Unbroken is one of my all-time, favorite books so I was awaiting the
release of the movie with great anticipation.
Ahhh… Louie, what a story. What a
stellar human being.
The movie depicts Louis Zamperini’s
strength, strong will and the absolute desire to persevere.
Conviction
is to be unbroken - I
believe that it was his conviction that led Louie to excel and to survive. He
believed that he would catch Don Lash in the first qualifying race. He believed
that he would survive 47 days in a raft on the ocean, catching a shark with his
bare hands for food. He believed that he could hold a huge and heavy plank
above his head for hours. He believed that he could outwit and outlast his
captor. He had more than belief, he had conviction.
Finish
and finish strong - A theme that continued throughout Zamperini’s
life was his kick. He always found something – some way – to finish strong –
even in defeat. It’s how we finish that really matters. Having the right ‘road
map’ helps. Have a plan, know your end goal and whatever it takes – finish
strong to achieve it.
Control the
one thing in your life that you can – yourself - The
greatest threat to your future is the one from within. It is not what happens
to you but what happens *in* you that makes or breaks you. The one and only thing
that you can control is yourself. The secret of resilience starts with the
courage to control what you can.
It takes courage to resist self-pity and the
need to blame others. Louie controlled his own life – on the Olympic training
track, adrift in the Pacific for 47 days, and in a prisoner-of-war camp.
Set your vision and expectations - When Louie’s B-24 crashed into the Pacific
Ocean, there were only three survivors. After several days with no rescue in
sight, the chances for survival became grim. Louis and co-pilot Allen Phillips
continued to fight for survival. The other surviving crewmember, Mac, slowly
gave up and slipped away.
What we visualize and expect sets the
direction of our lives. Maybe you blew a big presentation today. The job
interview that you rocked never resulted in an offer. We are disappointed on a daily basis. Get over it. Each disappointment is only a
step forward to where we want to be. Continue to hold that ideal picture of
yourself and who you want to be. If you don’t stop, you will get there.
Lose the
selfishness - Life as a POW brought many horrible days to Louie and his fellow POWs.
Louie never lost focus of his mates. Sometimes,
we get so wrapped-up in our own problems and issues that we forget others. We
live and look at things in a vacuum. It’s good to get out of our own heads and
focus on others once in a while. By doing so, we serve others, get away from
our own problems, and give our spirit a much-needed boost.
Revenge is
rarely the answer - persevere through forgiveness – At the end of the
movie we learn that post war Louie returned to
Japan where he located and forgave his captors.
It is true –
hard times will make you better or bitter. Louie shows us what happens when a
person chooses to forgive.
Had Louie
not chosen to forgive his captors, he may have physically left the prison camp
in the 1940s, but he would have still remained enslaved to them for the
remainder of his life. I bet he never forgot though. Never. Forgive but never
forget.
My favorite
line in the move is made by one of Louie’s fellow POWs. He says, “We beat them
by making it to the end of the war alive. That’s our revenge."
Survival
and success is sweet revenge. Be resourceful, hardworking, always have a
contingency plan, seize opportunities, have unimaginable perseverance and
resiliency, and know that hate
and revenge cloud success.
I grew up in central PA and loved high school wrestling.
My Dad, an avid sports fan and football coach, would cart me and my friends off
to many wrestling matches to cheer for our classmates.
The murder of Olympic
wrestler David Schultz by multi-millionaire John du Pont
was well known to me. It happen just 220 miles away. I remember clearly that the guilty verdict was
announced on my birthday, February 25, in 1997. The unfortunate truth about the tragedy, now
a movie named Foxcatcher after the du
Pont estate in Newtown Square, PA— is that human beings are incompetent risk
managers. We find any reason to ignore obvious red flags. We readily accept
present flaws and self-proclaimed titles and accolades. We put up with fakeness
and worry too much about what others think of us. We fail to account for consequences.
When calamity, chaos and bad karma
strike, we vow to be smarter next time, but seldom are.
I didn’t love the book, nor the movie but if you dig deep, a few really strong
themes can help us all in the workplace.
Never ignore the red flags!
On paper, du Pont was a great guy. But in the
'90s, a few of his close friends reported du Pont was exhibiting erratic behavior.
After the murder of David Schultz, his lawyers claimed that he had begun to
mentally deteriorate after his mother's death in 1988. Those close to du Pont
reported that he believed there was a conspiracy to kill him. He referred to himself
as "The Holy Child", thought he was the Dalai Lama, paid people to
lose to him in competitions, and purchased ridiculous “toys” like a tank with a mounted machine gun. The
biggest glaring red flag -- du Pont doesn't quite
grasp that some people simply cannot be bought.
Yes, du Pont was odd and quirky. But, odd is not a red flag. Odd behavior is.
Listen to your gut.
If you see, hear, feel or sense what I like to call the red flags of
quirkiness…react. Get out! Move on! Stay clear!
The only person you need to impress is yourself!
In my opinion, the most disturbing scene in the movie takes place
when du Pont attempts to show off and impress his mother, a woman he craved
approval from his entire life. He holds a coaching session with Olympic-ready
wrestlers. But, he is no coach. He is weak, unskilled and not respected. He is
a farce and as he demos simple elementary moves to world-class athletes in
front of his mother, the entire squad is embarrassed for him and shocked
silent. The mother quickly exits and du
Pont stops his ridiculous lesson.
The
road to impress others with show-boating is a dead end. There is no need to impress people with expensive, shiny things. Go back to
the basics -- be clean, presentable, well behaved. The relationships you build
are based on you not on the material
items or pretend personalities. People
will either like you for you or they won’t – no amount of shiny, material
things will change their perception.
Just because you call yourself coach, doesn’t
mean you are!
John du Pont wants to be recognized as a
coach. He had limited skill and no attributes of a true coach and mentor. He
bought his way to the title. As the daughter of an extraordinary coach and
mentor, I cringe even at the thought.
Respect is earned my friends,
not demanded and certainly not purchased. Just because you want to be called queen, and
maybe you can even buy your way to the throne…does not mean you possess the finesse
to wear the crown. If you want to be a coach and mentor…earn it. Lead by example.
Have integrity. Give advice based on experience. Listen. Help others succeed.
Have a learning attitude. Know your own
strengths and abilities. Be independent. Be a continuous learner. Provide
guidance and constructive feedback. Value the opinions and initiative of
others. Motivate others by setting a good example. Educate. Care. Focus.
Produce.
Earn it!
