A Must-See Movie for Entrepreneurs
As an entrepreneur, I look to books, friends, associates, music, my heroes, and movies to provide me with inspiration and lessons that I too can apply to my everyday life.
One of my favorite movies (in the past 15 years) is a film called “The Prestige”. The story takes place in the late 1800’s/early 1900s and focuses on 2 magicians - Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. As they hone their craft, they begin do whatever is necessary in order to out-perform the other.
This creates a back-and-forth battle that leads them both down a dark and scary path in life. As you may have guessed it, one magician takes one approach that leads to his demise and other magician takes a different approach and lives on.
I believe these two characters portray many traits of any entrepreneur. They’re both driven, crafty, embody great showmanship, and have something to prove. They believe in themselves, in their product, and they will do whatever it takes to succeed. What separates these two men is the motivation behind their actions.
You see, understanding motivation is really how you can read people. Knowing what people really want deep down inside, gives you the ability to learn everything you have ever wanted to know about them. In the movie, one man’s motivation is to be the best magician in the world because he loves it above all else. The other magician’s motivation is to simply out-do other magician and to win at all costs. His hunger is based on revenge and a thirst to take away the enjoyment of his competitor.
You will see these exact same mentalities in the business world. Many people will disguise it, but it is there in full swing. Trust me. Throughout your entrepreneurial journey, you will meet many kinds. Some will be your allies, some will be your enemies, and some will wish you well BUT never better than themselves. However, none of that matters. What matters is you get up on stage and give the audience (customers) the best damn show/product/service that you can offer.
Remember, to be the best at anything does come with a price. And in the words of Christian Bale’s character, “Sacrifice is the price of a good trick”. Just like in business, you will need to sacrifice time, security, money, energy, and many other things for a GOOD LIFE. Along the way, it’s important to realize that very few people will care about your journey, struggle, and what you sacrifice. They won’t care if you start on the wrong path and never make it to where you want to go. What they will care about is WHEN you make it. Because, when you do, it will give them a little shot of hope that they can do it, too. Then, and only then will they care. So, in essence, it is your job to make them care.
Shock the crowd. Make sure you make it to the other side. And do it because you love it. Otherwise, just sit back and watch all the other DreamStarters dazzle you.
