Look Back to Get Ahead: Life Lessons from History's Heroes - Hardcover

In 2001, while climbing the treacherous K2 in the Himalayas, outdoorsman and online entrepreneur Jackson rescued his injured guide by carrying him to safety for five days under exceptionally dangerous conditions. According to the author, this life-changing incident motivated Jackson, founder of Europe's largest online retailer of outdoor products, to write this rather platitudinous guide to achieving personal success. He looks back at some of those he considers "history's heroes" to discover what characteristics enabled them to transform the world. He then ruminates on these qualities, mixing his comments with recycled pop psychology techniques that include working on one's self-image, selecting good mentors, confronting one's fears, developing imagery to communicate and using visualization to create a "cognitive map" of the journey to success. Jackson presents lively, gung-ho bios of the five combative, brutal yet indomitable historical figures he has chosen, but dubbing a mass murderer like Genghis Khan a hero may be off-putting for some. Among the lessons, we can look to Alexander the Great for the motivation to realize his dreams, Genghis Khan's wisdom in surrounding himself with talented people, Hannibal's ingenuity in strategizing, William the Conqueror's ability to act boldly and the strength of character that enabled the first Queen Elizabeth to transform herself from a powerless princess into an invulnerable sovereign. Readers who don't choose conquerors as their role models may want to look elsewhere.
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