movie – From the desk of Adam Thomas

Last night I revisited “A Most Violent Year (2014)”

The first time I watched the movie the gravity of the situation gripped me.

It is a film full of grit.

This time, the theme of the movie, pressure, made much more sense to me based on the leadership research I’ve done over the last few years.

It’s a film full of leadership lessons.

The most important lesson, for me, is how the lead, Abel Morales, a self-made fuel service operator, continually revises his map of the world to make the “most right” decision.

Don’t look at the past, look at what is doable, now.

And that is excellent leadership.

Pressure, when we surrender to it, has this way of making us at the world around us and wondering “if only:”

If only my business partner didn’t…
If only my partner wouldn’t have…
If only my supplier could have…

When in truth, we can’t affect that. It is a waste of energy even to try. I can’t change the past.

Neither can you (I think, if you can, why even read this, with your time machine nothing even matters 😉 )

Spend a moment, when things change, trying to find the next step.

You should know that I have always taken the path that is most right. The result is never in question for me. Just what path do you take to get there, and there is always one that is most right. And that is what this is.

Able Morales

Two Things

In times of difficulty and internal stress, there are two things that, I think, help.

Box breathing – It is a reminder of being present. When the world feels like it is about to collapse, a good box breath session can bring you, mentally, back to the present.

Movie Scene – If your life is a movie, remember, this part is a scene. Any scene can have any ending. Often, it is up to the hero to make a choice, based on how he or she deals with the information provided.

So, when you feel that thrust of “uncomfortability” is creeping up on you, take a moment to get yourself present with a breathing exercise and look at the long game.