My daughter is always insisting on watching cartoons; my wife insists on Africa Magic and I have no say on what to watch but grudgingly sit still to watch what they want. It’s always good not to usurp your “Head of the House” power because if you take time to review what they want, you may gain far more from them than you can imagine. This was what happened when I was watching the Disney Classic – The Lion King.
The way the lion was depicted was worth reviewing and the characters of the lion worth integrating. I realized that the lion is not the smartest of all the animals neither is it the fastest, the strongest, the biggest, the most talented nor the most beautiful, but it is the leader of all the animals. What attribute does the lion have that grants it the leadership of the animal kingdom? I am talking about an attribute that sets the lion apart from other animals.
The elephant is regarded as the biggest animal; the tortoise is the wisest; the cheetah (or antelope) is the fastest; the eagle soars in the air, the snake family is the deadliest, the hyenas are quite cunning, the peacock is quite beautiful, etc. But none of them is ruling the kingdom. Being a leader wherever you find yourself is not about being the best but about having the right attitude. The lion’s attitude is what gives it the edge.
The attitude of ”can get anything done” even when you are not the best. The attitude you take when you venture into anything is vital to its success. The lion may not be the best in one skill function but tend to possess a little of everything and thus able to coordinate all the skill function to its advantage. As you move through life, it is imperative to gain as little as you can from everything, putting your purpose to focus.
An attitude is regarded as an opinion or general feeling about something. When the lion sees an elephant, it thinks of it as food and that is the attitude it takes to scare it away. The way we see challenges is what distinguishes us from our counterparts. While everyone was running away from Goliath, David was seeing Goliath differently. David becoming the king of Israel is based on his defeat of Goliath. How we feel and see a challenge is the edge not the requisite skill.
The elephant inspires fear in all the animals except the lion that see it as lunch. While everybody is running away from the elephant, the lion is attacking it head on. If you want to fulfill your destiny and remain a leader in your chosen profession, you are supposed to take your challenges head on and solve it. Your level of authority lays in the solution your proffer to every single challenge you face in life.
Another very important lesson learnt from the lion king, is the concept of understanding “who you are?”. Due to crowd mentality, most guys do not isolate themselves to understand their talent and how it is relevant to their purpose. All they do is following the crowd; because Simba grew up with the pig and squirrel, it forgot who it was. It forgot that it was the king of pride rock and it took cane knocks from the monkey to identify itself in the river.
The first look at the river was a reflection of itself but the second look with a knock on its head produced an image of his father. It was able at this time to decipher who it was. Most people would never know who they are until they get knocks on their head. Until they are faced with difficulties like losing their jobs or losing their support system before they recognize who they are. Is there really a way we can know who we are before getting that knock of life?
Knowing who you are in God is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. You really don’t need a knock in life in order to align yourself with the destiny God has prepared for you: Constantly beholding yourself in a glass the image of Christ would transform your mind from crowd mentality to purpose mentality. Remember, Jesus is referred to as the Lion of the tribe of Judah amongst many other names. Let’s follow his footsteps: Hakuna Matata Friends!
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16 comments
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June 9, 2011 at 10:26 am (UTC 1)
Thanks for this insightful piece!
June 9, 2011 at 9:42 am (UTC 1)
I definitely needed to read this. God bless you for being a blessing….
July 14, 2009 at 12:34 am (UTC 1)
Thanks! The lessons are great!
July 10, 2009 at 10:44 am (UTC 1)
Mind-blowing!……….Renewed mentality!
Good one Bro.
July 9, 2009 at 6:27 pm (UTC 1)
Infact I will first of all appreciate the writer’s ability to comprehend analyse the attributes that make this wonderful animal (the lion) a leader.And how it relates to us as humans in our aspirations,various goals and heights in life.
Thank you very much.
July 9, 2009 at 4:07 pm (UTC 1)
I agree with you 100%. There are really lessons to learn from cartoons and documentaries. It all depends on the angle one is looking at it. Most of us still need to rediscover ourselves. We are lost in the crowd. Most of us still hold on to the past mistakes. The fact that people lost monies in previous investments in stocks, MLMs etc. have made them to become complacant in their comfort zones.
July 9, 2009 at 10:19 am (UTC 1)
nice one!attitude is everything!its the winning streak!winners dont do different things ,they do things differently.
another classic dee!
July 8, 2009 at 7:16 pm (UTC 1)
dear dipo, great piece.
took a lot in from the cartoon myself but your perhaps put it more in perspective.
thanks a lot.
balogun
July 7, 2009 at 5:52 pm (UTC 1)
Well said, i like this.
July 7, 2009 at 10:37 am (UTC 1)
Spot on!
What many guys don’t know about challenges is that they are incentives to bring out the best in us.
Our true potentials respond to challenges (or demand, in the words of Myles Munroe).
The challenges that mar others brought the shine in many others and the difference? Attitude!
The same challenge that reduced General Saul to a bloody civilian brought out the General in David.
Keep inspiring us to be all we can be!
Luv u!
July 7, 2009 at 8:09 am (UTC 1)
Oh yeah.. gone to read and back now..
Lion king is one of the very best cartoons I have watched with a superb concept…
Knowing who we are and exhibiting the our leadership role is key in life, frrm the list of questions above, I would love to add… Do you give people the opportunity to LORRD it over you?..that again is key ‘cos we can neva make people see us differently from the ways we see ourselves…
we can only give them the permission to either get us downtrodden or admire us even if it is from a far distance…
Dipo, this is one of the very best I’ve read from you (apart from that “Virgin diary” stuff)
I love this.. keep it up!!!
Toodles…
July 7, 2009 at 7:59 am (UTC 1)
Not looking well…lol
Fourth this time…sob…sob
July 7, 2009 at 7:59 am (UTC 1)
Firrrrrrrrssssssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttttttt again!
July 7, 2009 at 7:26 am (UTC 1)
nice talk….for the decerning mind.
July 6, 2009 at 11:05 pm (UTC 1)
you are right. i want to read more.why did you stop.?
July 6, 2009 at 7:04 pm (UTC 1)
Strong Words… I like the attitude thing so much. Funnily there are so much write ups on attitude and sometimes i wonder with the people i see around how only a handful of people take into cognissance this concept. Believe you me, your idea of the lion seeing the elephant as a meal, is a simplification of the concept of attitude. Thank you