Lessons From Robert Downey Jr.

I recently read an article about Robert Downey, Jr. in Yahoo! that I would like to share with you. Today's generation might think of him as the Iron Man. But he started out as one of the characters of Ally McBeal.

During the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s, Robert Downey, Jr. was in the path of self-destruction; being addicted with drugs and considered to be an alcoholic. He was in a downward spiral of self-destruction.

Yet, he bounced back. He was able to reinvent himself and change his fortunes. 

He is one of the more popular actors to date. The movies which he starred in were blockbusters.

Here is the preview of the article:

"The record-shattering opening success of The Avengers, which sold more than $200 million in theater tickets in the United States and did about $640 million in business worldwide during opening weekend, is further evidence of an amazing fact: Robert Downey, Jr. not only rules Hollywood, but he's staged an even more impressive turnaround than General Motors.

Consider this: Since 2008, nine movies featuring the 47-year-old actor have grossed more than $1.5 billion in the U.S. alone, and his name on the marquee is perhaps the surest guarantee of a box-office smash. That's an astonishing run, especially because it wasn't that long ago -- 2001, to be precise -- that Downey seemed destined to become fodder for those "Whatever Happened To...?" articles in the supermarket tabloids. His drug addiction and erratic behavior earned him a prison stay and led producer David E. Kelley to fire him from what seemed like his last chance for resurrecting his career, a supporting role in the hit TV series Ally McBeal. Downey sank so low that despite his enormous talent, he was virtually unemployable."

 You can read the rest of the article here.

Change Management

I was unable to write and update my blog for a few days since I have asked my partner to redesign and customize my blog. We have agreed that my blog should be easy for the viewers to use and view the articles I have written and at the same time, be personalized to reflect my own identity. She is still in the process of redesigning my blog.

There also comes a point in every company where we need to change and shake-up things. Most employees want the status quo. Unfortunately, no one thrives by being in the same environment for so long. Major changes have to be made so that companies will prosper and reach higher levels.

Life on earth wouldn't be possible if there were no major cataclysmic changes that happened. The earth would be all rocks and gases if no meteorites hit our planet. Recent studies say that the water in our planet may have come from meteors and comets.

Why and when do we need to shake-up things? Is it really even important?

image from http://www.genetologisch-onderzoek.nl/

When you are working, you want to have a routine. Routine helps you in making schedules and meeting deadlines. Unfortunately, routine can also hinder your growth. When you get comfortable with the routine, you don't look for ways to do your job more creatively. You get stuck and stumped when certain issues arrive that you haven't handled before.

Encountering change and being placed in a new environment can help you see clearly and offers you more perspectives. You begin to see your paradigm shift and you begin to solve problems more creatively. When change happens, we get uncomfortable at first but we adjust. During the adjustment phase, we are open to ideas that will help us address our concerns more creatively.

When we stay and stick to the routine for so long, we begin to stagnate. We get bored and we often find ourselves on automatic-pilot. Our performance doesn't go up but may eventually go down - a plateauing of sorts. This is what we want to avoid.

A good indicator of how we can avoid this trap is by continually challenging ourselves and our company. In GreenRides, we have been so used to cleaning cars that my partner and I will be expanding our services soon enough. This will force our employees to learn more and get out of their comfort zones. But before you implement changes here are some of the things you must consider:

1. Have you reached your peak performance? You must ensure that you have learned everything you must before you can move on to higher levels. You must be able to master walking before you can start running. When you jump or skip levels, you are bound to fail and fall hard. Make sure that you learn master one task before you advance to another task.
2. Learn new things but build on present knowledge. When you want to improve things, you must make that you build on what you currently know. There is no use in learning calculus if you don't know how to add and subtract first. The knowledge that you currently poses will be used to move to a higher level. This is why I ask you to learn to master and be expert first before you move on.
3. Accept other ideas. There are people who have done the same things as you are doing. Some may have failed miserably and others have succeeded quite well. Learn from them. Learn why they failed and understand why they succeeded. Use this to your advantage. There is no use making the same twice.