The dichotomy of successful and unsuccessful people is displayed in a simple and horrific manner by Caldwell. Those who are successful withstand opposition, those who are not successful give in to opposition; those who are successful are welcomed into the elite of the Minute Men, those who are not are left to die. If these two endings were known to Durant and his friends, they probably would have all chose to be successful, but because the opposition was accompanied by uncertainty, as is the case in life, people gave up. Their desire to succeed was not as great as their desire to live.
Andrew Durant believes that the success of the Minute Men is more important than his life and the lives of his children. This devotion is explicitly expressed by the narrator's insight into durance's thought process, the narrator says, "If he spoke, now, he might rescue them from horrible death, but America would be the lesser for his betrayal" (Caldwell 13). Durant continues his silence, he would not divulge any information despite physical and mental torure. This devotion to his cause is what made Andrew Durant successful.
This drive for success that Durant has almost seems inhuman to me. Durant forgoes the possibility of saving himself and his family to uphold his responsibility to a cause, the re-liberation of America. This reminds me of a motivational speech that I have seen before (watch it below), in this speech Eric Thomas says, "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." This made it clear to me that to succeed you must be absolutely devoted to your goals. Wanting to succeed more than you want to breathe may be a hyperbole, and albeit counterproductive to success, but it leaves no doubt in mind that success requires an unparalleled sense of conviction. Andrew Durant has them, I emulate that. Conviction is not some esoteric trait that only the chosen possess, it is a choice.