Have you ever seen “The Godfather” trilogy? Come on, you gots to see this. If you have, I’m willing to bet you’ve watched them more than once, maybe a dozen times (sorry to admit, I’m guilty). Now, let me just throw this out there. I’m certainly not for glorifying the mob or mafia at all. Regarding the movies though, there’s just fantastic lessons and acting. I mean, come one, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Anyways, this isn’t a Godfather commercial by any means. Onward.
A scene in Godfather 3 continues to pop into my mind and I’m so thankful for it. It reminds me to push further. Here’s the story. Don Corleone (Al Pacino, aka The Godfather) has a potential business deal pending with the Vatican Church as he’s trying to buy out their interest in a major corporate conglomerate, Immobiliare. The powers that be on the Vatican side of deal are working behind the scenes to essentially screw the Godfather in this deal. So, in trying to make this deal work for all parties involved, Don Corleone is directed to a true priest, a cardinal, in fact, to gain advice and direction. And the thing that sticks in my mind, is when Don Corleone explains his side of story to Cardinal (Cardinal Lamberto). Understanding it, the cardinal tries to explain the nature of man.
Cardinal Lamberto picks up a stone that’s laying in a fountain there at the Vatican. He states as he whacks the stone against the side of fountain breaking it into pieces, “Look at this stone. It has been lying in the water for a very long time, but the water has not penetrated it. Look. Perfectly dry. The same thing has happened to men in Europe. For centuries, they have been surrounded by Christianity, but Christ has not penetrated them.”
The reason this picture of the Godfather and Cardinal Lamberto pops into my mind often is I’ll sometimes see myself as that rock that he picks up out of the water. Why? Because I’ll come across something or some new idea in my reading or studying, and be like, “That’s great, I love that principle, that’s the type of person I want to be. That’s something I want to embody”. And weeks later, I’ve still done nothing to implement or embody that trait. Point is, even after sometimes being surrounded by something we still fail to put things into action. We still fail to make a change.
Let me ask you, are you embodying the principles you want? Or are you just gathering facts and reading about things?
For instance, with me, Believing (hence
www.ThinkBigBelieveBig.com) is something I cherish and hold dear. Years ago after reading The Power of Positive Thinking and The Magic of Thinking Big, I decided that Belief was a word that would encapsulate and define me. Belief in God and His abundance, belief in myself and my abilities, belief in others as well. I would write the word down, focus on it, say affirmations, the whole nine yards. Here’s the kicker. I wasn’t always embodying Belief. Especially when it counted, I wasn’t believing. I probably was doing more doubting than believing. When business deals I was involved in started to go south, inside of me, I wasn’t believing. Sometimes I’d worry. Now, that’s negative belief.
Here’s a few more to chew on. As you probably know if you read my article, taking responsibility for everything in my life is also huge to me. However, I sometimes still struggle to 100% fully embody that. My ego loves it when someone else is to blame. Loving others. Having no fear. Attacking fear. Making total commitments. These are others that I strive for.
My point is, what things are you perhaps surrounded by? Positive things that you’re exposed to, that you’re failing to let penetrate you. Let them penetrate you. Make them. This isn’t a spectator’s sport. Get at it.
Things sometimes don’t stick after doing them only once. Stay at it.
We’ll talk soon,
Ron Kawatsky