Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose

These are my notes from Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose. Each one contains a core idea from the book that stood out. The goal of writing my notes this way is that each could be it's own independent idea with the need for the specific context within the book.

Friends by Choice

Thomas Jefferson was known as one of the best entertainers. He charmed and delighted everyone he met. The secret to his overwhelming charm was choosing the right people to entertain. He surrounded himself with people that were educated, intensely curious, readers, and in constant pursuit of new knowledge. This created a conscious atmosphere of insights and laughter. Charming others became easy for Jefferson because the people he brought together did the work for him. John Quincy Adams once said, "You can never be an hour in this man's company without something of the marvelous." Had Jefferson not been selective in who he decided to befriend, his company would have been less valued. Interesting people tend to like interesting people.

The People Who Really Profit

The Lewis & Clark Expedition left St. Louis and headed up the Missouri River. They had entered undocumented lands. After two weeks of travel, someone called out "Prorogue ahead!" Three hunters came down the river with $100 worth of pelts and furs. This is the equivalent of $22,000 today. These men risked a lot to venture that far up the river into Indian country to collect these furs. It's not the men that took the hard work that profited the most though. They took the greatest risks and got the least reward. When the furs got to New York they would be worth 10x what they had made. When they got to China they'd be 10x more valuable than what someone would pay in New York. After it's all said and done these furs were worth more than $2,000,000 today, but the hunters that risked their lives saw only a fraction of that.

Speed Determines Possibilities

Everything that's possible is determined by the speed it is met with. Speed leads to adaptation. In the beginning of the 19th century, the possibilities were constrained by distance. Nothing moved faster than the speed of a horse. The greater the distance a horse needed to travel, the slower a response. No person, good, letter, information, or idea could move at a greater speed than what a horse could. With the invention of new innovations came new possibilities due to the increase in the speed at which things could move. Ideas rapidly evolved from the instantaneous speeds of the telegram. Society expanded from the invention of cars and roadways. The field of possibility and potential is controlled by the speed of transmission. Speed is the ultimate obstacle.

The Frontier Is Designed for Generalists

Specialization creates opportunities to solve for niche problems. Generalization creates opportunities to solve problems no one has before. Scott Adams popularized the idea of intelligently stacking talents — the Talent Stack. If done right, you become worth more than just doing a single thing. Jefferson was later asked why he chose Lewis to lead a cross-continent expedition instead of a qualified scientist. He responded by saying, "It was impossible to find a character who, to a complete science in botany, natural history, mineralogy & astronomy, who joined the firmness of constitution & character, prudence, habits adapted to the woods, & a familiarity with Indian manners I deemed requisite for this undertaking. At the latter qualification, Capt. Lewis had." Lewis had a remarkable ability to learn and stack the talents he needed. As a generalist there was no better person than him. Generalist exist "outside the box" of domain experts, yet there is no one better suited to solve frontier (novel) problems. It's as if Lewis's career was dedicated to this moment.

Constantly Consider Other Use Cases

Lewis was documenting the western part of North America. Rather than just record what he saw, Lewis was always trying to think of other uses for the things he encountered—what other value they provide. He took a tuft from a juniper and noted what great edging it would produce. People use it in that way today in suburbs across the country. Lewis wrote about how Buffalo herds ought to be used in place of cows. It never came about, but he was constantly thinking about how this new environment might provide value to the alternative way of life that existed in colonial America.

Destined for More: The Need for Vision

You don’t have to make every move right as long as you have the right principles and values; you’ll figure it out. Lewis was constantly learning and honing his craft. His hard work led to a success plateau, which many would be satisfied with. Yet Lewis had a vision for more — he knew he could do better. On his 34th birthday he wrote, “This day I completed my thirty-first... I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I record with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence, and now sorely feel the want of that information which those hours would have given me had they been judiciously expended.” Ending his note to himself with, “In future, to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself.” You don’t need to have it all figured out. Just have a vision for what you want to do and it will come with the right opportunity.

Blank Spot Thinking

Lewis was at one point within walkable distance of one of the greatest gold deposits in Helena, Montana. He missed the whole thing. In his mind, mammals, not minerals, were the greatest source of wealth the Rocky Mountains provided. He wasn’t even looking for gold. This was a blank spot in his thinking that he acquired from Jefferson since the Rockies were too far away for mining. Had he paid attention to the mineral deposits, he would have discovered one of the largest finds that existed during that time. This would have led to others discovering shorter and easier trails earlier. The timetable for Western development would have moved up a whole generation.