Darren Hardy vs Rise of the Lycans (1/27/15)

I had Underworld: Rise of the Lycans on the TV in the background while I was on a phone call the other day. I wasn’t watching it for say. It was more of white noise playing in the background. If I was listening to the words of Darren Hardy he would probably be standing over my right shoulder going ballistic over the fact that I was killing my daily momentum, or at least that’s what I’d expect him to be saying after reading his book The Compound Effect.

The principle of the compound effect is very simple. You are the sum of all of your decisions over the course of time, and small indiscernible decisions will have exponential results in the long run. So according to Darren watching this rendition of Romeo and Juliet with a Gothic and supernatural twist would stunt my success growth. He may be right, but success is so subjective it flirts with impossible when you try to define it.

Although I agree with most of what Darren has to say in his book I don’t completely agree with him. I think what one person sees as an inefficient waste of time another might see as a key to success based on his or her perspective. In keeping with the Underworld example if you were watching it for entertainment in the middle of the day the movie could be viewed as a momentum killing waste of time. However, with a slight shift in perspective that movie could be seen as very valuable.

There was a scene towards the end of the movie where Lucian, the movie’s hero, stands up and rallies his troops, calling for them to stand up to the tyrannical rule of their heartless overlord. This is a theme that has played out throughout history: Moses in Egypt, the founding fathers of the United States of America during the revolutionary war, and that story theme will eventually repeat itself again. People have an underlying desire to be free. When the heavy foot of a repressive regime becomes too much people will eventually rise up demanding their God given rights.

Taken from a different perspective Underworld: Rise of the Lycans could be used as a case study for understanding leadership. In fact I had a professor at the University of Miami who taught an MBA level course in leadership based off of The Godfather, and it was one of the most memorable classes I ever took. I guess you can say one man’s momentum killing waste of time is another man’s teaching aide. The truth is depending on your perspective you can make a case that anything can be a valuable contributor to your success, if you are willing to look at the situation in a creative light from outside the box.