Con Air Wisdom

Many of you have probably seen the movie Con Air (1997) starring John Cusack, Nicholas Cage and John Malkovich. While it’s an entertaining movie, it also holds some subtle wisdom about life and leadership.

There’s a memorable scene in the movie when the escaped prisoners are trying to take off in a stolen airplane, but there’s a hitch in their plan. The plane is tethered to a concrete pylon. Despite its big engines, massive power and everything it needs to take off, the plane goes nowhere.

The same is true of your life and leadership. No matter how much power you have (or think you have), how robust your engine, or how prepared you think you are to accelerate and take off, you’ll go nowhere as long as you’re tethered.

Your tethers may take many forms, but most commonly they are negative beliefs you have about yourself, old stories that hinder you from change, fear, doubt, etc. It’s often easier and more comfortable to focus on what you need to get started (engines, power, etc.) – but the magic comes when you turn around (watch the movie scene and you’ll understand), look behind you and untether yourself from whatever that concrete pylon is in your life.

Now is your time to untether. You may not be as easy as shooting the rope like they did in Con Air, but you should place your focus on the tether that’s holding you back, rather than just on what you might need to accelerate.