The Perseverance and Prudence of Prussia
Today’s Job Market and Eighteenth-Century Warfare
Why are we talking about Prussia today? Because it’s my blog? Well, there’s more to it than that...It’s because I believe there are some valuable lessons we can take from the country’s history that might be more relevant to our daily lives more than ever. With how competitive the job market has become, only the cream of the crop will be able to rise above the competition. What does 1700’s warfare have to do with this? The better question you should be asking yourself is, “How did Prussia, a tiny vassal state of Poland, eventually become one the most formidable countries in Europe?”
I’ll give you the short-hand answer to both of these questions: discipline.
The Rise of a Nation
In 1655, the tiny state only had a standing army of 25,000 men. In less than a century the number would explode to over 80,000 (still a paltry amount when compared to their Slavic rivals in the East).
Eventually, Poland would offer Prussia its sovereignty if they would help repel the invasion of the aggressive and powerful Swedish army (those were different times, huh?).
Earning the nickname, “an army with a state”, the key to Prussia’s rise to prominence was their investment in the military. Eventually, they would become the dominant force that led to a unified Germany.
It all changed with the emergence of Fredrick the Great (if you read last week’s post, get used to everyone being called “the great”…why not “the awesome”, “the amazing”, or “the magnificent” is beyond me. Historians aren’t the most creative title-givers…)
Want to know more? Here’s a fun video that goes into Prussia’s rise in more detail by History Matters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzYfkezHp3k
Be Like Fredrick
When inheriting Prussia, he could have made plenty of excuses such as:
- “We don’t have the raw manpower like Russia to be a powerful army.”
- “Our navy isn’t developed enough to even come close to challenging England’s command of the sea!”
- “We can never receive the same level of prestige and respect that the French military has.”
(I know I already made this joke but times have really changed, huh?”
Instead, Fredrick was proactive and decided to emphasize discipline, above all else, when it came to his military and his economic practices. He stored grain reserves for seasons of drought and famine, bolstered free trade within his lands and pushed his army farther and harder than anyone else.
Where did this extra money get invested in? You guessed it, upgrading the quality of the military!
Moral of the story?
Instead of excuses, Fredrick found solutions.
- Not enough manpower? Guess our soldiers will need to outclass the Russians with the sheer quality of our soldiers instead of our quantity.
- Not a strong navy? Guess we will just focus on being the most powerful army on land.
- Not as prestigious as the French? We’ll earn the respect and fear of our neighbors in time…
Applying It To Our Lives
I’m proud of the progress and strides we have made in our society, don’t get me wrong. However, our generation has seemed to embrace a passive mindset when it comes to dealing with problems and inconveniences of daily life.
I was lucky enough to have a few Fredricks in my college career that taught me perhaps the most valuable lesson in my life: If there is a hurdle that stands in your path, don’t just accept it…solve it. We are more capable than we think. We have our own Prussia military waiting inside of us, ready to burst out.
Looking back, I had potential as a student, but it was these few people in my life who instilled in me the most valuable skill I have taken from college that changed my mindset for the better. The skill? Discipline.
Prussia and Fredrick the Great teaches us that if we want to:
- Be the best in our respective fields
- Become the “cream of the crop” in today’s cut-throat, competitive job markets
- Be successful in today’s ever-shrinking world
We need to consistently cultivate our strengths and advantages, and not accept “no” as an answer.
If you look closely, history can be pretty inspiring sometimes.
I hope this post will get you thinking and inspire you to become one of the future Fredricks who will pass this immortal lesson of life onto the next generation.
