I had the misfortune of attending years of boring sermons and church services growing up. There was obviously a good message embedded in the content but you had to suffer through a lot to discover it.
This is how I felt watching the movie Tomorrowland. There is a good message about the power of positive thinking but you had to avoid drifting into a coma to discover it. I hate saying this but Tomorrowland is the most boring movie I have seen in years.
I sensed the message of the movie is human beings thrive on chaos. We consume riots, unrest, calamity and catastrophe. Tomorrowland makes the point we even desire it and consume it. The media would seemingly agree by what it feeds us during every 24-hour news cycle. No one seems to rise above the fray and provide us hope. We are dying for inspiration but prefer depression. For more on this, make sure you read point #27 The Movie Was Boring But The Ending Made Me Angry.
My recommendation is go see Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron a second or third time instead. With that said, the following are 27 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Tomorrowland:
- Rely On Proven Performers – Do you want to get better as a church or organization? Get a proven leader. I took my family to this movie for three reasons. It was rated PG, from Disney and starred George Clooney.
- Leaders Evaluate Reality – Frank Walker, played by Clooney, opens the movie by saying, “The future can be scary.”
- The Naivety Of Youth Has Potential – Walker adds, “When I was a kid the future was different.”
- Heaven – “What if there was a secret place where nothing is impossible.” – There is but it is not a secret. It is Heaven and anyone can go there through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Leaders Get Things Done – Casey Newton, played by Britt Robertson and the best part of the movie, said, “I did it myself because I got tired of waiting for someone to do it for me.”
- There Is No Creativity Without Creation – Without creation, creativity is merely a dream. A young Walker upon creating an early jetpack said, “(I’d feel) anything’s possible if I saw people flying with a jetpack over me. I’d believe anything is possible.”
- Leaders Inspire Others To Take Action – The world truly is dying for inspiration. A young Walker continues, “Inspiring people makes the world a better place.”
- Forrest Gump Was Wrong – “Been there. Done that” is a cute phrase but a horrible leadership principle. Leaders should be going there and doing that. Newton’s younger brother asked her, “Why do you love the stars so much?” To which she replies, “Because I want to go there.”
- Leaders See The Good In Everything And Everyone – Continuing the conversation, he responded, “What if nothing is there?” To which she replies, “What if everything’s there?”
- The Smallest Things Done Well Over Time Yield Great Results – “Even the tinniest of actions could change the future.”
- Successful Leaders Don’t Quit – Newton’s father, Eddie played by Tim McGraw, told Casey, “It’s hard to have ideas and easy to give up.”
- Leadership Is Temporary – Casey told her father, “You’re a NASA engineer.” To which he responds, “With nothing to launch.”
- Have A Healthy Diet Of Positive Thinking – Casey remembering the lessons from her father, said, “There are two wolves always fighting. Darkness and despair and light and hope. Which one wins?” To which her father replies, “Which ever one you feed.”
- Artists Need Freedom To Be Successful – Nix, played by Hugh Laurie and the operator of Tomorrowland, asked Casey, “What if you were free to create anything?…No bureaucracy…No distraction. No greed.”
- Humor Is One Of A Leader’s Greatest Weapons – In addition to improving your physical health, humor disarms and brings people together. Casey tells the android Athena, “Everyone laughs. It’s a biological need.”
- Unsuccessful Leaders Fail To Make Personal Connections – Athena said, “It’s not personal. It’s just programming.”
- Sustainable Leaders Have A Unshakeable Belief Things Will Get Better – An adult Walker asked Athena why Casey was chosen for Tomorrowland. She said, “Because she hasn’t given up.”
- Successful Leaders Find A Way – Newton said, “There’s a plan. We just haven’t come up with it yet.”
- The movie now takes a turn presenting the belief people want their own demise. The following are five comments from Nix. “The only facts people will face are the ones that keep the wheels greased and the dollars coming in.”
- “They didn’t fear their demise. They embraced it.”
- “We’ve got an epidemic of starvation and obesity at the same time.”
- Newton argued, “There is always a chance of a better future.”
- “We saw the iceberg and we warned the Titanic. But you sailed anyway because you want to sink.”
- “People don’t care about a better future because it doesn’t cost them anything today.”
- The Value Of A Strong Inner-Circle – Smart leaders keep people around them who lift them up and keep their vision hot. Newton concluded, “Dreamers need to stick together. It’s not programming. It’s personal.”
- Leaders Need An Alternative Vision For A Brighter Tomorrow – Walker concludes, “It isn’t hard to knock down an evil building. What’s hard is knowing what to build in its place.”
- The Movie Was Boring But The Ending Made Me Angry – The movie concludes with dozens of people from multiple professions and walks-of-life selected to make the world a better place. Not one was a pastor. The reality is the only one who can bring hope and healing to our broken world is God himself, Jesus Christ. All Christians are responsible for the proclamation of His message but pastors are the primary agents and they were omitted as an option.
Let me know your thoughts on the movie.
Subscribe to this site and get my latest FREE eBook Skinny Jeans And A Tattoo Does Not Make You A Leader. Featuring leaders like Andy Stanley, Bill Hybels and Perry Noble, this resource includes 999 additional leadership quotes from the 2014 Double, Global Leadership Summit, and Catalyst Conferences. Click HERE or on the image to the left to sign up and get your FREE resource.