It’s time to be real with you, Workout Hero, it takes courage to hit those workouts…
… especially when you “don’t feel like it.”
Courage to choose your health and well-being over what feels good right now.
Courage to do what you know you must in honor of your loved ones.
Have you seen the award winning Oppenheimer movie yet?
If you’re into American history at all…
… then this movie is right up your alley.
It was first a race between the Americans and the Germans to develop the Atomic bomb.
With the Germans having a 2 year head start and one of the most brilliant scientist on the planet in Heisenberg on their side.
We had Oppenheimer.
There’s a scene in that movie that was real small…
… but hinted at some of the intelligence the Americans got on Heisenberg and his progress.
Don’t want to spoiler alert it for you, but just know that Oppenheimer and the Americans received some good news on where the Germans were in their research.
They didn’t say it, but maybe that intelligence came from an unlikely, and secret Hero from World War 2.
He needed to muster every ounce of courage for the biggest decision of his life that would determine the fates of at least 4 superpowered countries. (maybe even the world 🌎)
That unlikely hero was Morris Berg, or better known by his nickname of “Moe”.
In the sprawling saga of World War II, where heroes and spies often leap out of the pages like characters from a high-stakes thriller, Moe Berg stands out…
… not just for his espionage adventures but for the sheer improbability of his story.
Imagine a Major League Baseball catcher turned James Bond, except with more languages under his belt than home runs.
(“Name’s Berg… Moe Berg”😊)
Moe Berg, born in 1902, was no ordinary baseball player.
With a brain sharper than the spikes on his cleats, he spoke several languages and had a law degree from Columbia University.
His baseball career was respectable, playing for teams like the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox, but let’s be honest, his batting average was more “meh” than “wow.”
However, it was his work outside the ballpark that would make Hollywood screenwriters do a double-take. (I do believe they made a movie about this guy’s story)
As World War II turned Europe into a chessboard of espionage, Berg swapped his catcher’s mitt for a cloak and dagger…
… joining the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—the CIA’s less digital, more analog grandfather.
His mission?
To figure out if Nazi Germany was about to add “nuclear bomb” to its arsenal of bad ideas.
Enter Werner Heisenberg, a leading physicist and the man who could make or break Hitler’s atomic dreams.
Berg’s mission was straight out of a spy novel: attend a lecture by Heisenberg in Zurich and, if it turns out the Nazis were on the brink of atomic annihilation, politely excuse himself from the lecture and assassinate Heisenberg.
Berg was armed with a pistol and a cyanide pill in order to get the job done.
So there was Berg, sitting in a Swiss lecture hall, trying to blend in.
You can almost picture him, pretending to be fascinated by quantum mechanics, nodding thoughtfully while secretly wondering what he would do.
Heart beating out of his chest, trying to control his sweating. 😰
Millions of lives at stake on this one decision.
Generations of children’s destinies in his hands and resting on his decision.
Here’s a hero who needed to muster every once of courage he could.
To not only make a very difficult decision, but to take the action necessary to carry it out.
His orders were clear: if Heisenberg gave any indication that the Nazis were close to building a bomb, Berg was to ensure he had a really bad day.
Even if it meant his life forfeited.
But as Heisenberg droned on, Berg faced a dilemma. How do you decide if someone’s close to building an atomic bomb based on a lecture?
It’s not like Heisenberg was going to say, “And in conclusion, thanks to our work, we’ll have a bomb ready by Tuesday.”
No, Berg had to read between the lines, relying on his gut feeling and probably wishing he’d paid more attention in science class to Mr. Cook.
In the end, Berg made a call that would make any poker player proud: he folded.
Deciding that the Nazis were nowhere near building an atomic bomb, he chose not to turn the lecture into a murder scene.
This decision was less about the thrill of espionage and more about the sober realization that maybe, just maybe, killing a leading physicist based on a hunch wasn’t the best idea.
What would you have done, my dear Workout Hero?
Moe Berg’s story is a remarkable chapter in the annals of “stranger than fiction.”
After the war, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom, which he turned down.
So here’s to Moe Berg: the only spy in history who could both call a game behind the plate and potentially save the world, all without breaking a sweat.
The next time you, my fellow Workout Hero, need to muster up a little courage to get the job done… (or need courage to NOT do something, as was the case in the story here)
… just think of that Moe and the predicament he found himself in. 😊
With that, I bid you a bold good-bye…
You stay classy now.
By the way, I bought a new thesaurus last week. Not only is it terrible, it’s terrible. 😅
Your Guide & biggest fan,
Erick
p.s. Your Awesome Future Awaits!