Warning!  Spoiler Alert.  If you have not seen Iron Man and plan to there may be possible spoilers in this post.

Iron Man freaking rocked.  It was an incredibly well done movie from both a cinematic and script perspective.  I look forward to any franchise movies that follow and hope one is in the works.  Note: I do not consider this movie appropriate for young children, primarily for mature content included a sex scene and violence.  People, there is a reason it has a PG-13 rating.  I personally wouldn’t take my sons until they are closer to 7-9, depending on their maturity level.  Anyway, ‘nough said, and on with the discussion.

There were several things that stuck out to me.  First, motivation.  When Stark was captured and realized that his weapons were being sold under the table to terrorists he initially wanted to give up and just rot in a cave.  Funny how quickly his perspective changed when he was told he had a week to deliver a new weapon system or be killed.  It energized and motivated Stark to take action and do what was necessary to escape.

Second, Purpose.  Prior to Stark’s capture and subsequent escape, he seemed to have a playboy life and drifted without a sense of purpose.  That all changed after his escape when his purpose became to find and destroy those who were using his weapons to destroy innocent civilians.  He became so laser focused that nothing would deter him from his end goal. 

Third, Tenacity.  He failed frequently and kept on going.  As Stark’s focus drove him to build the best suit he frequently experienced setbacks and failure.  And yet, he was not deterred from what he considered his purpose in life.  He learned from his failures, adjusted and tried again, until the final version of the suit was produced.

There are other parallels that could be drawn, however, I believe these three embody the keys to being successful in whatever you’re doing.  Initially, Stark didn’t have a purpose.  It was the motivation to live that helped him find a purpose to live for something worth living and dying for.  It was finding his purpose that gave him the endurance to continue through numerous failures and setbacks as he developed the suit. 

How about you?  Have you found a purpose that gets you up and keeps you going in the face of adversity?  I know I struggle with this and believe that many others do as well.  Keep on trying, keep on learning.  You will find it and you will succeed as your purpose drives you to your goal.  Nothing worth doing is easy.

I leave you with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt:

Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led diffcult lives and led them well.