Indiana Jones – 3 Lessons In Goal Achievement Inspired by the Adventure Hero
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
The Indiana Jones films are not only great adventure films. You can learn much about goal achievement from watching these films too. Steven Spielberg said:
“I hate that people think it’s wrong to say you’re inspired by Jaws or by Raiders of The Lost Ark. You’re allowed to be.”
One could add Indiana Jones to that list. Admittedly, Spielberg is biased. Still, here are three lessons in goal achievement inspired by Indiana Jones.
1. Indiana follows his passion
Those who have achieved great success all believe vehemently in the importance of following your passion and doing what you love. It is only by doing this that you will continue to have the motivation to persevere in spite of enormous odds.
Indiana certainly epitomises this. He is passionate about archaeology and this is what drives him. And, while it may just be a movie, he battles enormous odds to attain his goals.
It is only by following your passion that you will have the energy and drive to keep going even though the journey towards your goal may be an arduous one and at times you may become weak – physically, mentally and emotionally.
“The key that unlocks energy is desire. It’s also the key to a long and interesting life. If we expect to create any drive, any real force within ourselves, we have to get excited.”
Earl Nightingale
2. Indiana confronts his fears
One of the endearing qualities about Indiana is that he is very human. He too has his fears, for instance, he hates snakes. Yet, he does not let his fears stand in the way of achieving his goals.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
Ambrose Redmoon
When you set yourself challenging goals, at some point you will come up against something that you fear. The trouble is what you fear may not be tangible. It may be a limiting or negative belief such as the fear of failure or the fear of success.
However, such limiting or negative beliefs can stop you dead in your tracks if you do not develop techniques and strategies to clear yourself of them. The good thing is that the more you practice these clearing techniques the easier it will become to overcome your fears.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
3. Indiana has very clear values
Indiana’s values make it easy for him for him to make decisions and take action. Great goal achievers are great decision-makers and they take action. Too often people do not achieve the level of success they desire because they spend too much time deciding what to do and too little time actually doing anything.
True, some things require careful deliberation. However, in many cases, especially when it comes to the day-to-day activities that will help you to make progress towards your goal, you have to learn how to quickly weigh up a situation and make the best decision there and then on how to move forwards. There can be no progress without decision-making.
Having clear values and clearly defined goals will go a long way in helping you to make those timely decisions. It’s almost like making a decision in advance. If something is not in harmony with your values then you can simply reject that particular idea.
Imagine having an army at your disposal that is ready and waiting to help you manifest your goals. The thing is the army can only act once you make a decision. When you make a decision the army is galvanised into action. When you don’t make a decision the army is immobile and if you are indecisive then your private army moves in a chaotic manner accomplishing little or nothing. So you have to keep you army moving in an efficient and cohesive manner by continuing to make decisions.
“Your only purpose in life is to make choices. Once the choice is made, the whole universe moves to bring into fruition that which you chose.”
