In 218 BCE, during the Second Punic War, the great Carthaginian general Hannibal led his army from modern-day Spain all the way to Italy and toward Rome, in one of the most famous military achievements in history. As the troops neared the daunting peaks of the Alps, Hannibal’s generals warned him they would not be able to cross the mountain range with the horses and elephants they brought with them. Refusing to be deterred, Hannibal responded with the quote above: “Aut inveniam viam aut faciam.” He and his troops forged their own path across the mountains, and continued their march through Italy.