Taking a bunch of 14 and 15 year olds to see the new Star Trek movie this past weekend, I was reminded once again of the importance of a positive mindset – not just for success in business – but for success in life.

I won’t give away the ending of the movie for those Trekkie fans who haven’t been able to fit it into your schedules yet but I will say that there were definitely some unexpected plot twists from J.J. Abrams - especially since I knew what the story was supposed to be.

Reminded me of some business peoples’ reactions to the current economy – despite the past eight or nine months.  “It’s not supposed to be this way,” I’ve heard more than one person moan.  Maybe not – in another time and place – or an alternative universe – but it is.  So how do we deal?

That’s where Randy and James come in.  When I read the book, The Last Lecture in July of last year (just a few weeks before Randy Pausch passed away from pancreatic cancer), I was amazed and in awe of his optimism and spirit, despite his diagnosis.  He writes about the Star Trek series in his book and lo and behold, in the new movie they had the scene that he references – one that was intially referred to in the 1982 release of  The Wrath of Khan.

In the new movie, Kirk (after failing twice), finally wins against a simulated training program where no matter what actions the cadets take or what decisions they make, they can’t win.  Their crew dies and their ship is detroyed.  He does this – much to the astonishment of students and teachers alike by reprogramming the simulation because - ”I don’t believe in no-win scenarios”.

Randy Pausch also didn’t believe in no-win scenarios.  He took a terminal illness and used it to educate and enlighten millions of people.  Got me thinking…how many of us are taking that attitude in our businesses – and our lives – today?  Are you refusing to believe in “no-win” scenarios?  What steps are you taking to win and succeed in the next year?

If you’re looking for answers and want to WIN big, let CEO Think Tank enlighten you!

Tags: Business Improvement, Enlightened Executives, Leadership, Personal Development

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 3:23 am and is filed under General, Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.