having an immediate reward after some action makes it easier to perform the action. Daily effort is a key factor in any success story.
Chef Sergeant Peter Hauser, who had served in the Legion’s elite Parachute Regiment around the world, taught the volunteers the Legion’s weapons and tactics.
The volunteers were in similar territory (in the Western Sahara desert) to which the Legion in the 1960s was the last line of defense when France’s colonial Empire collapsed.
Simon Murray was a legionnaire from 1960 to 1965. He described the vast amount of equipment a legionnaire had to carry:
“It’s a hard life because you have six days of rations. You were probably carrying about 40 kilos and you have 4 hand grenades, you have 200 rounds of ammunition, you have a sten gun, you have a couple of bottles of water, you have a shovel, you have your sleeping gear and half a tent You are quite heavy and very often you go uphill and long, long, long The hard jobs and often the men were all done and collapsed and then the sergeants would kick them and push them forward and they started yelling at them. You might have a fever, you might have this, that, and the other. Nobody gave a damn.”
The sergeants’ ruthless attitude allowed no excuses, and excuses are one of the main causes of failure in any undertaking. Sergeants like Sergeant Glenn Ferguson believed in pushing men beyond their limits. Most success stories contain this element of pushing your limits and exceeding your limitations. One of the sergeant’s favorite sayings is:
“If you’re never shown that you can push your limits, you’ll never know how far you can really go.”
Near the end of the 4 weeks, the volunteers had to do a standard Legionnaire run of eight kilometers in 60 minutes with a 12-kilogram pack that did not fit well on their backs. They had to walk two hours to get to the start of the race after a night on duty. Will, one of the volunteers, had very sore ankles but with the help of Corporal Rutter, he made it.:
“You can do it – small steps. One in front of the other. Come on Will – one last effort – you can do it. Come on, one last little effort; you can do it; come on. Come on Grit your teeth! You’re there!
Will just arrived with ten seconds to spare. He attributed his success to Corporal Rutter’s help, but the corporal attributed it to him. “If you go deep into yourself, you can do it, it’s a mental thing, it’s all in your mind.”
Once again, this type of attitude and the encouragement that goes with it leads to success and achievement. I believe that taking small steps in anything is a big factor in achieving success.
The main reason why Legion recruits drop out is because of foot problems caused by frequent long marches and runs. Why do some continue and others drop out?
Bobby, one of the four remaining volunteers, gave a reason:
“It seems that positive people are still here. It shows that a smile and a good nature can get you through most things.”
On their last day, the four successful volunteers took on the kepi march. The night before the march they are told the heroic story of Camerone. During the Franco-Mexican War in 1863, the Legion retreated to a country house called Camerone, where they were surrounded by 2,000 Mexican soldiers.
When the legionnaires fought to the last three men without surrendering, the Mexican captain let the three surviving men go with their weapons and wounded comrades. He said:
“What can we do with men like you? You have shown so much courage.” This esprit de corp is what the volunteers at the Kepi march would need.
Will liked Kepi’s march to give birth. “At that moment it’s very painful but then you forget about all the pain and you think it would be a good idea to have or do another one.”
A former Irish legionnaire who appeared briefly on the TV show commented that the kepi march is difficult, but that’s the way it is. “If it wasn’t hard, you wouldn’t be there. Blisters came out, and then blood came out.”
Sergeant Glenn Ferguson described the actual march across the Pyrenees: “180 km in 3 1/2 days; 18 hours a day march. You walk on these bloody stumps that were your feet. You know they’re in bad shape.” because you can feel it (the sergeant’s description was more colorful) but you keep walking and in about ten minutes your brain just shuts down and you keep going. In the end they had to cut off your boots, a lot of blood and a lot of blood. of skin”.
Finally, the three staff members and the remaining four volunteers, Bear, Bobby, Will and Loic finished the march and reached the Atlantic sea. Loic liked the symbolism of going through the desert and then landing in the sea. They all ran to the Atlantic to celebrate.
Later, all four were presented with the white kepi as a souvenir. They would not be allowed to use it, but they could keep it to remember their experience. Only true legionnaires could wear the white Kepi.
Loic had learned that at the end of the day he could live a very simple life in a filthy bed with a cold shower and that the materialistic issues that bother us mean absolutely nothing.
Bear, the leader of the volunteers, commented:
“We did not find the Beau Geste and the romantic myths of the legion. We found only pain, but out of that pain came pride and honor. Whatever you say against the legion, you must realize that for the people who pass through she brings a great sense of pride. And the strength of the legion is that it gives people family and pride and a second chance. It builds good things through hardship.”
The following key success lessons can be learned from this account:
Surround yourself with enthusiastic, hard-working people who want to be the best. Drive out the lazy and listless.
Take daily steps to get stronger in every way.
Push yourself beyond your imagined limitations
Keep smiling and stay affable.
Accept pain and difficulties as a path to strength
Remember past achievements by yourself or others.
Encourage each other and, if necessary, take small steps to reach your goals.
Don’t get carried away by excuses
