“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus
Picture the scene – our hero gets knocked off his horse and is face down in the dirt…
He lifts his eyes up and sees the enemies’ boots in front of him.
He knows it’s over…you’re on the edge of your seat, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere….
He’s rescued!
The cavalry is here!
That’s great for the movies – but that’s not real life.
The fact is…if you go through life waiting for the cavalry to come, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Today I’m going to share with you three ways dramatic shifts happen in the movies…but the truth is, there is likely only one of these three ways to see a dramatic shift in your own life.
Waiting For The Cavalary
We all love movies and stories where the cavalry saves the day….
Our lovable hero takes an ill advised action, perhaps they botch the plan or impatiently rush out to track down the bad guys with no plan at all…
Their typically rushed, arrogant and seemingly random decisions lead them to situations where you know they should fail – and that’s what it appears will happen. They end up being captured, or otherwise in a tight spot. It looks as though hope is lost….
We know that a happy ending is coming though – and Hollywood never disappoints
Eventually the cavalry arrives to save the day!
But is this a healthy attitude to take in your life? No.
Here’s why – our hero is a victim, waiting for something to come save them…even when it is clear that there is no reason for such an outcome.
They put themselves in a dire situation, and all of us watching know they’re stuck.
They have to be rescued or there will be no way out.
But the fact is – in life, the vast majority of the people, most of the time, have made it through making it for themselves. The more effort you put forth, the more opportunities you act on in your own life…the luckier you’ll seem to get.
The bottom line is…you need to live life not hoping the cavalry will come. You’ve got to live life knowing that you have what it takes within yourself – and if you don’t believe you have “it” within you, you’ve got to believe you can develop it!
Lets talk about another belief that holds people back from achieving their potential.
Wishing For The Lottery
The “lottery gamble” is an even bigger risk than waiting for the cavalry.
In this situation, I’ve seen people carry on their life as usual, and really make no effort to change.
They’re just hoping to get lucky.
They are not taking any type of ownership for their actions, their thoughts, or their future…and instead believe that if they just keep “waiting” – maybe, for some small percentage of people, they can get lucky and strike it rich.
Hoping to win the lottery is an approach where a person does not try to determine their own path. One where they aren’t taking responsibility for making things happen. They are just hoping that something amazing will happen with no related effort from themselves…
And while one out of millions actually hit a jackpot and win a lottery based on pure luck…most people will slowly lose all the money they spend on lottery tickets.
And in real life, if you’re waiting to hit the “dream lottery” – where your dreams just magically take shape, even though you didn’t earn them, the price you’ll pay is in lost time and regret.
But…there are some movie plots I do like, and that do reflect how success happens in real life.
It’s what I call…
The Fire
The fire is when you have something burning inside you and you make things happen.
You get knocked down? The fire lifts you back up.
Discouraged? The fire, the internal passion and motivation helps you push on.
Right place, right time? Overnight success? It looks like luck – but it isn’t. It’s the fire that has led you to be in that right place when everyone else gave up long ago.
It’s the fire that makes you an “overnight success” …. 3 years after everyone else’s flame was extinguished
Now, the movies have examples of all 3. Movies with incredible plot twists tend to romanticize the lottery and the cavalry
But in real life?
You need the fire.
You need to take action and be responsible for your own life journey
Nobody else will ever care about your projects as much as you will
So don’t wait for the cavalry to rescue you and don’t count on winning the lottery on pure luck.
Make your own luck.
Rescue your own dreams.
Stoke your internal fire.
In fact…I’m betting you’re getting more motivated and driven to go make something happen right now after you’ve read this.
Do you feel that motivation building inside you? Don’t let this moment pass.
Go make something happen!