Every once and I while I write a post here where I think I learn more than anyone who reads it. Today is one of those. Whether that is good or bad, I guess you’ll have to decide.
It’s been a few months since the last Batman film arrived in theaters. He’s not trending right now necessarily, but since The Dark Knight Rises recently landed on dvd I re-watched the entire trilogy over the last 4 weeks. As I watched, I realized that the primary theme of Christopher Nolan’s batman series is inspiration.
Batman Begins explains how Bruce wants to become a symbol that people can rally behind to fight evil and corruption in Gotham.
The Dark Knight shows how they believe Harvey Dent can inspire people in a way that Batman never could, and when Harvey falls they know the good he began to inspire will completely fall to pieces. And so Batman takes the fall for him, allowing Dent to remain a symbol of hope and inspire justice.
The Dark Knight Rises begins with a scene I used to think completely random, in which Commissioner Gordon says, “I knew Harvey Dent. He was my friend. And it will be a long time until someone inspires us the way he did.” But this was far from random, it is central to the primary theme of the trilogy. And in the final film, Batman “rises” to inspire the people of Gotham, once and for all.
Throughout the series, Batman knew that he alone could not end crime in Gotham. One man simply cannot solve all the problems in the world. But he believed he could inspire a generation, and when you inspire millions, all of them can work together to truly change things.
If you want to inspire people, however, you don’t have to be a billionaire. You don’t need an awesome theme song. You don’t have to own “The Bat” or “The Tumbler.” There are several keys to inspiration in these films, and any of us can adopt them.
1) Total Devotion to your Cause
“If you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can’t stop you, then you become something else entirely…”
One reason people love Batman is his lack of super powers. If you had to label him with a super power, however, it would be dedication. He never quits, he never stops working to pursue his dream of saving the people of Gotham. He trains his body, he hones his mind, he works tirelessly to inspire good.
Dedication is rare today. Many of us cannot stay focussed on one task for more than 20 or 30 minutes. If you want to inspire people, you’re going to have to give more than that. Choose your mission, and go after it with everything you’ve got. Granted, you’ll need to rest, you are only human. But Gandhi did not inspire people it by committing 20 minutes a day for a few weeks to his cause. It was a lifelong pursuit. We shall have to do the same.
2) You must be Truly Incorruptible
“You truly are incorruptible, aren’t you?”
If you want to inspire good, then you cannot be a hypocrite. Harvey Dent was meant to be the symbol of good for Gotham, but he allowed himself to be corrupted and became the very thing he fought to end. Batman, on the other hand, never faltered. He was not perfect, but the world doesn’t you to be perfect (you’re incapable of that). It needs you to practice what you preach.
Our world has become cynical and skeptical of anyone good. Politicians, religious leaders, athletes, and other leadership roles in society are full of people who fell, and fell hard. Drugs, adultery, theft. If leaders are to inspire good, then they must live rightly. I look at someone like Tim Tebow and pray often that he will not falter. People want him to fail, but if he maintains his focus on Christ I believe he can inspire tremendous good in the world. And if you hold true to your beliefs, there is no reason you cannot inspire others either.
3) You Need a Symbol
“People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne, as a man I’m flesh and blood I can be ignored I can be destroyed but as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.”
The Bat signal became a rallying cry for people. Criminals feared it, and innocent people took comfort in it. In the end, it roused the people of Gotham to fight for their city.
Now, you don’t need to design a symbol and start wearing it on your shirt everyday. But, if you want to inspire, you need something simple that people can rally around. Perhaps it is a logo of some kind, or perhaps it is a mission statement. Our brains just latch on to things that are simple and easy to remember. Nike has done an incredible job rallying people to get outside and run through both a symbol and a mission statement. When you see the swoosh, I am willing to bet “Just do it” crosses your mind. Whether you like Nike or not, they have inspired millions, if not billions to get outside and move.
4) You Will Deal with Failure
“Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up again.”
Batman definitely experiences failure. He loses Rachel, Dent gets blown up, and Bane beats him down in a big way. But after each failure, he picks himself up and keeps working to inspire and save Gotham.
Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” We often allow failure to get to our heads. It makes us feel inadequate. The truth is, if you never fail it is because you never try. Inspiring people is not easy, but don’t give up!
5) You Will Have to Sacrifice
“You’ve Given these people everything.”
“Not everything, not yet.”
Throughout the trilogy, Bruce sacrifices his body, his fame, his reputation. He loses his loved ones, his fortune, his mansion, and more. But he makes the sacrifice, because he fights for something worth fighting for. His final act of sacrifice, I believe, inspires the rebuilding of Gotham.
There is perhaps no greater example of sacrifice than the work of Jesus on the cross. The Father gave His only Son to die on the cross so that His people might have eternal life. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, there is no denying the dramatic inspiration he has had on history. Perhaps no one has inspired more good, and though people can do evil things in his name, we can know that he calls us to do good by his great example.
What do you hope to inspire in people?
