Once in a while, an inspirational, feel-good movie about an underdog overcoming the odds comes along that walks the fine line between sappy and dramatic, and turns out to be a heck of a good show.
“You’re too short!”
“You’re too small!”
“You can’t do it!”
“Give up already!”
Rudy heard these words constantly from his family, friends, and sometimes his own teammates. The movie Rudy is an extremely popular topic for inspiration in individuals, as many look to this feel-good movie to get them going on whatever daunting task in anything. Manly tears were shed. That’s right. Manly bro tears came down at the end of the movie. But it wasn’t always that way. Whoever directed this movie did a really great job of making Rudy look like a complete idiot in the very beginning. As much as we love our heroes no matter what size, shape, race, or demeanor, Rudy looks, acts, and dreams like a child in a subtle, yet corny way as he recites the radio announcer’s exact words, inspirational coaching speeches, and obsesses over the great American pastime, football.
While passionate and full of youthful energy, Rudy Ruttiger is a five foot nothing hundred pound nothing football fan with dreams of playing for University of Notre Dame, running out of the tunnel, helmet donned on 24 karat gold paint. It’s his dream!
“No! You’re too small!” says his brother
“No! You’re not smart enough to get into Notre Dame!” says his teacher.
The only person that believes he’ll succeed is his best friend Peter, and he DIES near the beginning of the movie. To be completely frank with you, the entire beginning is a tear fest. I know it’s a feel-good inspirational movie about an underdog that’s based on a true story, but something tells me that it’s just a little bit embellished. No one believes in him. His family, brother, GIRLFRIEND (who dumps him for his BROTHER), and co-workers at the steel mill all think he’s full of wild and wily dreams, except for his best friend Peter(WHO DIES). It’s only been about thirty minutes into the film, and they’re recreating the book of Job from the Bible, except with football and flaming steel mill explosions. Granted the film’s done in 1993, and Rudy makes some huge strides in his behavior and way of thinking. When his friend died, he realized that he’s got to stop wasting time. Think about it for a second, are you wasting time with a certain skill you should be learning right now? Rudy takes the bull by the horns and pushes himself to new limits. It’s an incredible journey that I don’t want to spoil for you.
The message behind the movie is pretty simple, and it’s pretty much slammed into your face so hard you can’t even get a way from it. “Keep on trying with all your heart to achieve your goal.” No matter WHO is telling you no or what unfortunate genetic make up you’ve been dealt, keep on pushing, keep on striving, and no matter what happens, you can do it.
Although I must be frank here, I’m a big fan of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and even more, it’s predecessor, Strengths Finder 2.0 . This book mentioned Rudy in a completely different light, and added an extremely unfortunate twist on what Rudy Ruttiger could have become… Directly from Strengths Finder:
“The inspirational nature of this story actually masks a significant problem: Overcoming deficits is an essential part of the fabric of our culture. Our books, movies, and folklore are filled with stories of the underdog who beats one-in-a-million odds. And this leads us to celebrate those who triumph over their lack of natural ability even more than we recognize those who capitalize on their innate talents. As a result, millions of people see these heroes as being the epitome of the American Dream and set their sights on conquering major challenges. Unfortunately, this is taking the path of most resistance.”
That’s right, Rudy is MASKING a big problem we already have in society! The American dream, to overcome your own deficiencies and have no weaknesses… This being the path of most resistance, what should we do? Why are we continually working on our weaknesses, when we should really be using our strengths to the max?
Now I know what you’re thinking. There’s a wrench that was just hurled into the cogs and now we’re confronted with two conflicting ideas…
1. Chase your dream with all your heart and soul, no matter who says you can’t do it, you can, and will if you keep on trying.
2. Commit to your strengths and what you’re good at. Forget about overcoming your deficiencies, as building up weaknesses is the path of most resistance.
Bipolar cluster f**k ahoy! What do we do in this situation? What are we supposed to think, and what are we really looking for in this movie’s message to the world? What’s the right answer to the riddle? Where do we go from here? Work hard, or work smart? Live the American dream by improving your weaknesses, or capitalize on your strengths?
Simply put, BOTH! You can have your cake and eat it too!
At ABCs of Attraction, we want our guys to be well rounded. When you’re learning how to charm and attract a woman, you have to capitalize on your strengths and pump up your weaknesses. Lots of guys who end up going purely 100% direct end up relying on it as a crutch, and end up falling short of their potential. In other words, you can’t always rely on your strengths.
We want you to stack the cards in your favor to get maximum success and maximum results, and in order to make that happen, you’ve got to do both. Chase your dream no matter who says you can’t do it, don’t give up, and keep on trying while taking advantage of whatever strengths you have. Rudy masks a problem? Yeah, it does, but leave it to the ABCs crew to give solutions, not excuses!
Now keep in mind, this isn’t just about dating and seduction. You can easily apply this to your job, your lifestyle, and if you’re into business, company management screams this philosophy. Build up your weaknesses while capitalizing on your strengths.
Back to Rudy, it’s a great movie. Keep things real and in perspective when you’re watching it. While fighting for your dream and improving what you’re weak at, don’t forget to take advantage of what you’re already good at.