Five miles a day: 'Shackleton' starring Kenneth Branagh and Matt Day

The explorer Shackleton and his crew set out in 1914 to cross Antarctica on foot with a team of dogs. The ship gets trapped in ice and eventually sinks.

The 28 men, many of whom who have never travelled over ice before, have to face the prospect of giving into feelings of hopelessness and eventually drowning when the ice melts or working as a team to achieve an almost impossible goal. In desperation they try and drag their life boats across pack ice to land 85 miles away. The leader of the expedition, Shackleton manages to get his men focussed on their desired outcome and then gives them the slogan, "Five miles a day!" They barely manage 1/2 a mile per day but they persevere. Then the ice melts and they find themselves stranded on an ice flow. Abandoning their sledges and dogs the men attempt to row towards Robinson island some three days travel away. Finally they reach the tiny island. Most of the men remain on the island while Shackleton and six men set out on a two week journey in a small row boat towards a whaling station on the mainland.

Many times the men are faced with the seemingly impossible task of reaching their desired outcome. If they procrastinate or give into feelings of helplessness then they will certainly die but Shackleton gives the men a vision of a possible future, with a date stamp, and then motivates them to take action. The men are forced to tap into energy levels that they never even knew existed. They learn to move beyond their limiting beliefs and just go with their raw life energy. The film, based upon true events, demonstrates what can be achieved when a group of people share and maintain a singular goal.

If you want to develop your leadership qualities and motivate your team to achieve extraordinary outcomes then watch this film and practise identifying with Shackleton. To learn specific modelling techniques so that you can take on the attributes of the character Shackleton you are invited to attend Zen and the Art of Living. If you are unable to attend the workshop then you may like to purchase the training manual which should be available soon for purchase at www.rejoiceinlife.com.

Abby Eagle 23/05/2007