When I go on vacation I like to take a book that will fun to read, such was the case with Hannibal and Me: What History’s Greatest Military Strategist Can Teach Us About Success and Failure  by Andreas Kluth.  Now you may wonder how a book about a Carthaginian general who lived over 2,000 years ago could be pleasure reading but this book was fascinating.

All I could remember about Hannibal was that he crossed the Alps with a large army and elephants to invade Italy.  Kluth points out that Hannibal was undefeated in a series of tactical battles but never achieved the strategic goal of conquering the land.  The author examines the life of Hannibal and he provides insights by weaving in lessons from notable people from the past and present to illustrate success and failure.

A major theme of the book comes from Rudyard Kipling’s epic poem “If”:

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.”  

Success and failure are not always what they appear and we must keep the proper perspective.  Success may bring more problems than you realize and failure can actually lead to a great opportunity.   Looking at Hannibal’s life you will see yourself and realize opportunities for growth or dangers leading to stagnation.

Here are major lessons from the life of Hannibal the author points out:

1.    Stay balanced when others lose their balance.   Comparing Hannibal with Aikido master Morihei Ueshiba we see that success is not about being stronger than others but about being balanced and calm thereby letting opponents defeat themselves.

2.    Never confuse means with ends, tactics with strategy.  The author notes that a Pyrrhic victory may be the single greatest threat that talented people face.

3.    Have “young” ideas when you’re young and when you’re old.   As people age they tend to lose their creative ideas as evidenced by Hannibal, Picasso, and Einstein.

4.    Start maintaining an “old” self-discipline even while you’re young.  Young people who are successful especially need the wisdom of wise mentors to help them gain perspective.

5.    When disaster strikes, try to be “Fabian” (do nothing) at first and later “Scipionic” (take action).  Fabian and Scipio were two Roman leaders who enabled Italy to overcome Hannibal’s invasion.

6.    Part of success is adjusting your idea of what it is.  Success and failure will mean different things at different times over the course of one’s lifetime.  The author compares and contrasts the lives of Ernest Shackleton and Eleanor Roosevelt showing how we must reinvent ourselves in different seasons of life.

7.    See the best in people but protect yourself against the worst in them.   Great leaders can see the best in others but they must not be blinded by the pettiness and vindictiveness of others.

8.    Success means becoming a mensch.  Kluth defines a mensch as a whole, integrated human being.  This is what Maslow would describe as a self-actualized human being.

9.    Do your duty with equanimity.   This is finding your purpose in life and transcending the fear of failure or the yearning for success.

Success and failure must be evaluated against the backdrop of an overall lifetime perspective.  As the Apostle Paul recounted the history of the Israelites he warned,

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.  (1 Corinthians 10:11)

We can learn great lessons from those who have gone on before us and we can also hopefully avoid their mistakes.