King Arthur

June 29, 2021 by Russ

King Arthur

Life-changing legends & mystical swords—Slaying your personal dragons

Arthur Pendragon, aka King Arthur, was King of Britain “sometime” prior to the 11^th century. ¹ Virtuous ruler of Camelot, head of the Round Table, husband to Guinevere—legends regarding Arthur abound.

Perhaps the most famous Arthurian legend is the one involving Excalibur, the Mystical Sword of War. According to Mallory’s 15^th century account, the sword had been magically fixed within a stone. As the story goes, Arthur was the only person able to withdraw Excalibur from the rock. ² And get this: he was merely a boy at the time!

No self-respecting Arthurian legend would be complete without a wizard. Enter, Merlin Ambrosius. Now, you might have heard of ol’ Merle before because he made quite a name for himself in Camelot. It was, according to legend, Merlin who raised young Arthur, preparing him for kingship. ³ By some accounts, it was also Merlin who embedded Excalibur in the stone (in order to prove Arthur as rightful king). ³

It was also Merlin who predicted that Britain would defeat the invading Saxons. He based his prediction (which later proved accurate) upon the antics of two dragons engaged in mortal combat. ³ Speaking of dragons—how do those flying fire hazards factor into our favorite legends of old? Apparently, the fire-breathing serpents were quite a nuisance. Thus, we have other stories of certain knights, including Lancelot and Tristan, working to rid the realm of those dreadfully destructive, utterly despicable dragons. ^{4, 5, 6}

Lancelot and Tristan aren’t the only ones needing to slay a dragon or two. I can remember back to my early days in the networking profession . . . As a software engineer, I’m a fish out of water. The Internet isn’t yet a thing. No email, no mobile phones, we don’t even have marketing videos. Everything we do is manual and in-person. When I say, “I was a fish out of water,” I mean I was gasping for breath.

When I got started in Networking-Marketing, we used to have something called “home meetings.” A home meeting is when a rep would host an opportunity presentation in their home. The idea being that the rep invites a group of friends and family to their home to check out a business opportunity. A member of Rep’s upline would do the talking and draw out the comp plan. Today, home meetings have been replaced by online Zoom calls, but back in the day, home meetings were a good way to knock out multiple exposures at one time.

After I sponsor a few people, I find myself in the role of upline. I can see the handwriting on the wall. Very soon, I’m going to have to be the one in front of the room. I’ll be forced to play the role of presenter at downline home meetings. I am not looking forward to it. I’m comfortable in a one-on-one setting, but in front of a crowd—not so much. The fact is I dread it.

Greatly.

I share my dread with Larry. Larry is my upline and mentor. He’s a sharp cookie. He also happens to be immersed in personal development. So, while he may not be King Arthur, he is a legend in my mind. I learn something new every time I’m around him. I trust Larry, so I explain my fear of presenting in front of a group. He listens intently. He nods at all the right times. His empathy is genuine. Finally, I run out of things to say.

Only then does Larry respond. “I know just how you feel. I used to feel the same way. Would you like me to share what I learned?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Okay. Here it is . . .

You can only stare at the dragon for just so long. Sooner or later, you have t’ draw your sword and start to slayin’.

He let this thought sink in for a moment and we went on to talk it through. I learned an important lesson that day. I learned that fear is a natural part of life. It’s an integral part of the human experience. Some fears run deep and have to be addressed with a specific strategy. Other fears, like the one I’m describing here, are just as real, but they’re more superficial. With these fears you just have gut it up and fight your way through. Trust me, I know this is easier said than done. But here’s what else I know: the dragons don’t care.

None except Puff, that is. Peter Yarrow introduces us to Puff the Magic Dragon in his 1962 hit song of the same name. It’s a catchy tune about the loss of innocence that takes place as a child grows and transitions to maturity. I won’t claim to be innocent when I got started in networking, but I certainly needed to grow in certain areas. Conversations like the one above with Larry are a part of that growth.

That day with Larry was a turning point my life. That was the day I take hold of my sword. I grasp the hilt in a double-fisted grip and draw it in preparation for battle. It isn’t easy because the blade weighs a ton. Plus, it feels like it’s stuck in concrete. I keep pulling though, and eventually, out it comes. Once I make up my mind to join the battle, once I decide to decide to conquer my fear, something amazing happens. That ol’ red dragon of dread scrambles. It simply scurries away. Oh, it slinks back every now and then; it occasionally raises that scaly scarlet head of his, but now I know how to defeat him.

In 1979, the June issue of Omni Magazine included an intriguing article titled “Flight of the Dragon.” ⁷ In it, the author, Peter Dickenson, presented a fascinating case for the existence of dragons in times gone by. He accounted for all the popular elements found in dragon lore (breathing fire, taking flight, malodorous lairs, etc.). His explanations were based more on science than supposition. Truly fascinating stuff.

Is Dickinson correct? Are historical accounts of dragons true? Did the dreaded serpents really exist? We may never know. One thing is for sure, though: Internal dragons are very real. I know this because I’ve slain several of them.

How about you, my friend? Do you have a dragon that needs slayin’? The best advice I can give is the same advice Larry gave me all those years ago . . . Decide to decide to face your dragon. Head on, face-to-face. With some fears, all you have to do is draw your sword.

Turns out, Puff the Magic Dragon isn’t so magical after all.

–RM

Note: Prospecting has a way of highlighting fears of which we might not otherwise be aware. Many of these fears must be dealt with through the application of a specific strategy. The Critter Lessons Series explains this strategy and then goes a step further by sharing step-by-step instructions on how to use it to overcome your own fears and reluctance.

References

Britannica, Editors of Encyclopedia. Arthurian legend. Encyclopedia Britannica (2021). https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arthurian-legend.
Britannica, Editors of Encyclopedia. Excalibur. Encyclopedia Britannica (2021). https://www.britannica.com/topic/Excalibur-Arthurian-legend.
Myths and Legends, Editors. Merlin. MythEncyclopedia. http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Le-Me/Merlin.html (n.d.).
Currin, N. Sir Lancelot. KingArthursKnights. https://kingarthursknights.com/knights-of-the-round-table/sir-lancelot (2019).
Ashliman, D. Tristan and Isolde. Pitt.edu. https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/tristan.html (2013).
History Extra, Editors. King Arthur: 6 things you need to know about the warrior king and his legend. HistoryExtra. https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/king-arthur-facts-real-round-table-holy-grail-death-buried-lancelot-guinevere (2020).
Dickinson, P. Flight of the Dragon. Omni Magazine 1, 96-101 (1979).

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