Three lessons Roger Deakins has taught the world about resilience

How many of us have heard of Roger Deakins, the legendary Hollywood cinematographer, who has to his credit, classics such as Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, The Reader, True Grit, Skyfall and the list goes on. Roger Deakins is known for something else – he’s often referred to as the “Academy’s unluckiest visionary genius”. Why unlucky? Because despite a body of work that one can kill for, he maintained, until 2018, a rare record of 13 Oscar nominations and 0 wins! Yes – nominated 13 times, only to see someone else take the trophy home. Quite possibly, one of the most famous unsuccessful streaks in the history of Oscars, that at least I’ve come across. He would have, naturally, felt bad; it would have most definitely hurt, but what’s amazing is, how he quickly recovered and moved on to the next project, continuing to give his best and creating yet another masterpiece. For Deakins it was not about what he lost in the process, but what he gained from what he felt, had to be done. This man’s one-of-a-kind story outlines three key lessons on resilience, that I felt I should jot down and share today. 

Lesson 1: Defining a goal 

More often than not, we don’t get “recognized or rewarded” even after we’ve delivered great work. Likewise, Roger kept striving toward creating his masterpieces, one after the other. This doggedness basically stemmed from an unwavering resolve and a source of eternal motivation. Despite things not going his way, he kept working toward his goal, which was delivering excellence. 

When it comes to the context of people like us, how can we unearth such determination and willpower? According to social psychologist, Roy Baumeister, and New York Times science writer John Tierney, the two personality traits that are important to drive success in life are: intelligence and willpower.

Lesson 2: Relating a life goal to a larger purpose

What did it take for someone like Roger, to keep churning out great products and deliver the same, time and again, despite not being celebrated or recognized?

In our context, if employees were denied recognition like extra miler awards, special mentions, promotions, hikes or increments, despite consistently delivering their best, what does it take for them to keep on going, and doing great work? To find out, we need to find out where the answer of our life’s purpose lies. Don’t get me wrong – recognition is important for all of us but having a purpose will always keep you inspired despite the odds not being in your favor.

Lesson 3: Do what you love, and love what you do.

There is an old saying, which goes like, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

If you love your job, then you probably worked hard since day one and took small steps to reach this point. I can vouch for this from my own experience, that if you are passionate about what you do, and if you put the best foot forward, then you are already a winner! And if you have a purpose and love what you do, nothing else matters. And that is exactly what we celebrate at EY.

Purpose is a key pillar of our NextWave strategy and we aim to create long-term value for our clients, our people and our society. At an individual level, we try to create long-term value for every member of the EY family, which includes investing in new experiences and honing their leadership skills. For instance, through the new EY Ripples global corporate responsibility program, I see so many colleagues volunteering happily. They are eager to apply their skills and knowledge to support the next generation workforce, help impact entrepreneurs scale their businesses and drive environmental sustainability. And that is exactly how we are our bit to realise the common purpose, i.e., build a better working world.

P.S.: Roger Deakins eventually went on to win two much-deserved (and of course, long due) Academy Awards, for ‘Blade Runner 2049’ and ‘1917’, his 14th and 15th nominations respectively.