DO YOU HAVE A VISION FOR YOUR FUTURE? In Viktor Frankl’s 1946 book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”, he chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp prisoner at Auschwitz during WWII. He describes his psycho therapeutic method of finding a reason to live. According to Frankl, the book intends to answer the question, how was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?

Frankl writes, “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms, to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Of much greater importance for acquiring a meaning, in comprehending the why of one’s existence, was one’s ability to find both hope and strength in the future, to find a goal to which one could look forward. The prisoner who had lost faith in the future – his future – was doomed.”

Have you lost faith in your future? Have you become a victim or prisoner in your job or circumstances? Have you just accepted your circumstances or do you have something compelling yet to accomplish in your future? It is evident, especially with the financial turmoil in our world and civil unrest globally that depending on job security, social security, or any kind of guarantee is a pipe dream. It’s a twentieth century, industrial age mind-set that has indoctrinated and permeated our society.

GET BUSY LIVING OR GET BUSY DYING: In the fictional movie, The Shawshank Redemption, a must see for every student of success, the main character Andy never gave up his dream of freedom. Even in the midst of the worst circumstances while serving a life sentence, convicted of a crime he did not commit, Andy had hope.  According to Red, Andy’s friend, everyone is innocent at Shawshank. Red thought, hope and the dream of freedom was a pipe dream.  Andy, believed and had faith in his future.

During a pivotal point in the movie, Andy asked Red, “Do you think you will ever get out of here? ” Red responded: “Yeah when I’m old and gray with a few marbles rolling around in my head.” Red went on to say, “I don’t know if I could make it on the outside, I’m an institutional man.” Like the other prisoners, Red had become institutionalized by years of incarceration. After a while, prisoners at Shawshank accepted their lot in life, stopped dreaming, and eventually even feared the prospect of being paroled.

Doesn’t this scenario ring true in the lives of many people? Many become institutionalized and begin to feel comfortable, secure, and even dependent in their personal prisons. They accept a false security. Their prison could be a job or circumstance that they just accept as their lot in life and give up hope. Andy, on the other hand stayed busy and productive. He made friends and alliances, even with prison guards in order to advance his plan for freedom. We have heard the saying; You can’t steer a boat that’s not in motion. Andy kept his hope and dreams alive and made the best of his present situation while learning from his past.  But he kept advancing toward his prize.

I don’t want to give away the story, but I will say this. Andy spoke one of his his last lines during a pivotal scene in the movie; “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”  Whatever condition we find ourselves in, it all boils down to our ability to choose our attitude in the midst of our circumstances. We have to keep our eye on the prize and our vision of the future. It’s a simple decision to live, dream and hope or just give up and die a slow painful death. I choose life.

I watched The Shawshank Redemption in 1994, the year I escaped from my personal Shawshank. I remember those words as clear a bell. “Get busy living or get busy dying.” Even before seeing the movie, knew I’d eventually die in my job, figuratively speaking.  So starting in 1987, I made a decision to escape and methodically plotted out my exit strategy.  I gained my freedom — It took seven years.  A year later I broke out my wife and we have enjoyed our freedom for the last15 years.

According to Red, “there’s no use for hope on the inside, it will drive a man insane.” I think it’s insane to stay in a circumstance that imprisons you and causes grief and regret.  Even if you accept the circumstances or just get used to it, you will never achieve the results you desire. Rita Mae Brown’s classic quote defined insanity as; “doing the same things and expecting different results.”