Well the media has followed his career from beginning to end, his death was very shocking for the entire world, and now his last appearance is on film. Michael Jackson’s move THIS IS IT, was very interesting and educational to see.

I can honestly say that I did not plan on seeing  this movie so soon… but I’m glad I did. With my pricey Twizzlers in hand and my large mixed ICEEE at my side (that were both more than my matinee ticket price) I sat in an fairly empty theater zoomed to see what the rumors were all about.

I can be known to watch things with a critical eye, but today I chose to simply enjoy this movie, which was a ‘behind the scenes concert rehearsal capture’ directed by Kenny Ortega. “This Is It” was not suppose to be it for Michael Jackson, but instead it produced some great lessons to be learned. Academic success principles, business principles, biblical principles all could be pulled from this movie, but today here are 7.25 Life Lessons and Success Principles that anyone can use to improve their life.

FEW RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

Before I share my *deep* life lessons,  maybe you can help me with these or had the same randomness when viewing the movie. Feel free to tweet me if you have the answers

1. Early in the movie, did it seem like Michael Jackson dancing skills were off? Was MJ getting old? Maybe he was just in 1st gear.
2. Did you hear that  bass line reprise on the end of the Thriller part – HOT!! Was that from another song?
3. Why was that black coat so big that he was wearing, I’m assuming he borrowed it to stay warm?
4. I loved the little girl holding the world – you must stay to the end (after the credits).

So here are the 7.25 Life Lessons…

1 – Have a Strong Personal Coach.

Whatever you plan on doing in life, there is someone who has gone before you and both failed and/or succeeded. All successfull people have coaches, mentors or trainers. In this movie, Michael Jackson’s Dance Choreographer, Travis Payne, was by his side making sure he had his moves down. We didn’t see all of the hands on instruction that goes behind the scenes to his development, but the choregrapher was there to make sure he knew where to go next on the stage and what move would be most effective.

In my workshops and speeches, I make reference to other greats  like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods; both had personal coaches to help them get better. If the greatest basketball player and golfer of all time needed a coach, what makes you think you don’t need one? Both MJ and MJ did.

If you are pursuing an academic degree, starting a new business, or trying to become a better parent – locate a strong and proven coach that can propel you to the next level. I myself have several coaches that I invest into every year, because I want to get better as as a speaker, academic success coach, and author.  You should too – I challenge you to locate one.

If you want to know who I coach with then, or want me to coach you, ask me here.

2 – Your Vision in Life, Will Pull Forth Vision Out of Others.

I loved listening to the testimonies of the dancers and the musicians in the movie. A consistent thought from all of them was that by having the opportunity to work with Michael Jacskon was a big goal or dream of theirs. One male dancer even mentioned how at a young age he wanted to work with Michael Jackson, and when given the opportunity  to audition, he dropped everything he had going to pursue his dance dream.

I’m pretty sure that over Michael Jackson’s career, his vision of excellence and his vision to help the entire world caused those around him to enhance and focus their vision.  So I ask you, Will your life vision pull vision out of those you work with?

3 – Work  Only With The Best.

Every championship team realizes that it takes *total* teamwork to become a champion in their sport; and if you can get the best players to play together on one team then that is almost a sure guarantee for victory. Like the USA Basketball team has done repeatedly  in the  World Olympics, Michael Jackson gathered the best of the best to play on his team. From producers, videographers, costume directors, choreographers, staging, lighting and musicians he hired only the best.

One of my friends and mentors, Jonathan Sprinkles said to me one time, “Hang out with, study, and coach with the #1 person in any field (not the #2 person), because the #1 person is #1 one for a reason.”

4 – Have a Bigger Purpose For What You Do in Life.

Even though Michael Jackson was the king of POP, an icon and  has had so many songs on the top music charts, his greater purpose was to heal the world – heal how people love one another and how people love the world in which we live in.

What’s your greater purpose? Why do you ultimately exist? Why do you do what you do?

As for me, my greater purpose is to enhance the mindset, attitude, actions and life habits of students and professionals by developing and presenting resources to help them understand their unique and customized purpose. Then be thoroughly equipped to carry it out in the earth – thus making their lives, their families and their calling fruitful.

5 – Capture The Key Moments of Your Life and Learn From Them.

At the beginning of the movie, Director kenny Ortega mentioned that this movie came about because of the video camera that were in rehearsals and the footage was going to go in Michael Jackson’s personal private collection.

I’m sure that Michael Jackson was his own biggest critic about his craft and was going to use this footage to analyze himself, analyze his show, and use it to get better at his craft. Whisch is an awesome thing to do.

I myself do this after completing a great talk for a high school or college. I would sit down and replay the entire footage of my speech. Most time its’ painful to watch, because I sincerly want to be the best at what I do when engaging a crowd.

I encourage you to capture those key moments in your life. If it’s a presentation, perfrormance event, or simple conversation with someone – use that recorded footage to learn more about yourself and get better.

6 – Stay Teachable and Humble.

It is very obvious from his lifetime of music success that Michael Jackson was teachable and understood humility.

It was very powerful to see how the music director and production director knew when to submit their idea to Michael Jackson, and Michael’s to theirs. I’m pretty sure that his power packed team had a load of great ideas for the concert, but they were willing to adjust and be flexible for the overall objective. It was never about *their* agenda, but about the mission at hand.

Being teachable, flexible, submissive  and willing to adjust your thinking for another is a key to promotion and success.

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”(I Peter 5:5)

7 – Practice, Practice, Practice and then Practice Perfect.

I love seeing  MJ do the classic dance routines to His classic songs in the movie, like “Beat It”, “Thriller”, and “Smooth Criminal”. It was very obvious that because of repetition, he was able to do it sweatlessly and flawlessly. it even seemed to me that he had regained his youth when doing those moves, versus other times he looked kind of old and stiff. (Just my randomness again)

Practice does not make perfect, but perfect and correct practice makes perfect.

When it comes to school academics, business, or any life endeavor, your preparation phase will always determine your outcome of victory. You may have heard the famous saying,” When preparation meets opportunity it produces success”, which is so true. See this video and this video where I talk more about this concept of preparation.

7.25 -Know Your Craft Better Than Anyone Else.

The music director and various musicians in the band, said that Michael Jackson knew all of his songs. He knew the key, the tempo, the rhythm of certain riffs. He was a student of his own music and his craft.

Seeing and hearing this on camera instantly made me evaluate my life. As my mind wondered spanned the years of my existence, I was convicted and yet convinced to simply get better. Know my craft!!

You too must daily judge your life and craft. Where do you have cracks? Where are you weak? Where do you need to improve? How are you settling for average when you know that excellence is needed?

If you ever want to do the best, you must consistently do things that will propel you to be the best. Average people will never fully see the best, because their mindset and actions are like everyone else. Success is hard, and it is not for the weak. If you want better, then do better. Consistently learn, consistently train, and consistently improve.

So there you have it… The 7.25 Lessons I Learned from Michael Jackson’s This Is It”.

*** Now I’m sure that if you have seen the movie, there’s a lot that you learned from it as well. Please leave a comment or reply and let me know what you learned. Share your thoughts, it may be the exact thing that somebody else needs to hear.***

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