Lessons from Lions

We can always learn...

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Buenos días. It is Sunday morning - an opportunity to read, ponder, reflect, and write.  Its been an interesting week with lots to think about.  The Army team defeated another set of owls completing the triad of exterminating Florida, Texas, and now Pennsylvania (Temple University to be exact) owls on the fields of friendly strife.  In class we had one of our most powerful lessons discussing the commission and oath including the exceptional and unremitting responsibility that comes with a commitment to serve the Nation as a commissioned officer.  We also had a great discussion with USMA Class of 69 legend Jim McDonough about his experiences as a young infantry LT in Vietnam as described in his book Platoon Leader which we will be using in class to wrestle with the application of the enduring principles of officership in combat.    

I grew up in Anaheim, California - not far from the Mickey Mouse operation known as Disneyland.  I loved visiting the ‘Happiest Place on Earth”.  Those who have heard me speak in Church know I like to use Disney movies to help apply gospel principles - for example the movie Pinocchio is about the process of becoming or Lilo and Stitch teaches the concept of Ohana means family and nobody gets left behind.

In my personal life, yesterday was my little girl’s 31st birthday.  Unfortunately she passed to the other side of the veil a decade ago and we miss her - especially on days like this. When she was a little girl, her favorite movie was Disney’s  ‘The Lion King’ which came out when she was very little.  Yesterday my wife decided she wanted to watch it in her memory so we turned it on for the first time in many years.  It not only brought back memories of a young family with our first child, it made me smile, laugh, and shed some tears - but it also sparked insights. I realized this classic movie offers several life lessons that maybe I missed in the early 1990s as a young father.  Nevertheless, this time I don’t want to miss the opportunity to write down my takeaways and share them with you.

BLUF:  Simba overcomes challenges with the help of others.  Just like our lives, Simba has ups and downs - life isn’t linear consistently progressing upward.  Simba is often in danger, but he doesn’t have to face it alone. He learns the meaning of loss and the meaning of love and winds up overcoming life’s challenges and taking back the throne.

Lesson #1 Learn from Your Past

“Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”- Rafiki.

Yes, we often are impacted with our gloomy or depressing past, but the past can be our great source of learning to shape our better future.  We cannot change our yesterday, and it does not have to define us.  We have to learn to manage our hurtful past, may travel the past to gain the lesson learned from it, and then come back to today. We are more than our past, and we cannot ruin our present and future for the past.

This one is really hard - especially when you are facing personal loss - in our case the loss of our daughter when she was 20, in Simba’s case the loss of his father.  It can take time, it is hard (I know first hand) passing through grief is different for everyone.  I have learned that our loved ones really do want us to move forward and be happy - even when that is incredibly difficult.

Lesson #2 Believe in Yourself

The turning point of the film is a powerful scene in which Rafiki, the character who consecrated Simba at the beginning of the movie, leads Simba to a pool at which Simba has a spiritual interaction with his father.

The dialogue goes as follows:

Mufasa Spirit: “Look inside yourself Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.”

Simba: “How can I go back? I’m not who I used to be.”

Mufasa Spirit: “Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are.”

Man, I love this scene. Simba’s response, “I’m not who I used to be,” is again a powerful look into the minds of people worldwide. Too often, we imprison ourselves in our pasts. Our bodies walk around in the present, while our minds—our beings—exist in the past. Simba is living this way. However, Mufasa’s answer to his son isn’t “Remember who you were.” It is “Remember who you are.” 

People! We must begin dealing with our pasts. Whether that be poor decisions we made, bad relationships, or unhealthy habits, this is the year that we confront those things. However, before we can go into that battle—and it will be a battle—we must come to terms with who we are, because knowing who we are is our greatest weapon.

Your friends might like to remind you of the old you. The world might try to convince you that the old and new you are one and the same, but regardless of what they say, who you were is not who you are. I repeat: who you were is not who you are.

This situation of Simba is so relatable to our lives. Sometimes we are guilty of things for which we are not at all responsible. We cannot see the power within us indulged in sorrows and self-doubt. We must learn to free ourselves from the self-doubt which holds back to unlocking the possibilities of our lives.

Self-belief is fundamental for our self-growth and improvement. We have to ensure our growth daily regardless of how little that step is, and we must ensure that we are gradually becoming flourished exploring our endless potentials. We can’t afford to be staying stagnant like standing water in the pond, and we must go for a never-ending drive like a moving river. We should not allow others’ words to shatter our dreams, but we should use those as our inspiration to create our own place.

Above all - REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!

Lesson #3 Be brave when you need to be

“I’m only brave when I have to be. Being brave doesn’t mean you go looking for trouble.”- Mufasa.

Sometimes, we struggle to draw a line between bravery and foolishness. In our discussions of becoming commissioned officers we often discuss risk - that leaders should assess risk, mitigate it, but at some point we have to accept some about of risk.  We tend to think taking the risk is bravery, but we must rethink whether we are buying trouble unnecessarily to prove ourselves brave.  “ I am only brave when I have to be .” To me, this is redefining the definition of bravery. It gives us a strong message that we have to be wise and strategic with our decisions.

You don’t need to prove yourself every time, leaders are expected to not be risk adverse - if we risk nothing we will never attain the possible heights.  At the same time we are expected to understand the risks, assess, mitigate, and be willing to accept risk - that is what leadership is all about - but never accept risk foolishly.

Lesson #4 Value the Circle of Life

“Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.” -Mufasa

We alone cannot stay well without keeping others well as we are interconnected.  This goes together with the lesson of the circle of life Mufasa teaches young Simba.  We are very much some interconnected and life is very much a team sport.  Leaders exist to put this puzzle together and ideally put people into positions and responsibilities where they will be most impactful - the most value added not just to themselves but to their teams.  How we treat others goes into this equation as well - we are interdependent and we must understand how to best engage with the other members of our team.

Lesson #5 Hakuna Matata

“It means no worries

For the rest of your days

It's our problem-free philosophy

Hakuna Matata”

This is an obvious one, but can’t go unaddressed! You hear the song in the movie and can’t help but join in.  I am known to whistle it while walking to teach class.   It is important to acknowledge and process difficult situations in life, but becoming consumed by them keeps us suffering unnecessarily. We can use Hakuna Matata as a tool for accepting life and all its difficulties while creating compassion for ourselves and others. This mentality helps us “unhook” from unhelpful thoughts and feelings so that you can go on living a valued and meaningful life!

There are days this really hard for me - but I also can feel my baby girl around us and I know she would rather have us laughing and being upbeat than the melancholy feeling that can come when you focus on grief.  Seek opportunities to feel hakuna matata whenever you can - be a positive force.

BONUS Lesson #6 Thinking about lessons from lions, I am reminded of a little story I copied from someone several years ago (I know it isn’t original but I don’t remember where I read it):

The donkey told the tiger, "The grass is blue."

The tiger replied, "No, the grass is green."

The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, so they approached the lion.

As they approached the lion on his throne, the donkey started screaming: ′′Your Highness, isn't it true that the grass is blue?"

The lion replied: "If you believe it is true, the grass is blue."

The donkey rushed forward and continued: ′′The tiger disagrees with me, contradicts me and annoys me. Please punish him."

The king then declared: ′′The tiger will be punished with 3 days of silence."

The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way, content and repeating ′′The grass is blue, the grass is blue..."

The tiger asked the lion, "Your Majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?"

The lion replied, ′′You've known and seen the grass is green."

The tiger asked, ′′So why do you punish me?"

The lion replied, "That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with an ass, and on top of that, you came and bothered me with that question just to validate something you already knew was true!"

The biggest waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who doesn't care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions. Never waste time on discussions that make no sense. There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand. Others who are blinded by ego, hatred and resentment, and the only thing that they want is to be right even if they aren’t.

When IGNORANCE SCREAMS, intelligence moves on.

Here are the lessons from lions this week:

• Learn from your Past

• Believe in Yourself

• Be Brave When You Need to Be

• Value the Circle of Life

• Hakuna Matata

• When IGNORANCE SCREAMS, intelligence moves on.

I end with this awesome quote from another movie about lions - in this case Secondhand Lions starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall

“I’m Hub McCann. I've fought in two world wars, and countless smaller ones on three continents. I've led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I've seen the headwaters of the Nile and tribes of natives no white men had ever seen before. I've won and lost a dozen fortunes, killed many men, and loved only one woman with a passion a flea like you could never begin to understand. That's who I am.

Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things that a man needs to believe in the most: that people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; that love, true love, never dies... No matter if they're true or not, a man should believe in those things because those are the things worth believing in.” - Hub McCann, Secondhand Lions

TRUE LOVE NEVER DIES!

This week I will:

1. Learn from my past

2. Make each day my masterpiece

3. Build and uplift those around me

4. Know who I am and believe in myself and others

5. Say no when I just can’t realistically add to my plate

6. Give A Damn about others and doing what is right

Fight for the right things - Fight Hard - Fight on to Victory!  Beat Tulsa

Dewey

I reflect each Sunday morning on what I have been learning - I encourage you to reflect daily or weekly as well. I share these notes just to get you thinking about topics related to leadership and character. If you would like to continue the conversation, add someone, or if you would like to be dropped from the distribution list - please just send me an email at Marc.Boberg@gmail.com - Do great things!