Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Free Solo

A Reel Leadership Article

On June 3rd, 2017, Alex Honnold did the impossible. Alex free-soloed the 3,000 foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Free-soloing is the climbing of a rock-face without the use of any safety equipment. Alex had no harness, no safety net, nothing to catch him if he were to fall.

Such a feat seems nigh-impossible. To climb 3,000 feet into the air without safety equipment makes my mind hurt. It may make yours as well.

Alex Honnold free solo El Capitan

Photo: Free Solo

Having a passion for ice climbing, Free Solo caught my attention because of the high-risk behavior and the excitement of someone doing the impossible. Knowing there are people out there who are willing to risk life and limb to do what no other person is willing to do fascinates me.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Bohemian Rhapsody

A Reel Leadership Article

There are classic stadium rock anthems everybody knows. Songs such as We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, or Another One Bites The Dust. These songs are played in sports arenas across the country.

The members of Queen were masters at crafting songs that have lasted through generations. Members Farrokh Bulsara, stage named Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), Brian May (Gwilym Lee), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) have given millions of fans something to sing along to.

Rami Malek as Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury

They also left a great story. There’s fame and fortune. Tragedy and death. Love and hate. Queen and the Freddie Mercury movie Bohemian Rhapsody, share a story unlike any other.

Whether or not you know the music of Queen (and you’ll know at least a few of their tunes), you will enjoy the two-plus hour movie detailing the rise and fall of a rock legend. You’ll also walk away from Bohemian Rhapsody with a wealth of leadership lessons.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Ant-Man And The Wasp

A Reel Leadership Article

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly return in the 20th Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Ant-Man And The Wasp. In this outing, The Wasp (played by Evangeline Lilly) and her father Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) are in search of Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer), their mother/wife.

What Ant-Man and the Wasp can teach you about leadership

Their search began anew when Scott Lang (Ant-Man) returned from the Quantum Realm, a feat thought impossible. Janet had been trapped in the Quantum Realm for 30 years. They now had the hope she could be alive.

During their search, they run across new threats including a black market arms dealer named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) and Ghost/Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen). These threats hamper their rescue efforts and create fun action scenes you’ll love to watch.

Find Your Opportunity

Negativity constantly flows from news reports about the lack of opportunity.

There’s nothing out there! No one is hiring! New businesses are failing!

These are the messages being put out on TV and in newspapers. They’re scary messages.

That’s the point for these media outlets. They know that fear sells.

And yet there’s a different mindset with those who are actually trying to do something. There are people who have shut off the TV, closed the newspaper, and discovered the world isn’t scary.

In fact, there’s a wealth of opportunity out there for them.

Who’s Found Opportunity?

My friend Kimanzi Constable found opportunity when he could have stayed in a safe position. However, he knew better. He knew more was out there. That’s why he quit his job as a bread delivery man and began helping people.

Take A Big Risk

Risks are scary things. You never know what the outcome of the risk will be.

Will you lose your life? Will you strike it rich? Will you be denied? Will you be noticed? Will you have an epic failure?

Those are probably the questions running through your mind as you take a risk, especially big risks. Risks require us to ask questions and gamble on the outcome.

You may not get the results you were looking for.

My Recent Risk

My friend, Kimanzi Constable, has been challenging a group of us to take our dreams to the next level. To reach out to organizations that may help us increase business and further our success.

My risk was reaching out to Chris Brogan at Owner Mag. Owner Mag was an online magazine that featured amazing articles.