Last night I was flipping through the channels when I came across a classic movie, 1984's 'The Karate Kid'.
As I was watching Ralph Macchio's character 'Daniel LaRusso' get his butt kicked time & time again, I couldn't help but think of how this great movie relates to everyday life, in particular the life of an entrepreneur.
LaRusso starts out the film moving to a new town (from NJ to southern CA) - I liken this to when a newly minted college graduate steps out into the 'real world'. It's scary, unnerving, and frankly a giant ocean of unknowns. All you really know is what you THINK you know, which amounts to hours upon hours of homework and book-worming. Unfortunately, very little of this highly expensive time actually relates to real life (of course it's different if you're a doctor or a lawyer, but this blog is about business and entrepreneurship)... I'll stop this particular metaphor here, because I could devote an entire novel to the subject... so I'll spare you.. ;-)
So, LaRusso is in a brand new world/environment. He soon realizes that he aspires for more... He has his eyes on a young, attractive blonde at his high school. This can be related to an entrepreneur's motivation(s) for starting a business. This could be money, recognition, or just simply aspiring for more than what the corporate grind has to offer.
But, there is a problem of course.
LaRusso is the 'new kid on the block' (que cheesy '80's music now), & the young blonde has other admirers, in particular the school bully and his group of teenage minions. This can be seen as the many obstacles that an entrepreneur faces as he/she goes out to conquer & achieve whatever motivates them.
This revelation doesn't stop LaRusso. He seems to ask himself, 'Why can't I have the girl? After all, she seems to like me!' Every entrepreneur has to make the tough decision to go out on their own despite the naysayers.
So, LaRusso goes on his conquest & proceeds to get his butt-kicked on a regular basis. However, soon a foreign maintenance man named Mr. Myagi takes notice. Mr. Myagi takes LaRusso under his wing & teaches him discipline & the skills it will take to achieve his goals. This can be seen as the mentor, or the job that leads to the eventual opportunity for success. After all, no one ever truly achieves success solely on their own, even highly recognizable entrepreneurs today.
As many of you already know, LaRusso goes on to win the local Karate Championship, & beats his bully in the finals. By doing this he gains recognition, & most of all the girl he so desires. This is the reason we become entrepreneurs. We all aspire for more. We realize there will be many obstacles, but we choose to persevere.
'The Karate Kid' teaches us a valuable life lesson -- That in order to achieve the success one desires, one must gain the skills and knowledge necessary, & then continue to keep getting up again & again, eventually achieving one's goals.
I like to end my blogs with a quote, so here you go:
'I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.' - Michael Jordan
Till next time ~
Rocky Moore
Owner, ROMO Group, LLC
