Recruiting Jedi. Three Lessons of The Jedi For Everyday Life.

Movies, television, books, paintings, poetry, sculpture…they’re all art forms. Life often imitates art, and that is for a very good reason, humanity is responsible for art. What can we take away from the arts? The question is very subjective and open to interpretation. Some lessons can be taken from any experience. All we have to do is be open to seeing them, to hearing their messages, and to think about their significance.

Focus

If you have never seen Star Wars then I assume you were living under a rock during the seventies and just never got out from beneath it to experience George Lucas’s masterpiece. That said, one of the things about the Jedi, was that they were always focused. They stayed focused on the tasks as they came. How focused on things are you?

It’s so easy to lose focus in the world of men. I know, sounds kind of corny, but I like the line “world of men”. However, the most focused of individuals are those that don’t lose sight of the overall mission. They’re able to keep their eye on their goals and attend to the here and now at the same time. They’re not ruled by their emotions. They’re undaunted by struggles. They are the Elon Musks of the world, taking things as they come and handling things that are in front of them at the same time. They're not the ones that try and fail, they're the ones that try, try, and stay focused until that trying gets them somewhere.

“Do or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda

Be In The Now

Too many people are lost in the future that is unforeseeable. The future, while something to plan for, isn’t here yet. Much like the past, we can’t live in the future. Hopes and dreams aside, we will never see the future we want if we don’t pay attention today. Fans of the series will remember this, but it rings true for most people.

“Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.” — Yoda

Be in the now, focused on what you’re doing. Tomorrow, it will come.

Don't Fear

There is currently more anger to be tapped into in the world than ever before in human history. We’ve reached a point that many consider us to be at the precibus of something terrible. While I have my worries, they’re things that I have little power over. What I do have the power to do, is to face them, find solutions, and live my life. If we live in fear, fear leads to other emotions that affect our daily lives and our overall well-being.

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” — Yoda

There you have it, the three most important lessons taught to us by the masters at Lucasfilm. There are more lessons but these apply to us all more today than at any time since Empire and the introduction of that lovable little green guy, Master Yoda. Now, whatever day it is that you are reading this, take those lessons and go take the day like a champ.

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