URL:http://statspotting.com/a-lesson-from-the-shawshank-redemption/
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is indeed a great movie. There are a bunch of messages in the movie, some hidden and some stated – it is about Hope winning over Fear, for example. But there is this hidden lesson, a very powerful one, that one can infer from the movie.
The situation that Andy Dufresne is faced with is very tricky. He embarks upon an activity (carving through a wall) – which has three characteristics:
1. It would take a really long time to complete. He has a feel for how long it would take – but he doesn’t know that exactly. And that feel changes every day as well.
2. He can get caught at any point – in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end – literally on any given day until he is done – and if he is caught, all his efforts up to that point add up to nothing. The net effect of getting caught would be negative, in the form of additional punishment, added with absolutely no scope of receiving a parole thereafter
3. The end result is binary: If he gets caught, twenty years’ effort adds up to nothing. On the other hand, if he succeeds, he can be a free man and live the rest of his life happily.
If you think about it, the exact same characteristics are shared by anyone working on a Startup (in addition to the fact that only fools would embark on a journey with these characteristics):
1. It would take a really long time to complete. You have a feel for how long it would take – but you don’t know that exactly. Besides, this feel changes everyday.
2. You can fail at any point- in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end – literally on any given day until you are done – and if you fail, all your efforts up to that point add up to nothing. The net effect of a failure would be negative, in the form of lost investment, opportunity costs, and a bunch of significant ‘could have beens’
3. The end result is binary: If you fail, you will feel that your efforts added up to nothing. If you succeed, well…..
The simple and most powerful message is this: ‘Enjoy The Journey’.
Remember the smile on Andy’s face when he disposes off the pieces from the wall every day in that prison ground? It could be the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps you going, or it could be the thrill that comes from the stealthiness of it all – but you have to remember that the journey is more important and satisfying than the destination – getting into that mode is absolutely essential for everyone embarking on the journey.
You have no idea how deep the wall is. You have nothing but a rock hammer. You have no idea when you will be caught.
What you do have, is the journey. Enjoy the journey.
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