Lessons from Simon Mann

Golden Ages do not simply descend upon us through the works of others. They are actively shaped by our own choices and actions.

“Opportunities Are Always There“

Simon Mann

I first learned about Simon Mann about a decade ago when I was in college, doing research on private security and private military contractors. Simon Mann passed away on May 8th—an adventurer and a mercenary, a rare figure in our times.

I still remember watching a documentary—though I’ve sadly forgotten the name—about Executive Outcomes and being glued to the screen, fascinated that a story like that could be real in our age.

For those unfamiliar, Executive Outcomes was a private military company founded in South Africa that participated in multiple conflicts across Africa, particularly in Angola and Sierra Leone during the 1990s. Unlike other private security firms that mostly provided logistical support or guarded installations, Executive Outcomes took on full-scale combat missions, reconquering territories and stabilizing governments that had nearly collapsed.

I came across Mann again through the interview Ash Milton did with him for Palladium in 2023. Both Mann’s interview and my article about the Mirage of European Sovereignty were featured in Palladium Magazine Volume 9.

I keep the physical copy on my living room and often find myself revisiting that interview because there's something deeply compelling and motivating in Mann's words. When I learned of his death, I immediately grab the magazine re-read the piece.

Swords for hire are as old as war itself, but they have always carried a tarnished reputation. It’s not my intention to change anyone's mind about them—whatever opinion you may hold.

Yet, they have always been objects of romanticism—I recently spoke about the Almogàvers as an example. Because despite narratives of mercenaries often veer toward the tragic or the grim, but there is another side to that coin, adventure, risk, and the raw pursuit of opportunity. 

Mann embodied that spirit, and that is what I find inspiring.

From the excellent interview that Ash conducted with him, Mann's answer to the closing question offers a key lesson we can extract from his life:

"It seems like history gives us these periods when a lot of people all seem to do interesting things. Today, it seems like there is a kind of pessimism everywhere, and in the UK especially. It seems to be declining. Is pessimism warranted?

"I don’t think it’s true. I think that the real stuff is going on all the time. And it’s just a question of which lens you use. I very, very clearly remember Tony Buckingham—my friend and one of the big players in this whole story—saying to me, 'God, Simon, it would be so much better if we could have been Elizabethans. We could have been pirates! We could have sailed the seven seas, we could have been catching Spanish treasure ships!'

And I said, 'No, no, no, Tony, don’t think that way.' Because the opportunities are out there. Obviously, it’s not going to be a sailing boat and a Spanish treasure ship. But it’s going to be something. It’s there. We have to be ready to grab it when it comes. I think the opportunities are always there."

I think he's right, and his words serve as a powerful antidote to nihilism and Decadentism. Yes, there are many things we can criticize about our era, and our age certainly has its faults. But in truth, this could be said of any period in history.

No matter where we look in history, if there were eyes to bear witness, we would always find inspiring stories of adventure and heroism, proof that those who have a spirit strong enough can always find their way.

The lesson: Golden Ages do not simply descend upon us through the works of others. They are actively shaped by our own choices and actions.

The only difference between a Golden Age and a Dark Age but the vision and actions of those who inhabit it. Borrowing from Mann’s own metaphor, even in the darkest times, there have been those who have found their ship full of gold. 

Of course, that does not mean that everyone can, should, or even will—despite their desires—become a mercenary like Simon Mann. And he was pretty clear about it: "You can’t just become a mercenary. You have to be a soldier first."

But perhaps many more should be open to pursuing life paths that entail greater risks and adventures than merely filling spreadsheets.

Sometimes people with relatively uneventful professional lives, when confronted with stories like Mann's, may react with a mix of distaste, envy, or even resentment. But there's something valuable in knowing that people like Mann still exist, even if we may never follow in their footsteps.

Knowing that there are still individuals living lives of adventure, braving the unknown, and seeking fortune where most wouldn't dare to look brightens the dullness of everyday existence.

Their existence proves that in our increasingly sanitized world there are frontiers that remain to be crossed and meaningful risks to be taken.

Even if such paths seem unlikely or unadvisable for the many, it's worth celebrating that this spirit of adventure persists. It demonstrates that even in our own small way, we too can carve paths toward discovery and opportunity.

It will always be better to live a life that knows that hope and adventure are not merely relics of the past but exciting possibilities in the present.

The lesson that Mann's life teaches us is that Golden Ages do not simply descend upon us through the works of others—they are actively shaped by our own choices and actions. And no matter how settled or chaotic the world may seem, "opportunities are always out there."