Many people have been successful throughout their lives, but what makes them succeed? In The Thirty-Nine Steps, a man named Richard Hannay dodges assailants, captures criminals, and fights to get to Scotland, all in the name of saving his country from having top-secret naval plans exposed in the upcoming World War. He struggles through hardships such as getting locked into a jail cell, and has many near-death experiences like almost falling off a cliff in his car. He feels defeated, but always gets back up and continues cracking the cipher in Mr. Scudder’s notebook and running away from his pursuers called the Black Stone. But still, despite a highly capable team of spies pursuing him, a warrant for his arrest, and all the odds being stacked up against him, he still succeeds in his quest to alert the country about the threat of these special spies. Why does he succeed? He succeeds because he’s determined, allowing him to try his best and hardest, he’s passionate and patriotic, giving him such a strong sense of loyalty to his country he feels it would be betraying them to give up, and he’s smart and athletic, allowing him to bypass obstacles that could confound an ordinary man.
Determination is the driving force behind most rash decisions, but it ultimately leads to success if you keep on trying and persisting. When you keep on trying, you may fail, or have a tough time succeeding, but you can learn from your mistakes and carry on. This persistence is the key to success. In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Richard kept on going, even after his adventures had left him sweating as he narrowly avoided the police and his pursuers. He had had a man murdered in his apartment, yet he attempted to carry on Mr. Scudder’s mission, out of some respect and some patriotism. He had to endure through tortuous moments such as the fear that the bomb he had made would blow himself up, and even when he was confronted by some police, but was glib enough to talk his way out. This determination can help us accomplish great things, and is one of the key reasons for Richard’s success. His other traits may have helped him, but persistence allowed him to carry on Mr. Scudder’s mission. Persistence is a trait that is crucial for success, as it allows you to improve from your mistakes.
Patriotism can make people make decisions that allow them to act to the best of their ability, and passion will make you try harder to succeed. These two traits make people more courageous and brave in times of need. Patriotism will make you fight threats to your country more intensely, and passion will make you more powerful. In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Richard knew that the threat from the spies was that they could expose the plans that were laid out in preparation for the next World War, making it easier for countries to sabotage them and find counterattacks. Hannay was very patriotic, so that made him do everything he could to bring the Black Stone down, and to save his country from falling into ruins at the start of the War. His passion came from the thought that these men had killed Mr. Scudder, and are now trying to kill him along with the rest of London. Passion and patriotism are an amazing combo combined, and are two of Hannay’s key character traits. They made him more powerful and intense, and kept him from giving up. Patriotism and passion are both great traits that can make you more loyal to your country and more able to fight for it in dark times.
Athleticism and intelligence are two helpful characteristics that can make defeating barriers much easier, by allowing you to find easier solutions and making it easier to act on them. Being athletic can make you able to run from pursuers, and hide from police, much less difficult. And being smart can make you able to find nifty ways of escaping your enemies. In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Richard had been trapped by his enemies, but thanks to his intelligence, he managed to confuse them sufficiently so that they didn’t kill him on the spot. In his cell, he then found lentonite, which he knew from his mining engineer days that he could use it to blow a hole out of the wall, and then escape. He did this, and managed to run a half dozen miles in his weakened state just to escape. Being smart is quite terrific if you happen to also be athletic. These two attributes will make it easier to achieve all your goals, at minimum effort. That’s why these two characteristics are key to Richard’s success.
The Thirty-Nine Steps is a book that teaches you many of the traits needed for success, and has an interesting plot that keeps you turning the pages. Some of the crucial traits for success are determination, which allows you to learn from your mistakes and keep on trying, passion, which allows you to be stronger and braver when the situation is bad, and patriotism, which allows you to be loyal to your country and more decent and persistent. Another two traits that make you prime for success is intelligence and strength, which allows you to find easier solutions to problems, and your athleticism will allow you to act on it professionally and finish the job. These attributes make you braver in the face of danger, and smart and strong enough to get out of danger. The Thirty-Nine Steps is a great book that was masterfully written to teach people how to become successful, even if it is dangerous.
Comments