The stories that are shared in Chapter 1 - Desire demonstrates how a burning desire to succeed is the most influential factor to your success. Napoleon documents one great story that stood out in my mind.

A warrior once made a decision which ensured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against an enemy who out numbered his own. Instead of retreating and logically analyzing the situation, the warrior ordered his men to fight and loaded his soldiers and their equipment onto boats and sailed to his enemies country.

Upon arrival, he then gave the order to burn the ships that carried them and said to his men “You see the boats going up in smoke. That means we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice. We win - or we perish!”

The army of men won.

This story highlights how burning all bridges behind you and forcing yourself into a situation where success is your only option - can bring out the very best in you. This is the level of desire Napoleon wanted to convey to us. You must be willing to burn all bridges behind you and do anything and everything to reach your goal. Once you do reach this point, success is assured.

I think the chapter Desire was placed at the very beginning of the book because of its sheer power. Desire is at the root of everything we do. You do not breathe on this planet unless you have a desire to live. You are continually coming up with new desires every single day of your existence; it is why the world keeps moving and why we continue to create new and greater things. As you live more and more contrast, more and more desires are born within you.

The real question is, what are you willing to do for those desires? And if you aren’t willing to burn all bridges behind you then are they really desires? Or are they only wishes?

Those who would win in any undertaking must be willing to burn their ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a BURNING DESIRE TO WIN, essential to success.