Happy Monday all! I hope you are enjoying all this fun Olympic activity. Today’s post is right on topic, but in a pretty unexpected way…

Okay, I hope you’re cheesy tolerance meter is turned all the way up for this one. I was in the mood for a good wholesome movie one day, and it seems those don’t exist anymore. Well, since I have the best man in the world and he knows me so well, he came home with none other than the Disney film Cool Runnings!!

Oh, before you turn your nose up, please know that Cool Runnings is dropping mad knowledge and can make it’s way to any self help corner of the world it chooses. I didn’t realize it, but after watching it I felt so enlightened! Since this month we are taking it easy and having some fun, I thought it would be a perfect time to share with you the lessons I extracted from this simple little film. So, without further ado, I bring you, 6 Epic Life Lessons I Learned from “Cool Runnings”

 

1)   Believe in Yourself.

Yeah, we’ve heard this one before but who really does this all the time? The minute you embark on a new project, go to a new location or approach the unknown, all of that “Believe in Yourself” stuff goes right out the door. The “fear of the unknown” is at the base of this fear but we can learn a valuable lesson from the main character of Cool Runnings, Derice.

He was a track runner that knew he was talented and that his Destiny was to go the Olympics. However, after being tripped in the qualifying race, his chance of going disappeared right before his eyes. When he heard that there was another way to get to the Olympics, but it was going to be a in an ice riding go-cart, most would have been discouraged, however, he Believed he could do anything.

How many of us are good at talking ourselves out something, even after we get that tingly excited feeling? How easy would it have been to say, “Clearly, I live in Jamaica and have never seen snow, this is so not for me” or even “Sure, I’m down, but how am I going to convince 3 other people plus find a coach?” or the one we all come up with “Where are we going to get the money to make Any of this happen!?”.

Not Derice. He knew he had a Destiny to fulfill and had no time for excuses. Not so cheesy anymore is it? When you get the intuitive nudge to do something, Go For It! Don´t focus on all that could go wrong, or what you are lacking, just keep your eye on the prize and keep moving forward. People will believe in you too and join in the mission, but it first starts with You knowing that You can do it!

 

2)   Make a Way out of No Way

As stated above, Derice experiences an unfortunate twist of fate, in the qualifying race, when he is tripped by a fellow runner and misses his chances of ever qualify for the Olympic games as a runner. Now, a lot of us can think back to a time in our life when we were dealt a crappy hand and wasted time thinking about how unjust it was, asking, “why us” and maybe even throwing ourselves a pity party. If you haven’t been there, well let me tell you, this happens to many people. It didn’t happen however, for Derice. He knew his Destiny was to go to the Olympics and was going to make it no matter what.

He figured what he had to do and did it. It was absurd, unlikely and seemingly foolish, but don’t all the best ideas start out that way? When Derice presented his idea to everyone, they told him “No way, No how, Forget it” even his coach asked, “Do the words ‘Give Up’ mean anything to you?”, and he replied “Not a ‘ting”. I love it! Some people let odds stacked against them and scare them into a paralyzed state of inaction. There are some people who take “no” for an answer. However, there are other people that stay positive and make a way out of no way.  Which group do you belong in?

 

3)   Positive Self Image is Everything

Oh yeah, for my self help junkies, there is a point in the movie where they incorporate “mirror work” and that’s when I was ALL.IN.  Two of the previous feuding, characters, Junior and Yule have their first moment of friendship in the bar bathroom (see how awesome this movie is!). Junior is a spineless, insecure, mamas boy while Yule is a buff, headstrong, disgruntled chap who cannot stand to see Junior be a human doormat any longer.

Yule drags Junior to the bathroom and shouts at him “Tell me what you see” when Junior can barely muster words, Yule butts in. “I”ll tell you what I see, I see Pride, I see Power, I see a bad @$$ mudda that don’t take no crap off of no one!”  This is epic, first cause Disney let’s them say @$$, for the sake of self-esteem improvement. It’s also remarkable because after that Yule says, “but it’s not about what I see it’s about what YOU see”. Do we not have people in our corner that root for us and tell us we can do anything? However, haven’t you found that you really can’t mobilize until you feel for yourself that you are capable and can do anything?

How do you get there? It may feel crazy, but mirror work is a great way to start. Some experts’ say simply smiling at yourself in the mirror helps boost self esteem. Still others say, talk to yourself. That Steward Smalley stuff actually works. “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough & gosh darn it people like me”. It doesn’t have to be that script, but being your reflections best friend isn’t a bad idea. Give it a try.

 

4) Pay No Attention to the Haters

There is a quote that says something to the degree of “if you don´t have opposition you must be doing something wrong”.  Well, upon arriving to Calgary where the Olympics were being held that year, the Jamaican bobsled team was met with a plenty of enmity. It wasn’t fun, and sure the obligatory bar fight happened, but they never let that get them off course and lose sight of their dreams.

Do you allow haters to distract you? Back in the day it would take one little  criticism to push me right off course and reconsider everything. That is no way to live. There is famous saying that “Opinions are like…bellybuttons…everyone has one”. You may know an alternate version, but let’s just keep it clean here. The point is people who both love you and hate you will weigh in on your life and how you’re living and sometimes it’s not all that supportive. My advice is, don’t pay any attention to the haters, cause just like in Cool Runnings, when they’re hatin’ they’re your biggest motivators and when you succeed they’re your biggest fans.

 

5) See it Through Till the End

Okay I’ll be honest, I only brought up this point because I wanted to mention the slow clap that crescendos into a uproarious applause at the end. Back when this movie came out, the slow clap wasn’t yet the cliché butt of all jokes and parodies like it is now. Seriously though, the celebratory clap was a result of the Jamaican bobsled team crossing the finish line even after they had crashed.

Picture it, you had a new endeavor that few believed in but you went for it anyway. You ignored the haters and believed in yourself. The big day comes, things are going smoothly then BAM, you crash and burn. What do you do? Do you say to yourself, “the haters were right, what was I thinking?”, or do you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep on keeping on until you reach your goal? I’ll give you a hint, if you pick the second option, people don’t usually judge those who fall on their face, rather, they give props to those who can pick themselves up, dust themselves off and cross the finish line with their heads held high. (Cue the slow clap…now!)

 

6) Know who you are!

One of the valid underlying messages of the movie parallels the Judy Garland quote:  “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”. Derice admired the Swiss’ ability to bobsled and began to pick up on the clues that success left. There is nothing wrong with that. Finding people who are where you want to be and studying the things that make them successful is one thing, but then you have to make it your own. In the case of Derice he took it too far, he was counting in Swedish and adopting the Swiss’ customs that had nothing to do with the Jamaican team. It was out of context and not coming from the heart of what they were doing. It didn´t feel authentic to them and they were only being copies of something that wasn´t in their hearts.

You will be well served to learn this lesson sooner than later. You are the best YOU that ever was created and that ever will be, trying to copy, mimic and imitate will get you at best in 2nd place.  Be yourself and “do you” as the catch phrase goes. If you’re quirky go with that. If you’re different flaunt it. Show up everyday as the most authentic You that you possibly can. When you’re authentically yourself your soul sings, your Being glows and that is when you being walking in your Destiny.

 

Now pop some popcorn, watch Cool Runnings and I’ll catch you later!

 

Peace be the Journey,

 

JCov

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