With the Oscar Awards a little over a month away, it's a good time to look at the awards in perhaps a different light: what your favourite films can teach you about success in life.
1. Have a good story: "What's your story?" Every great film writer at some point in his or her life have been asked that question--and it's a mighty important one. Whether you're pitching a film to an agent or pitching an idea to a prospective client, your ability to weave your ideas and your life into a narrative that stimulates conversation and even intrigue is an important life skill for success. It's good to learn to become a bit of a story teller. There are all kinds of books and even TED Talks online that will help you.
2. Get an agent: Is there a person in your life you is your greatest advocate? Who truly gets you and can help open doors, whether it's to other relationships, clubs you want to join, a job at a great company, or a new career move? There are always advocates around, and they may even be people in your community who you don't know, or do know but are seemingly unapproachable. It's never a bad thing to make new relationships and connections, to widen your net and meet people who can help you open doors. What else is LinkedIn for?
3. Choose your cast wisely: A great Oscar-winning movie usually has an amazing cast--outstanding actors who can take the words on a line of script and transform them into something awe-inspiring. It is important to find those people in your life by whom you can be influenced, and who can take your life, your story, and help you live it to your full potential. We all need mentors and supporters, advocates and confidents along our way.
4. Don't underestimate the soundtrack: A soundtrack can make or break a movie--if the music's off, the whole performance can become awkward and undesirable to sit through. What you listen to, the music you play, can impact your mood and your thoughts. There is a lot of research on the power of listening to Baroque music while studying, reading, writing, or relaxing--the tempo of the music can stimulate brain activity that enhances retention. As well, listening to depressing or dark or aggressive music can shape our emotions and thought-patterns. Choose the soundtrack that accompanies your life wisely.
5. Wardrobe can be fun: The wardrobe of a movie can go a long way. You've heard the tired old maxim, "dress for success," but there could be something to it. I'm not suggesting to seek out pretension in how you dress, but if you enjoy your own sense of style, or enjoy a little fashion more than the next person, then this can be an important way of expressing who you are. To repress that could actually lead to a lower sense of self-efficacy or self-confidence. Obviously as humans we are much deeper than the surface of our clothes; but it can be fun to wear things you really like.
6. Props help: Props as part of the overall set of a movie are important in their subtlety. As humans, we are tool-users and makers (we have been for 30,000 years), and as such, we can gain enjoyment and satisfaction through the gear we carry around, and the things we have around us. For some, it might be a fine pen and bottle of ink, for others antiquarian books, for others the latest mobile device. When applied to our living and work spaces, the tools we use, the kinds of furniture and how it's all set up can increase or decrease our satisfaction, comfort, and creativity.
7. Setting can make all the difference: Richard Florida wrote a book a number of years ago entitled, "Who's Your City?" which showed the importance, demographically, of the city you live and work in. His research showed that people living in larger, more diverse and creative cities lived lives of higher satisfaction than those who lived in small towns, particularly in terms of the jobs they had, their earning potential, and overall quality of life. But maybe for you being an urban dweller has grown tiresome and stressful, and you yearn for the slow pace of a smaller city or even a rural area. Whatever it is, where you dwell can impact your quality of life and goals.
8. Great films need great supporting roles: So you don't really have what it takes, nor the desire, to be your own boss and run a big company, but you are great at being the go-to person for your boss or executive--there's nothing wrong with that. In this world of selfie, being your own boss can be totally over-rated. There's a book by a business guru showing that most people who run their own businesses are not really entrepreneurial, but simply have exchanged one boss they didn't like for another, namely themselves. A supporting role can be a good thing: you get accolades, often paid well, and you don't have to carry the stress of the one who owns the joint.
9. There's always room to make a come-back: Often Oscar winners are those who have had set-backs, whether in their personal lives, professional lives, or both. And it's that kind of story within the story that we often really like--how an actor or actress had to struggle through hardship, reinvent themselves, and make a stellar performance for which they are more than deserving of the Oscar award. If you've had set-backs, or you're in a struggle right now, there's always time for a come-back. It might not be right now, but if you keep your chin up and continue to struggle through, learning along the way, your life can turn around. Don't lose Hope.
10. The audience makes or breaks: Whatever you do, put it out there for an audience, whether on a blog or script or proposal or plan--you're only as good as the audience that sees the work of your hands. It doesn't make you more or less human, for we all know that it's the life lived away from others that matters, but it can help you accomplish your goals. If you'll notice, most actors who win awards thank the audience, without which they would never have been given the opportunity in the first place. When you have a good audience, and you are accomplishing your goals, make sure to take time and thank those around you who are making it possible. Always be thankful.
11. Authenticity is the real thing: A good movie, or any good work of art, is authentic in some way; it portrays something in a way that hasn't been done before. Even if it's a copy of something, how it copies reveals something true or real, something that stands out from everything else. This too applies to your life: you are unique, you are a person with a true identity for which you are special. There is no one like you. In your life, whatever you're doing and whoever you're doing it for, bring your true authentic self to it. Take a risk. Learn as you go. Fail, get up, fail again, and keep going, bringing who you are to whatever you're doing. That's what makes life a work of Art--that's what makes life absolutely worth living.
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