This is Why No One Will Remember Your Name: Why You Need to Do Hard, Difficult Things

There is an iconic scene in the old Hollywood blockbuster movie “Troy” starring Brad Pitt who plays the war hero Achilles. 

He is woken from bed to fight the champions of the Trojans, a massive sized warrior. The young messenger says: 

“The Thessalonian you are fighting, he’s the biggest man I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t want to fight him.”

Achilles responds: “that’s why no one will ever remember your name.”

The lesson is very stark to me. 

You can be a nobleman willing to risk his life in battle to save others. Or you can be a toiling peasant or messenger boy that just barely survives and ekes out a living, overlooked and unrespected. 

So how are ancient war heroes like Achilles relevant to modern day life? It’s highly relevant. 

Want to have a normal life without hardship. To be comfortable and not challenge yourself? To hide from pain and be unwilling to sacrifice anything. Unwilling to grow. 

That is why you won’t go anywhere in life. That is why no one will remember your name because you have had little impact at all. This is why I would hate living full time in Canada or Western Europe. It’s great to visit but I can’t last more than 2 weeks there. The level of complacency and laziness drives me berserk. And people there find me a bit harsh and intense so i’m probably not welcomed there either. 

This is why I prefer central and eastern Europe. Places where people generally have good work ethic and drive. Where they still want to do the work to better themselves. It’s because they have tasted bitterness as per Chinese parlance having grown up in the 90s when the Soviet Union completely collapsed. Unlike in the rest of Europe that has seen unprecedented levels of security,  prosperity and socialism that has engendered a crap environment of decadence, comfort and entitlement. 

Thankfully in this day and age, we usually do not have to fight anyone, although it’s probably a good idea to be trained for it just in case. So the person you are fighting is usually your own self. 

Facing Your own bad habits, your own sloth and laziness and comfort and crushing them completely. Anyone who has done anything worthwhile in life is willing to face his/her own fears and challenge themselves to take action. Actions to better themselves and to better the lives of everyone around you. Otherwise you are a coward and no one respects or honors a coward.