Part III: What Holiday Movies Can Teach Us
Never Underestimate the Power of Tribes
In my last blog we spoke about how there is a tribe for everyone. So this week let’s talk about the power of a tribe by using another holiday movie as a comparison.
One of the most memorable Christmas movies of all time is Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring the incomparable Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. It’s the ultimate feel-good movie, perfect for anyone who’s ever wondered if their life holds meaning.
Here’s the lowdown: George Bailey, played by Stewart, is on the verge of collapse. His small building and loan company is on the verge of bankruptcy, the mean rich man in town is ready to swoop in, and though he has a house full of adorable kids and a gorgeous wife (Reed), there’s never enough money to go around. George decides his family and business would be better off without him. On the brink of suicide, he’s saved by a rookie angel, Clarence.
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Clarence goes on to show George what his life would be like if he’d never existed, and it’s not pretty. By seeing all the people he’s touched, George realizes that he has created a strong network of love and support – he’s created a tribe. And it’s this tribe that pulls together at the end of the movie to give back to George, helping him out of his current difficulties.
The lesson to you should be obvious: Your tribe can, quite literally, save your life. You should be building not only a viable business, but a community – one that supports and cares for each other. If you’re just out to make a buck, don’t be surprised if no one leaps to defend you or lend you a helping hand when things go bad. And they will go bad.
Stuff happens in business. You can get “slapped” by Google. You can get your PayPal account frozen. It happens.
But if you have friends like George’s, you’ll have a whole team of folks on your side. But one thing to remember: George had friends he’d created just by being a good guy, doing the right thing at the right time, not worrying about what was in it for him. He stood up for what was right, even when it cost him personally.
He didn’t build this community by selling junk or automating his Twitter feed or spamming everyone. He did it the old fashioned way: By caring.
Some business techniques never go out of style.
Well it’s been fun using holidays to give business advice during the last three blogs and I hope it’s brought you entertainment and offered you a different way of looking at your business. If you missed any here are the links:
https://strategizeyoursuccess.com/staging2/how-buddy-the-elf-can-teach-us-enthusiasm
https://strategizeyoursuccess.com/staging2/even-the-grinch-can-teach-us-something-about-business
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Nice article ~ I’ve been using the “old fashion” way for quite sometime — I haven’t quite figured out how to get it on the quicker lane yet!
Wanda, love that movie *It’s a Wonderful Life.* As entrepreneurs we are often deciding on, focusing on and working on goals. We keep our eye on the prize and work hard daily. However, it’s important to look back to celebrate and acknowledge our tribe, our relationships and our accomplishments.
so a simple and elegant truth.
Sadly, ‘not worrying about what is in it for you and standing up for what is right, even if it will cost you personally’ is not a common place mentality. Whether in business, politics or life, there are so many pressures to make success about the bottom line, profit over people and money over meaning. On the up side, more the negative, transactional and cold companies are being outed thanks to our instant and virtual world of the internet and social media, and more of the good guys, those who understand values are also getting the stage where they may not have before.
I know which one I choose to make my business about, and this movie is a great reminder of how to do that!
Wanda, this is my fave holiday movie by far! And it’s soooo true that caring never goes out of style. I absolutely love the idea of gathering a tribe like George Bailey does! Thank you so much for this perspective! Ooh, I finally watched Elf for the first time the other night, his enthusiasm is amazingtastic! Thanks so much for this fun series! Happy New Year!
At Blue Sun Studio, Deb and I have a saying, “we’re building our company deeper, not wider.” That’s not to say we aren’t growing bigger, just that we are building relationships that are deep and meaningful, not on the surface. We are TOTALLY building a Wonderful Life Business.
Thanks for an inspiring article and for being a Wonderful Life Business model too!