a life-changing lesson from george lucas
Today is Star Wars Day, and I think this is a great opportunity to not only celebrate and enjoy Star Wars movies, shows, events and contests, but also learn an important lesson from George Lucas, the founding father and genius filmmaker behind this immensely successful franchise that started as “a space epic inspired by the Saturday morning movie serials of his youth.”
In his Inc. article, Benjamin Hardy talks about Dave Filoni who worked under the direct mentorship of George Lucas for more than a decade. Think of George as Yoda, and Dave as Luke Skywalker trying to understand the way of the Force.
Dave recollects that key lesson that George taught him — the one which “combines everything” is: Don’t be afraid.
Dave was an integral part of the Star Wars television series, “Clone Wars.”And more recently, he has been the executive producer of the Star Wars Rebels series. He recalls when he was hired as the director of a major multi-billion dollar franchise, and reports that the entire experience was daunting. After all, it involved creating something new with millions of dollars invested which you know will be viewed by millions of devoted fans all around the globe. With such huge expectations, it can truly be a mind-numbing and paralyzing affair. Dave said that the sheer weight of responsibility was nauseating. Sometimes it felt impossible to create from the inner parts of his heart.
That’s why, this was the most important and fitting advice:
DON’T BE AFRAID
George stepped in and repeated these magic words numerous times as they worked on projects and faced setbacks and obstacles.
“Being afraid will limit you,” George told Dave. “And most importantly, it will limit your creativity. If you become afraid of what you are trying to do.”
If you want to create something extraordinary, you should let go of fear. You’ve got to experiment, you’ve got to try new things and chart unexplored territories, and yes, you’ve got to fail again and again.
You have to awaken the Force within you and let your inner hero and warrior shine. As Benjamin Hardy puts it beautifully in the article, “ You can never be afraid to truly, in all the zeal and conviction you can muster, share the truth desperately seeking to come out of you.”
Over the years, many people have opposed George Lucas’ ideas and told him, “That cannot be done.” However they didn’t realize that those were the very words that George needed to ignite the fierce and fearless Jedi within him. This reminds me of what Obi-Wan Kenobi said in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, “Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” To quote Robin Sharma, “Take the stones people throw at you and use them to build a monument.” That’s what George Lucas did for sure.
Success can be found only through trial and error, unwavering belief in yourself and your vision, profound dedication, and the ability to see setbacks as stepping stones towards later victory. If there’s one thing that this epic space opera has constantly communicated over the years, it’s the truth that fear is our nemesis. It steals the audacity and the goodness within us. It cripples us from doing what needs to be done. And it prevents us from becoming the people we’re meant to be.
Just follow Darren’s Hardy advice, and “let the haters be your motivators.” You must understand that every breakthrough, every innovation, every universe-denting idea was once considered crazy until someone did it.
You must be willing to step outside our comfort zone and make your way into uncharted territories. You must equip yourself with the courage to do things that go against the conventional wisdom and the ways of the society that we’re all used to. To choose the paths less traveled and use them as avenues to attract extraordinary success.
So, awaken the hero inside you, just like George Lucas did and follow your dreams. Don’t be afraid. Life is short and time is running by. Just take the leap, carry a lightsaber if you must, and make things happen.
May the Force be with you!
. . .
Before you go, here are 5 fun facts about Star Wars Day:
1. Celebrating the Star Wars film franchise, Star Wars Day is observed by fans on May the Fourth, an obvious pun on the popular Jedi phrase “May the Force be with you.” Taking puns a step further, May 5 has come to be called “Revenge of the Fifth,” a play on “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” a day for fans to join the “dark side” and celebrate the Sith lords from the Star Wars movies.
2. Star Wars Day is fully fan inspired. While this day is a tribute to the movies made by George Lucas, Lucasfilm had nothing to do with the holiday’s creation or its ongoing observance.
3. The phrase tied to Star Wars Day, “May the Fourth be with you” was first used on May 4, 1979, when Margaret Thatcher took office as Prime Minister of the U.K. Members of Thatcher’s Conservative party published a full-page advertisement in the London Evening News congratulating the new Prime Minister, which read: “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations.”
4. The first organized Star Wars Day events were held at the Toronto Underground Cinema on May 4, 2011. Sean Ward and Alice Quinn organized the celebration, which included an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show; a celebrity judged costume contest and Star Wars tribute films and parodies screened.
5. The Walt Disney Company, which purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, has officially observed the holiday since 2013 with special Star Wars events held on May 4th at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org and http://www.starwars.com/
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