Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.

The words of Werner Herzog — "Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life." — resound like a riddle, yet they hold within them the thunder of timeless wisdom. For Herzog, the act is not literal alone, but symbolic: it is the call to undertake a task so vast, so unreasonable, so filled with hardship, that it stretches the soul beyond its ordinary limits. In the vision of dragging a boat over a mountain, there is struggle, there is futility, and yet there is triumph — for in such impossible efforts, man discovers his truest strength.

The origin of this quote lies in Herzog’s own filmmaking, most notably his work Fitzcarraldo, where the impossible was made real. In that story, a man dreams of building an opera house in the Amazon jungle and resolves to drag a massive steamship over a mountain of earth to reach a river beyond. Herzog, refusing the illusion of special effects, demanded that the ship actually be hauled across land. What to others seemed madness became a living metaphor for human willpower. Out of this labor, the director’s words were born: that each of us must, at least once in life, attempt something that defies reason, in order to know the depths of our endurance.

History gives us mirrors of this truth. Consider Hannibal, who led his army, elephants and all, across the Alps to strike at Rome. The world thought it could not be done, but Hannibal’s will reshaped what men believed possible. Or recall the journey of the Israelites, who wandered through wilderness and hardship for forty years before reaching the Promised Land. Their wandering was not merely punishment, but preparation — the forging of character through trial. In these examples, we see what Herzog means: there is a kind of greatness that can only be born in the shadow of the impossible.

Yet Herzog’s words are not only about monumental deeds of war or empire; they are about the personal mountains each soul must cross. For one, the boat may be the burden of illness borne with courage. For another, the mountain may be poverty overcome through perseverance. For still another, it may be a great dream pursued despite ridicule and despair. The outward shapes differ, but the essence is the same: the human spirit grows strongest when tested by tasks that seem beyond it.

The meaning is deeply emotional. The world today tempts us with comfort, ease, and shortcuts. But ease never forges strength, and shortcuts never reveal greatness. By calling us to pull a boat over a mountain, Herzog calls us back to struggle, to sweat, to the kind of hardship that strips away illusions and reveals who we truly are. Without such trials, a man may live safely but die untested. With them, he may suffer, but he will know his soul.

The lesson is clear: do not fear the impossible task. Do not shrink from challenges that seem absurd or overwhelming. When life places a mountain before you, and your heart trembles at the thought of carrying your boat, do not retreat. Embrace it, for such labors are the crucibles of greatness. The mountain may break your body, but it will awaken your spirit. And when you look back upon your journey, you will see that the weight was not your enemy, but your teacher.

What, then, should you do in practice? Choose a mountain. Take on at least one task in your life that demands more than comfort allows — a task that stretches you into pain, doubt, and perseverance. Endure without surrender. And when you see another struggling with their impossible burden, lend a hand, for we all share in this journey of dragging boats across mountains.

Thus let this wisdom endure: every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life. Not for glory, not for riches, but to discover what lies within. For the measure of a life is not in how easily it is lived, but in the mountains we dared to climb, and in the burdens we had the courage to carry.