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 didn’t commit, Andy had hope.  Not Red Andy’s friend. According to Red, sardonically speaking, “everyone believes they’re innocent at Shawshank. Red also also insisted that hope and the dream of freedom was only a  pipe dream. Andy, on the other hand believed and embraced hope and faith in his future.

During a pivotal point in the movie, Andy asked Red, “Do you think you’ll 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 a 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.

Andy spoke one of 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, I knew I’d eventually die in my job, figuratively speaking. Starting in 1987, I made a decision to escape and methodically plotted out my exit strategy. You see according to Andy it takes “Pressure and Time” to dig your way out of Shawshank. I applied pressure and in time, I gained my freedom — It took seven years. A year later I broke out my wife and we have been redeemed and enjoyed our freedom for the last 17 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.” Don’t keep on doing the same thing. Take a look at my team blog at SuccessMentor.com Maybe our team can help you escape your Shawshank.