Lessons from Second Act
What makes a person achieve their dreams? Well I think that there are three key ingredients that are essential to your success. Without these three you’ll find it difficult to keep on persisting when the going gets tough. So, if you can learn to conquer your fears, continue to hustle and believe in yourself; the trifecta of dream making ingredients then you can get to where you wherever you want to go!
I recently watched the feel-good movie Second Act starring and produced by Jennifer Lopez (who is a great example of someone who knows how to hustle) and was inspired to write this post.
A minor spoiler alert here. Watch the movie before you read this because the movie is very inspiring (I’ve included the trailer as a way to give you a taste of what the movie is about). And as with most things in life if you look for it you can learn valuable lessons.
Maya the main character takes a journey of self-discovery and through the course of the movie comes to realize her problem is self-belief. She seems to second guess her value and deep down inside her core belief is, she’s never been good enough. And because of this deep-seated fear, she’s never backed herself and aimed to be more. However, what she lacks in self-confidence she makes up for in hustle. As always there are plenty of external factors at play. There are the emotions and dynamics of people who are determined to keep her in her place, where they determined she belonged.
What can we learn from this story is three-fold:
1) Whatever is worth having takes work and hustle… even if you’re at the top of the heap you still have to work at staying on top
Maya accidentally ends up in a top NYC company without a degree or credentials ready to prove herself. The challenge is set by the big boss; come up with a new organic skincare line and ensure it makes a profit. With an in house competitor taking all the best workers the odds are stacked against her.
Maya persists despite her micro team and sticks to her guns. She uses her years of experience as a lowly assistant manager in a chain store to drive her decisions. And eventually, Maya comes up with a business-savvy solution to suit the company’s requirements.
If we are to build our dreams we can’t just talk about what needs to happen or complain about why things are unfair. We have to “be the change we want to see in the world,” and drive the changes in our own lives. We can do this in many ways but the main point here is that doing requires consistent work and hustle. Sometimes you’re in the trenches and it isn’t pretty. But it’ll be worth the effort, and you’ll find true fulfillment by leading by example and living your dreams.
2) You believing in you is half the battle
Although Maya knows how to hustle she battles her self doubt throughout the movie. At first, it’s just feeling worthy enough to take a job interview, but as the story progresses she has to continue to believe in herself.
The constant push and pull between Maya’s inner Dreamer and Doubter play out in different scenarios in Second Act. These scenarios parallel some of the experiences we encounter in our lives.
The Dreamer gets those wonderful and uplifting feelings of belief and passion, enthusiasm and drive. The Dreamer helps you see the possibilities and opportunities in life.
A minute by minute battle between your inner Dreamer and Doubter can cause you to wobble and stall and may delay or even prevent you from putting your dreams into action.
The Doubter thrives on negativity and of course self-doubt.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking your dreams are unrealistic? Or that one day someone is going to discover you really just aren’t as good as they think you are?
This is classic impostor syndrome and it thrives on self-doubt. Doubter feelings also come in the fear flavored variety too and are sure to stop you in your tracks. These feelings can be so powerful because even if you know how to hustle they can overwhelm you and stop you from achieving your dreams.
The key here is to stop listening to the negative Doubter feelings telling you you’re not good enough. The reality is most dreams (within reason) are possible. You just have to know that if you do the work and persist eventually you’ll get to where you want to go.
If you want to read more about how to master the power of the dreamer and the doer – check out this post!
3) Fear of failure is not an option
This is actually a sub-point of 2) but it is so critical I’ve put it down as a separate point.
Maya sure had doubts of her own value and capability but she never seemed to give up attempting to find solutions to the product problem. The team follow Maya’s lead and continue to persist with different ideas until one eventually sticks.
Fear of failure is not an option because fear cripples self-belief and stops your ability to take action dead in its tracks. Can you think of anyone who has never failed at something in order to get to a point of success?
Anyone who tries the learn a new language or cook a new dish has the expectation that the first time is not necessarily going to be a success. In fact, immediate success is almost an anomaly. So we must all be willing to fail.
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The good thing is we can learn from our mistakes and use them to improve and implement new strategies for success. When believe that the next step is, just that, a step toward the ultimate goal a setback can actually help us. This is because we can take the opportunity to regroup, and revisit our strategy. We may be able to refine our approach to the situation and with the experience gained we will soon be leveling up in that particular area of our lives.
The Lessons we can Learn
Second Act asks us to think of every day as a second chance at building the life we want. It encourages us to work smart and hustle, and believe in ourselves and our dreams. And ignore the fear that can so easily cause us to cast our dreams aside.
I challenge you to not just think about what it is you want but take the time you have now to start acting. Carve out a segment of your daily routine that you can manage and start moving forward toward your building your dream life.
Let me know if you’ve been inspired by any books or movies lately.
And if you have a dream that you are acting on why not sign up for our free Dream Building 101 manual and let me know what you think I’d love to hear from you!