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I LOVE THE MOVIE, Rudy. It's a true story about a boy who wants
to play football for Notre Dame even though he’s small,
not very strong, not very quick, doesn’t have the money
for college (and neither do his parents), and gets lousy grades
in high school.
But because of his formidable persistence
and consistently great attitude, because of his willingness to
keep moving toward his goal no matter what obstacles barred his
way, he actually achieved his goal. It is truly inspiring to
watch.
The real Rudy Ruettiger was a consultant
for the movie, and made sure the movie was an accurate depiction
of his life. But it leaves out some interesting facts. You can’t
put a whole life into one movie without omitting something.
One of the things the movie left out is
what I consider to be a vital part of the story: How he
became so incredibly persistent. Luckily, he wrote about his
experience in more detail, so we know the answer. A particular
event changed his life.
In the movie, only one person supported
Rudy's dream to play football for Notre Dame — his best
friend, Pete. When Pete died in a tragic accident, something
happened to Rudy, and he realized if he was going to make his
dream happen, he’d better get on with it because life is
short.
A few days later he was in a bookstore
and found a paperback copy of Psycho-Cybernetics. “I took the book
home and read it cover to cover,” says Rudy, “and then
I started again at the beginning.”
The book made a profound impression on
Rudy, and he immediately started acting on his newfound understanding
of how to accomplish goals.
“Although I was already 23, I immediately
headed for Notre Dame with the attitude, ‘I'm going to do
this, period, end of sentence,’ and new opportunities were
created just by me showing up.”
I’ve had similar experiences where
my commitment to a goal — all by itself — seemed to
make things happen, almost like magic. You probably have too.
“Maltz said if you take action, the
plan will unfold in front of you,” wrote Rudy. “You
can develop your game plan as you move toward your goal. Sometimes
it’s better not to have everything all laid out; focusing
too much on how you think it should go can cause you to miss
opportunities.”
According to Rudy, the book changed his
life.
If you have important goals (and I’ll
bet you do) find yourself a copy of Psycho-Cybernetics and read it. It’s
one of the best self-help books ever written.
Two things make the book exceptional: First,
it’s easy to read. Second, it is complete. It talks about
the value of setting goals and how to set goals, and how to visualize
your goals to make them real. But it also talks about one of
the most important barriers to achievement: Your self-image.
If you have a goal but believe you’re
a loser, no matter how hard you try, you will not be able to
accomplish your goal. Something will always cause you to fail
before you reach it.
If this has been happening to you, dig
into the self-image psychology in Maltz’s book and follow
the practical suggestions for eliminating the internal barriers
to your success. Rudy said, “I learned from Psycho-Cybernetics
that it’s all in what you think.”
But that doesn’t mean “just think
positive thoughts and everything will turn out well.” There
is more to it. Maltz goes into detail about exactly how to use
your mind effectively to overcome the psychological obstacles
to achievement. Read a summary of Psycho-Cybernetics.
Rudy wrote, “Every one of us uses
our mind to create our life. My story can be your story —
if you are willing to swim against the stream, fight against
the odds, and believe you can be whatever you want to be.
Learn more about the movie, Rudy.
Read an important lesson on friendship
from the movie: Bond
of Comrades.
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