2023 is here. With the new, fresh, shiny year comes 12 months full of new ideas and opportunities just waiting to be activated. And the best part? You get to create it all and decide what your new year will hold in store for you. Like that time when fictional character Louden Swain decided that he was going to drop two weight classes and take on and beat the most-feared opponent in the high school wresting scene. Never heard of him? Well, stick with me, his story has a good lesson that anyone can apply to their life.
While I am not a fan of the insensitive and inappropriate title spiritually reserved for indigenous cultures, the book authored by Terry Davis (published in 1979) and subsequent movie starring Matthew Modine both share a good message about the personal drive and discipline one must act out in order to achieve the success they seek.
Success requires vision. There is no better time than at the beginning of a new year to outline what it is you wish to accomplish in the 12 months ahead. And then get to doing the hard work. Mel Robbins, well-known author and motivational speaker suggests that when you create your vision board instead of focusing on the end goal, focus on the steps that you need to take that will get you there. She calls it the bridge.
In Louden’s story, we see him take action right from the opening movie scene where he is running across the Monroe Street bridge in Spokane, Washington wearing a ridiculously fabulous alien-esque sauna sweat suit. This bridge is real, but the bridge that Robbins suggests that you cross in the metaphoric sense is the interval between the start of your vision and your final desired achievement. She says that the bridge is the hard work you need to do in order to reach your destination, i.e. your end goal. The bridge is what you should focus on.
Your vision can be as small or as big as you dream it to be, but whatever the vision is, you need to make sure you have it clearly defined. Louden’s goal was to beat Shute, a high school senior the size of giant sequoia tree. And while many around him thought the task was impossible, Louden simply focused on what he needed to do to win regardless of this gigantor’s hulking muscle mass. Train. Drop weight. Eat healthy. Keep his body flexible, and stay mentally focused despite having the girl of his dreams temporarily move into his home and unknowingly cause a huge mental distraction. That was his bridge.
What is yours? Take this time as the new year gets underway to discover your vision, outline your action plan, and get started crossing your bridge.
If you need an added dose of extra inspiration from this book/movie, I have one name for you. Madonna. You know her, right? Internationally-known singer. Movie star. Entrepreneur and fashion Icon.
When Vision Quest released in 1985, it contained a five or six minute scene in a bar with a singer on stage who (up until that point) most of the world had never heard of. But, not for long. Now, those six minutes on that film stage did not shoot Madonna into instant stardom as the timing of it all makes it seem (she had crossed her own bridge to get there, but that’s a story for a different day). However, even the movie’s main actor could not deny the importance that those six minutes of film made that year in the life of the material girl.
The movie had gone from being a Matthew Modine movie that Madonna was in to a Madonna movie that Matthew Modine was in.
Matthew Modine interview.
And, speaking of six minutes. This movie includes a powerful and emotionally delivered speech (watch it here), given by Elmo, one of Louden Swain’s father figures, referring to the clock time in which two opponents face off on the the wrestling mat, stating “it’s not about the six minutes. It’s what happens in those six minutes that count”.
Your metaphorical six minutes are waiting for you in 2023. After you train. After you focus. After you prepare. After you cross your bridge. Thoughts put to action equal results. Are you ready for your vision?Get started today planning your upcoming year with a free PRINTABLE download and get ready for great things to happen.
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