Saw this movie yesterday......It is about a man that walked in humility and forgiveness. The main theme forms around a grandfather that leaves his grandson a wonderful legacy: how to live in humility and truly love your fellow colleagues. The movie underscores the importance of family and how Will in his quest, to fulfill his grandmothers Christmas wish, finds Lillian and in the process discovers his true self , his real calling. It is the realization that only in seeing ones work as a calling, a means to serve a higher purpose, he could find true fulfillment. The experience made him more aware of the context in which he worked, sensitized him to the concerns of the people around him and helped him understand that an attempt to achieve personal mastery requires a good human being. The movie to me contained nuggets of knowledge that are invaluable to everyday living, about living more fruitfully and optimally. It portrayed how one’s attitude determines one’s altitude in life, how the past is history, the future is a mystery, the present is a gift, to be used optimally by keeping the mind from drifting constantly into the past and the future. The movie in particular influenced me for its leadership lessons and its applicability to our daily lives, both personal and professional. Good leaders as epitomized by Wills' Grandfather and himself are selfless, take initiative and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or pecuniary gains. The key message is to “put purpose before self”, a precept that holds abiding value for corporate leadership today. By acknowledging one’s responsibilities Will performs a true renunciation. This concept is ironic in today’s context as leadership in general is shrouded with deceit, dishonesty and selfish acts. We hardly see leaders who sacrifice their authority, position and incentives for the benefit of their people. Many leaders lure their followers with promises only to be forgotten once they capture their leadership positions. Many leaders promise prosperity only to lose focus on people and their well-being. In this age of Enron, Tyco, insider-trading scandals and corporate malfeasance, the lessons from the movie underscores a need for leaders who practice selfless giving and strive for the common good and who know how to renounce the selfishness that affects our relationships to all things.
Christmas Wish is as practical as a movie can get. It is about remembering why we work, and why we were chosen to lead . It’s about finding the courage to act on what one knows is right – and leading a life with the same courage. It’s about winning. The right way. It edifies, inspires and motivates one to imbibe its lessons in all relationships, the workplace and especially one’s posterity. It reaffirms to me the importance of values one learnt growing up in homes, playgrounds and classrooms. That values aren’t to be conveniently molded to fit particular situations. They are indelibly etched in our very beings as natural impulses that never go stale or go out of style. An inspirational manifesto that made me reflect that one does not have to sacrifice the principles that make life worth living to succeed at the highest levels.
