attractive offer.

What do you do?

Many sway.

Many doubt their decision and stay put.

I say BURN THE BOATS!

Personally and professionally you are always better to show commitment and continue to move forward on a specific career track than to hesitate and stay put.

If history is designed to teach us anything, it shows us why 'burning the boats' is instrumental to a person's success.

Here's 3 historical examples to 'Burn The Boats' so you can decline the counteroffer and move forward with ease…

The Aztec Conquest

You only have to review the story of Hernan Cortez to understand this analogy. In 1519, the Spanish explorer wanted to capture the treasure that the Aztecs were holding. In order to meet his goals, he landed 11 ships on the Yucatan shore with 500 soldiers and over 100 sailors. Despite the large contingent of soldiers, he was still greatly outnumbered by the large Aztec empire on shore.

Some of the men in Cortez's army questioned his leadership feeling that his nearly impossible mission would only end in failure. These ringleaders plotted to seize some of the vessels to escape to nearby Cuba.

When Cortez learned of these plans he made it impossible for the conspirators to get away, making sure everyone was devoted to one united plan. Cortez gave the command to burn his own ships.

Naturally, the men at first resisted this seemingly insane directive as they knew they weren't going to be able to return home. Cortez's response was “well then, if we want to return home we are going to have to take their ships!”

His plan was simple - with their own ships taken out of the picture any possibility of failure was also removed. They would have to have 100% dedication to the cause so they could succeed and take their enemies ships to return home.  And they did exactly that.

Alexander the Great

Approximately 1,000 years before Cortez's Aztec conquest, Alexander the Great also burned his vessels when he and his army arrived on Persian shores. By burning the boats, the great general committed his army to winning over the Persians who greatly surpassed Alexander's army of men.

Considering what Alexander and his men were facing, burning the ships seemed implausible. However, just like Cortez, the great general was able to reach his goals by using this strategy to get his team to fully commit.

The Battle of Julu

Back in 208 BC, in the ancient Battle of Julu, General Xiang Yu also understood this precept well. “Break the kettles and sink the boats!” was a command that committed the Chinese army to forge ahead without turning back.

When the General's small army travelled across the Yellow River in order to reinforce Julu, his 50,000 men were poised to go up against 400,000 Qin army soldiers.

Knowing that his small population of men would need to fight hard, Xiang Yu ordered them to salvage three days of food before destroying the cooking utensils and kettles and sinking their own boats.

Like the other previously mentioned historical feats, everyone was past the point of no return or from backing down from what was now an obvious commitment.

Commit to the Cause – How “Burning the Boats” Works in Business

All of these examples show instances where leaders and their teams succeeded by fully committing their activities to achieving their goals. Without this determined attitude, they would not have achieved what they had set out to do. Not diminished by challenges, fear or hesitation by other seemingly “safer” options, they were committed to their cause.

While the idea of “burning the boats” today is far removed from our daily careers, it conveys a spirit that makes it possible for people to remove doubt so they can go forth with their career plans and goals.

In fact, business expert Tom Peters has suggested that each company support the “burning the boats” strategy by employing a CDO, or Chief Destructive Officer.

If you want to succeed in your career you need to take on the role of the 'advancing job performer'.  Don't get stuck, don't be overcome by doubt; burn the boats so you can't consider a counteroffer from your former employer and focus on the many opportunities that now awaits you in your new career.