The French Foreign Legion was founded in 1831. Their spiritual home and old training centres are in the former colonial French North Africa although they now train mainly in Southern France. What made them the legendary force they were and still are? What success lessons can we learn from them?

Recently twelve volunteers chose to do four weeks basic training in Legion style in the Western Sahara desert. They were under the harsh but experienced and encouraging regime of three ex-legionnaires Wholesale Jerseys China , Sergeant Chef Peter Hauser, Sergeant Glenn Ferguson and Corporal Richard Sutter

Their experiences were filmed by Channel 4 TV and can teach us much about motivation and success. I have also talked with Sergeant Glenn Ferguson and gained some more insights into what motivated him and the other legendary legionnaires.

He joined the Legion at the age of 19. He was motivated at first by fear of punishment and then by pride. He hated to fail at anything and could also appreciate the pride of an elite group. One of his favourite sayings is:

"You will never be the best if you constantly have to lower the bar so the weaker elements can join"

Throughout the program the three ex-legionnaires appeared keen for some of the volunteers to ring a bell as a symbol of their wish to leave the group. They wanted to weed out the weaker elements. Legionnaires with low standards can get their fellow legionnaires killed.

Elite groups do not have the time to tolerate the weak or half hearted. They only want members who are willing to give 100% effort. They would rather that 'losers' (people who are lazy and half-hearted) did not join. Another saying of Sergeant Glenn Ferguson puts this well:

"If you didn't come to be the best Wholesale Jerseys , then stay with the other losers"

In the modern world where everyone must be encouraged to join everything, this seems to be very old-fashioned and elitist but note that this saying does in fact make sense even today. It is not saying that you must be the best before you join up.

You must just want to be the best. This leaves room for the less talented so long as they have the right attitude. Any weakness will soon leave them as they endure the pain of the tough training regime of the Legion.

As the Sergeant commented to his suffering prot?g's in the TV program:

"Pain is weakness leaving your body"

Several of the volunteers started the training as 'the weak' but ended up as 'the strong'. One former legionnaire commented in the program that when he entered the legion Wholesale NFL Football Jerseys , he believed he could do nothing. When he left after five years he believed he could do anything. Such belief is a key element in any success.

I was a teacher for over 30 years in London Comprehensive schools. Everyone is accepted into these schools whether they are 'weak' or 'strong'. They are all given the opportunity to learn. Unfortunately, a minority are not only 'weak'; they don't want to become 'strong' or are too lazy to become 'strong' and they don't want anyone else to be 'strong'.

When such lazy and disruptive pupils leave the school Wholesale Football Jerseys , the rest make much faster progress and can even enjoy their education. A touch of the French Foreign Legion attitude towards the half-hearted and disruptive might well improve our Comprehensive system.

Occasionally a 'loser' shows up in my martial arts classes; they don't want to work hard except at the bits they enjoy and they distract the others. I don't care about their ability or lack of it. The key factor is their attitude. Fortunately I am not forced by the Government to keep these students. I can either ask them to leave or give them a chance to improve.

I usually give them a chance but, if their attitude does not improve Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap , I am pleased when they go. I do not want the majority of the class with a keen attitude to lose their opportunity to concentrate and make speedy progress. Training with like minded people is the quickest road to success in any venture.

The French Foreign Legion does not usually give lazy people a second chance. They are out on their ear immediately or are quickly disciplined into accepting the rules.

I was impressed by the French Foreign Legion 'aperitif.' This took the form of 10 pull ups before the evening meal. The volunteers found this tough as most of us would.

Sgt. Glenn Ferguson explained that this 'aperitif' was important in battle. It is no use being able to travel miles on foot and then not being able to pull yourself up over a wall when you reached the place of battle. Upper body strength is essential for a soldier. One of the Sergeant's favourite saying makes the point:

A man who can't pull his own body weight is a waste of oxygen

I especially liked the 'aperitif' exercise because it involves daily effort at a precise time. Any consistent daily effort produces impressive results. Performing the drill before a meal or reward is also a great idea. Having an immediate reward after some action makes it easier to perform the action. Daily efforts are a key factor in any success story.

Sergeant Chef Peter Hauser, who had served with the legion's elite parachute regiment all over the world Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online , taught the volunteers about the weapons and tactics of the legion.

The volunteers were in similar territory (in the Western Saharan desert) to that in which the Legion in the sixties were the last line of defence as France 's colonial Empire crumbled.

Simon Murray was a legionnaire from 1960 to 1965. He described the huge amount of equipment a legionnaire had to carry:

"It is a tough life because you're carrying six days of rations. You were probably carrying about 40 kilos and you've got 4 hand grenades; you've got 200 rounds of ammunition; you've got a sten gun; you've got a couple of water bottles; you've got a shovel, you've got your sleeping kit and half a tent. You're quite weighed down and very often you are going u phil l a

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