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    • Live from the Berry-Shawshank Moment

    SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
    Everyone needs his or her “Shawshank moment”
    A really good friend of mine was in my office today and I noticed, how down and depressed she looked. I asked her what was wrong? She told me that life was not going the way she wanted it to.
    Being the quick thinker and motivational speaker that I am (joke), I simply told her: Everyone needs their Shawshank moment! Obviously she asked me what’s that? So I had to explain…

    Over the weekend, I purposely watched the movie Shawshank Redemption because I remembered it had some valuable gems and parallels to real life. I wanted to re-watch the movie and see if there were any lessons that I missed the first time watching it back in the day. If you guys have not seen this 1994 Oscar nominated movie, you need to get involved.
    We all struggle at times, trying to find our way out of the mental prisons that keeps our minds trapped worst than prison cells. We let our surroundings, negative influences and poor thought patterns cloud our heads to the point our minds deny us the clarity of freedom. What’s even more overwhelming is that some people can’t see the difference between a physical cell and a mental cell.
    In the movie, Red played by Morgan Freeman gets Andy Dufresne played by Tim Robbins a rock hammer that he requested. Red was known around the prison for getting inmates whatever they needed from cigarettes to shoe laces.
    In the movie I think the gesture of giving Andy the rock hammer symbolized someone giving you that key, that opportunity, that tool, that wisdom, which I want to refer to as your “Shawshank Moment” that one needs to get free. We sometimes feel that other people hold the keys to what we need and sometimes it may be true. We have to believe that there is someone out there than can get us the thing we need to be successful, to break out, whether it’s our bank manager, priest, boss, parents or friends. I can’t say that it’s as simple as that though. I believe that it all comes down to your character. You have to first know or have an idea of what it is you need. You have to be aware of what tools you require. You might not have the means to get the tools, but you need to at least have an idea of what those tools are.

    Without giving away the whole movie, Andy used the rock hammer, which is an extremely small object to dig his way out of prison. This amazed me because it took him approximately 10 years to slowly dig himself out of his cell to freedom. Some of you may think that’s a frigging long time, but you know what? Sometimes you have to take the time, and maybe if he weren’t focused on getting free it would have taken him longer.

    The character of Red did not think that Andy wanted to use the rock hammer to escape from prison, because Red thought that it would take someone a lifetime to do so with such a small object.

    That leads me to my second point. Red was a lifer, he had already spent 20 years of his life in jail and kept waiting for the parole board to set him free. The parole board waited until he had spent 40 years of his life in prison before they finally let him go.

    In life there are 2 kinds of people: The ones who wait behind life’s bars and the ones who dig their way to freedom.

    Sometimes the smallest blessings such, as a rock hammer can be the tool we need to get us out of the mental prison that holds us back. Or we can wait until life’s parole board gives us the green light and let’s us go.

    Everyone needs their “Shawshank Moment” the tool needed to dig them out of their mental prison that keeps them from their dreams. I think it first starts with believing you can escape and then putting the thoughts into action.

    We have to break out of our mental prisons and get free! You have to make shit happen by digging and digging no matter how long it takes. Even though we feel like it might take forever we have to continue and not give up. Don’t let the prison of life hold you back.

    And if you’re that person like Red that can get someone what they need like a rock hammer, don’t be afraid to get it for them. Don’t hold back! Helping people can be very self-rewarding.

    At the end of the movie when Red finally got out of jail he made it a point to go and find his friend who had escaped years earlier. Andy returned the favor to Red by offering him a job in his flourishing business. I guess that was the biggest payback he could give him for lending him hand by getting him the tool he needed to get out of jail; the rock hammer.

    So to my friend… Everyone needs a “Shawshank Moment” and I hope this can help you find yours.

    Just my thoughts

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