The Golden Spirit of St. Louis
For Charlie, becoming a legend was a matter of life and death.
Over churning dark waves of the angry North Atlantic, Charlie was in a do or die battle with exhaustion. Awake for more than 40 hours, his body craved sleep. His senses dulled by bitter cold, the drone of his engine and the monotony of endless seascape, sleep was one thing Charlie could ill afford.
In May of 1927, all alone in black Atlantic skies - with only a compass to guide him – succumbing to slumber would have been fatal.
As he chased a permanent horizon towards Europe, Charlie struggled to stay awake. With grim determination, he had flown more than 3,000 miles through rain, fog, ice, public criticism, his own second thoughts and self doubts.
When Charles Lindbergh departed Long Island, NY on May 20, 1927, he achieved what many had failed to do before him. A former barnstormer, he became the first solo pilot to fly a non-stop transatlantic flight, propelling him into aviation history. As the Spirit of St. Louis touched down at Le Bourget airfield in Paris, over 150, 000 spectators flocked to see how one man had traversed 3,610 miles in 33.5 hours. Between waking up and finally falling asleep, front page newspaper coverage elevated Charlie from obscurity to global celebrity. In doing so, “Lucky Lindy” established a timeless blueprint for the creation of all legends.
1. Becoming a legend demands 10,000+ hours of solitary, limelight-free, bloody hard work. It also involves great personal sacrifice while overcoming critics, naysayers and persistent, gnawing feelings of self-doubt.
2. Every legend in history is always prepared to “Do Hard Things”.
3. The story of the legend must be told and shared by other people on relevant media platforms that will be re-shared and reach critical mass.
Whether you are a pioneering aviator or son of a “Golden Jet”, these three principles apply to every discipline, every profession, every business or brand. From a personal point of view, the 1986-87 American Hockey League season afforded a rare, front-row seat to witness the birth of such a legend. Buckle up and let your imagination take flight with the “GOLDEN SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS” on this segment of Leaders & Legends.
“Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has encountered and the courage with which he has maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds”
p.s…. Sixty years apart, Charles Lindbergh alters the course of aviation history in much the same way Brett Hull altered the course of his pro hockey career.
Viewed by scouts as a "pudgy, fun-loving, music-crazed bum", Hull was passed over in two NHL drafts before being picked by the Calgary Flames in the 1984 Entry Draft, selected in the 6th round, 117th overall. His unlikely 50-goal season in Moncton earned him AHL All-Star and ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors which led to a roster spot with the big club in Calgary. Dealt to St. Louis in 1988, Hull would join his father as a Hockey Hall-of-Famer and become one of the most lethal snipers in NHL history, highlighted by an 86-goal campaign in 1990–91. Only Wayne Gretzky has scored more goals in a single NHL season than Brett Hull.
Charles Lindbergh’s story is similar in the sense that he was a college dropout and despite being the son of a US Congressman, had no great prospects or personal fortune to fall back on. But, he did have a passion for planes and secured a spot on the barnstorming circuit as a wing walker, parachutist and mechanic. He learned flying skills with the United States Army Air Service before becoming a mail pilot with frequent runs between St. Louis and Chicago. With $2,000 of his own money and a pair of loans, Lindbergh and his backers from the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce hired a San Diego-based company to design and build a monoplane from the ground up, for a cost of $10,580. The “Spirit of St. Louis" was designed with one thought in mind: to get to Paris. Extra fuels tanks were added to give the plane a maximum range of 4,000 miles, more than enough to reach Paris. Today, Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" is housed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU:
For the three reasons mentioned above. Refer to those three critical components and see how they relate to what you are trying to accomplish. In other words, while a lot of people out there feel they’ve been putting in the work, it’s impossible to become the legend of your category unless others are out there telling your story.
The unmistakable parallels between Charles Lindbergh and Brett Hull reveal themselves in a real-life story of a friend of mine who found himself in the crosshairs of a mid-life crisis. Undeterred, Bob went about the business of:
1. Doing a lot of unglamorous, lonely work while overcoming the inevitable external critics and internal insecurities.
2. Pushing through pain that makes others quit.
3. Taking proactive steps to share the story.
Bob Mueller’s story represents a one in seven billion shot, but in his case a little luck arrived in the mail when preparation met opportunity.
PLANNING A CONFERENCE OR SPEAKING EVENT?
Could enduring principles from the origin of legends be applied to your company or industry association? In the face of frantic, unforgiving change? BIG LITTLE LEGENDS offers a deeper dive into timeless principles that NEVER change. If you have an in-person event on the 2025 or 2026 horizon, watch the ‘Movie Trailer’ and discover the endlessly fascinating, universally applicable message of BIG LITTLE LEGENDS.
“Heroes get remembered. Legends never die” - BABE RUTH
APRIL/MAY SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:
March 30 – Baltimore, MD
April 2 – Baltimore, MD
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April 24 – West Palm Beach, FL
April 28 – West Palm Beach, FL
April 29 – Duluth, MN
April 30 – Des Moines, IA
May 5- Toronto, ON
May 13 – Minneapolis, MN
May 15 – Lacrosse WI
May 19- Sacramento, CA
For more information on scheduling an In-Person or Virtual Speaking Program, contact us here: bookings@gairmaxwell.com.
BRAND STRATEGY: ON PURPOSE & ON TRACK.
It’s been called a metaphorical road trip that is both journey and destination. THE BRANDING HIGHWAY is designed for larger companies and organizations looking to emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One.” This proven, market-tested process is an avenue for Executive Teams to discover both a highly distinctive Brand Identity as well as develop the foundation for your own Media Company. Impossible to describe. Filled with many twists and turns, here is a quick preview:
“No one remembers who took second place. That will never be me" -ENZO FERRARI
BIG LITTLE LEGENDS: SPOTLIGHTED IN FORBES 🌟
FULL THROTTLE VIDEO:
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