The Little Prince

1.5K followers

3 years ago

In a reply to a recent post of mine Veronica mentioned The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. It was one of my favourite childhood books but it was not until I re-read it as an adult that its true messages came across. Perhaps we have to have had some experience of the trials of life to understand its nuances.

I’ll not spoil the story if you want to read it, it’s even on YouTube. A little boy lives alone on a tiny asteroid and visits all the planets including Earth. During his journeys he meets different people who each have a story about life to tell. That’s it, read the book.

For me, it is the author, Antoine De Saint-Exupery, who is one of my real-life heroes. He was born in Lyon, France, in 1900 and learnt to fly when he was 21 years old. Just five years later he had established himself as one of the early pioneers of long distance flight and was a real do and dare swashbuckler.

In 1935 he attempted to break the Paris to Saigon air speed record. Leaving Paris with his navigator/mechanic at his side they began their attempt but just 19 hours into the flight their little aircraft developed a fault and they crash landed in the Sahara desert. With only two oranges, a bunch of grapes and half a bottle of wine they had no idea where they were. Four days after the crash they were found by a Bedouin traveller who administered some secret desert treatment to combat their severe dehydration and saved their lives. He later wrote about his near death experience.

Saint-Exupery was in America when France was over-run by the Germans. He did not hesitate to enlist and to fight his part for his beloved homeland, despite suffering from many ailments and injuries from all the crashes that he had had. Stories are told that he would often read a book whilst flying across continents or write one his novels with his notebook on his knee, pencil in one hand and an occasional glance out of the cockpit window. Rumour has it that at the end of one trip he refused to land and circled the airfield several times until he had finished reading the last few pages of a novel.

Sadly, he disappeared on a flight over the Mediterranean Sea towards the end of the war, the remains of his aircraft and a few personal effects only being discovered in the last twenty years. He was awarded France’s top award for gallantry along with many other accolades and he is remembered in his home town, Lyon, where they named the airport after him; Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport.

For me he was a real, no nonsense, just go and do it adventurer. He would have brought a real get up and do it attitude to Wealthy Affiliate. He would be encouraging us all to have a go, to do the things we fear and to aim for the sky. If you have the opportunity to read his book, Wind, Sand and Stars, you will get a glimpse of what made him tick from this part auto-biography, part adventure story. In it he gives his opinions on what makes life worth living and how we should approach the challenges we encounter.

He was a man of many quotes, many that may well be relevant to ourselves in our journey here at Wealthy Affiliate and the following quote is of particular importance to us, especially for those that are expecting to make a quick buck …

You cannot plant an acorn in the morning and expect to sit in the shade of an oak tree in the afternoon.

And my favourite and most inspiring …

The one thing that matters is the effort

Have a great week everyone

Bux