In a couple weeks, Dune: Part 2 will be in the theaters.
I loved Part 1 and am anxiously waiting for opening night.
I first read Dune in the summer of 1980, when I was the same age as the main protagonist, 15 years old.
And like Paul, my father died when I was young and my mother raised me.
As a 15-year-old kid, Paul and Dune resonated with me.
5 Lessons I Learned from Reading Dune
Life is unfair.
There’s no doubt about it.
But if you’re going to just sit there and cry about it, it ain’t going to get better.
Here are 5 other lessons that I learned;
Fear is the mind-killer, but control, not avoidance, is the key
I read and memorized the Bene Gesserit litany against fear.
I used it each time I became afraid as a means to face my fear and not run away from it.
And because of this one quote, I was able to face and tackle so many challenges that would’ve stopped me without it.
In the process, I found that I was much more capable than I gave myself credit for.
“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”
– Dune, by Frank Herbert
Adaptation and resilience are crucial for survival
In martial arts, it is said that a black belt is a white belt who got thrown down 1,000 times but got back up 1,001 times.
I know this was certainly true for me in my Hapkido journey.
It took me over 11 years to earn my 1st-dan black belt because of the falls both on and off the mat that I had to endure and overcome, including;
- taking 3 years off for my electrical apprenticeship
- healing up and building my resolve after getting my spleen punched and ruptured
- countless smaller injuries and broken bones from training
- overcoming mental hurdles of being beat up constantly
And while these were challenges, I imagined myself to be like Paul and the hero of my own hero’s journey.
Getting thrown down and picking myself back up.
True strength comes from a blend of physical prowess, mental discipline, and leadership qualities
In life there is conflict.
It can’t be helped.
No matter what, people will see things differently and when those differences come together, there is often a clash.
The key to being successful therefore is to not always fight but to use your intelligence, wisdom and experience to lead others to a better way.
Paul overcame all of his enemies by befriending the Fremen, leading them out of hiding to become the most powerful fighting force in Dune.
I learned to overcome my opponents on the mat and at work by studying them and learning how to help them.
Thereby turning combatants into allies.
Understanding your enemies and their motivations is essential for victory
For Paul to overcome the Harkonnens and the Emperor, he first had to understand them.
He had to put himself in their shoes and see through their eyes.
Sun Tzu said it best in The Art of War
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
For us common folk, here is how it applies:
So many people at work, see their supervisors as a problem, as an enemy.
Making their job and life hard.
And that is why they struggle and fail at work.
I did too, at first.
Until I learned an important lesson.
My job was to make my immediate supervisor’s job easier.
And when I do that, it makes my job and my life easier.
I do this by watching, studying and putting myself in my boss’s shoes.
Thinking what he needed to accomplish.
Then I worked on helping him to achieve those goals.
Once I learned and did that, every job became my dream job because I made my boss’ life easier, he would return the favor; giving me more autonomy, choice of projects and coworkers.
Individual Choice and Responsibility
Paul, on learning of the legend of the Kwisatz Haderach, at first denies the similarities and implications.
It is not until he accepted his destined role, drinking the Water of Life and choosing embrace what may come from his actions.
Thereby, freeing him from his limiting beliefs.
What limiting beliefs do you have?
What’s holding you back from living the life of your dreams?
One thing that helped me to achieve my dreams was learning how to design my ideal week.
So week by week, brick by brick, I would take personal responsibility for my life and choose to build a life worth living.
If you’re struggling to get off the hamster wheel of moving too much with too little to show for it or,
You’re sick and tired of the emotional roller coaster of excitement and depression,
You can check out the 100-page blueprint that I created for you, Design Your Ideal Week.
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