Cast Away

One of my favorite movies is Cast Away with Tom Hanks. Like many favorite movies, they tend to get you so involved in the story that when you trip over them when channel surfing, you end up watching them despite the incessant commercials. It was like that for me over the holidays with this Tom Hanks classic.

Now you may be one of the many people who thought this was a snoozer of a movie, but ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let me present to you several "Take Aways" from this film that may change your mind as there are a few unnoticed gems of inspiration and motivation for you.

The man is alone on an island. Haven't we all felt like that before? (If you haven't, chances are there will be a time so listen up.) Our hero washes ashore after surviving a plane crash and luckily he's also got a few Fed Ex packages with him. (While a deflated volleyball is hardly a good sidekick, you never had to worry that he was going cannibal on you.) In addition to the crash debris, he's got fish in the lagoon and coconuts in the trees. Take Away #1 - You are never alone. If you really look around and take stock of your surroundings you will find things you can use to make your life better, you just have to look closely for them.

Just keep breathing. As the story unfolds, our hero relates what kept him motivated, other than the blond fiance (played by Helen Hunt) he told "be right back". Part of his motivation to survive apparently stemmed from the fact that after failing to throw himself off a cliff, it was the realization that he had no control over his destiny and that he just needed to "keep breathing" because you "never know what the tide will bring in." Take Away #2 - When all seems lost, the basics are most important. Here's an experiment for you. Take a live fish, any type of fish will do, and throw it on the floor. Now watch carefully because they all do the same thing. They flop and flop and flop some more, instinctively trying to find the water. Next time you find yourself out of your element and with little under your control, remember the basics and keep flopping.

Castaway vs. Cast Away. What's the subtle difference? The irony of the story is that our hero is a castaway, but more importantly, for a character who once placed a premium on "being on time", that he was ultimately cast away because he was given up for dead. Take Away #3 - Time is precious. It's the one thing we all own. We may choose to sell our time to an employer for minimum wage or to read a blog on how to set up a home based business. In either case, we own it. Choose to use your time wisely and find a way to get the most value from it and you will rarely feel like you have been passed by.