Welcome to Nayan Leadership’s new blog series, Cinema Coach!

To kick off our new series, we’re going to talk about a Nayan favorite, Jet Li’s Fearless.  This movie is filled with philosophical, thought-provoking concepts that are rich with coaching value.  We’re only going to be scratching the surface with 3 examples, and for anyone interested in the topics covered here, this movie is highly recommended.  On its face, it’s a martial arts classic, and upon deeper inspection, it’s so much more.

The (Spoiler-free) Plot

Without getting into any spoilers, the storyline follows the Chinese folk hero Huo Yuanjia, a martial arts master who founded the Jing Wu Sports Federation in the face of the British occupation of China in the early 20th century.  As a well-accomplished Wu Shu master growing up in Tianjin, Huo Yuanjia aspired to be the champion of Tianjin.  In his quest for fame and recognition, he deals with a great personal tragedy that shakes his world completely and leads him to a downward spiral.  In the process of recovery, he discovers new meaning in life that is greater than just his own ambition, and that journey is what we’ll focus on here.

Balancing Ambition with Family and Friends

The idea of “work-life balance” is one that has become just another set of buzz words over the years, and as a result, it has lost a lot of its meaning.  Figuring out how to balance one’s career with personal and family values is an ongoing struggle for those who have high career or performance aspirations.  Where is the line? At what point does prioritizing one over the other become neglect of one or the other?  This is the central theme of the opening act of the film, and one that is extremely relevant.

The period of time where Yuanjia’s focus is purely on his own ambition might not seem to have applicability in coaching at first glance.  He essentially neglects his family to pursue what he perceives as the most important goal: to become the champion of Tianjin.  However, this is something many leaders and otherwise “successful” professionals can struggle with.  Yuanjia prioritizes his own perceived “success,” and as a result his own ego, over his family and friends to the point where those he cares about are put in a precarious position of towing the line between support and intervention.

Consider for a moment those who have strong ambition and drive. The story they tell themselves is, “I just need to get X, and I’ll be happy and can slow down.”  They create an arbitrary milestone for themselves that seems to require singular focus.  When done well, creating goals and milestones is a necessary step for any driven professional.  However, when not tempered with concern, care, and awareness of the value of life and those in your life who support and love you, it can become a lonely and destructive path.  In his case, that is exactly the result.

Taking Time to Appreciate the Moment

Mindfulness is a theme throughout this movie and is masterfully woven into the fabric of the film and its character development.  Yuanjia continuously trains and pushes himself to reach his goal of becoming the champion of Tianjin.  In the process he never takes the time to examine and appreciate the value of life and the world as a whole.  He is only focused on winning and his own ego, and he never considers the effects it has on others or the world.  From his perspective, no one is more important than his goal, and so he never makes space for anyone or anything else in his life.

During the course of his recovery after his downward spiral, he comes to realize that, in order to do things properly, he must take the time to appreciate the moment and be present in it.  This is embodied in several scenes in the movie, not the least of which is during a conversation with a village girl as they are planting rice where she explains that the rice cannot grow if not planted with the appropriate amount of space between the plants; a metaphor for respect and acknowledgment of others in the cycle of life.

Grading Tea

The final scene that we will discuss is perhaps the most profound in the terms of coaching, self-development, and life as a whole.  One of the fiercest opponents Yuanjia faces in the movie (with the exception of himself) is the Japanese fighter, Tanaka.  As a sign of respect, Tanaka invites Yuanjia to have tea with him so they might get to know one another better before their fight, and Yuanjia accepts.  They discuss the various grades of tea, and that in nature, the tea does not judge or grade itself.  It’s a matter of the mood or preference that someone has whether they prefer a certain tea, not a matter of the grade of the tea.  This, of course, is a masterful metaphor for martial arts in the movie, as Yuanjia states that someone’s skill level at a particular style of martial arts says nothing about the art itself but more about the fighter who is using it.  This metaphor, however, can be extrapolated more widely to apply to life.

We fail to realize that nothing other than life itself has intrinsic value unless we say so.  The value of money is not in the paper, the ink, or the security barcode on it.  The value is what we as a society have agreed to give it.  The same goes for things like degrees from Ivy League schools, black belts in martial arts, or someone’s general preference for one thing over another, no matter what it is.  For example, if JD gets a degree from Harvard, the only thing that means is that JD attended and graduated from Harvard.  It says nothing about his values, morals, personality, or skill level at any specific tasks.  It just means he graduated from Harvard.  Anything else that is inferred from that is simply the meaning or the value that you have assigned to that based on your own beliefs.  The same is true of events and people in our lives.  If someone does something that hurts you, it doesn’t mean they hate you or even intended to hurt you.  It just means they chose to take that action.

We waste so much of our lives focusing on trying to grade things, people, and ourselves, that we forget that life is meant to be lived, not measured.  The time we spend measuring and comparing ourselves and the things we accumulate is time that we never get back, and that’s what leads to regrets.

Conclusion

Overall, Jet Li’s Fearless is a wonderful film, even if you aren’t someone who enjoys martial arts films.  It’s a metaphor for life and is filled with other great metaphors within the larger one in case you’re someone who particularly enjoys them. Whether you choose to watch it or not after having read this, it’s filled with philosophy and life lessons that are as relevant today as they were for Yuanjia back when it takes place.  Feel free to leave a note in the comments on what you thought, both about this post and about the movie if and when you watch it!

If you’re interested in coaching or want to find out more, schedule a consult with Nayan Leadership to find out how we can help you on your leadership journey.

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