MODERN MYTH MESSAGES : FORD (Matt Damon) VS FERRARI (Christian Bale)

 

The year is 1966. For the first time in its illustrious history, the Ford Motor Company is experiencing a deep decline in its automobile sales. Despite its previous firm hold on the entire car market, the current consumer has changed their ideal buying habits. All to coincide with a growing mass market that tinkers away from pragmatic idealism; shifting towards a lifestyle of sexy status that first ignited the 'keeping up with the joneses' mentality in our country. 

This zeitgeist shift is led by the fiery flames shed behind the exhaust of famed Italian car maker Ferrari. Now completely dominating the international racing car circuit, they feel little threat when Ford Motor decides to shed its old weary ways by pouring millions into forming a race car team from scratch. All to compete with this 'outside the box thinking,' wanna be goliath looking to crush any competition standing in the way of its deep desire of being the leader in a new, burgeoning automobile marketplace.

Ford decides to kick off its new international race car team with a huge event that coincides with the release of its sizzling 1966 Mustang. Despite several behind the scene fisticuff's among its many corporate suits, Ford decides to make famed car designer and former Le Mans champion Carroll Shelby the lead architect towards its new ambition. 

Shelby approaches the grandstand to speak to the huge crowd of race car enthusiasts.

Carroll Shelby: (to the crowd) Thank you! If my daddy was here today, he would tell me to sit on down and leave the yackin' to the college boys. So, just like my cars, I'll make this fast. (perusing the growing crowd)

When I was ten years old, pop said to me, 'Son, it's a truly lucky man who knows what he wants to do in this world. Cause that man will never work a day in his life.'

But there are a few. A precious few. And hell, I don't know if they are lucky or not. But there are a few people who find something they have to do! Something that obsesses them. Something that, if they can't do it- it will drive them clean outta' their mind. 

I'm that guy. And I know another man who feels exactly the same. His name...(beat)..  is Henry Ford!  And together, we are gonna build the fastest automobiles in the world! And we are gonna make history too; at Le Mans. 

My name is Carroll Shelby, and I build race cars................

From 20th Century Fox:  FORD V FERRARI 



Once life jolts you awake from a many years (or decades long) conscious slumber, often through one (or a series) of traumatic events, we are often left with a 'what now?' internal dialogue. Our only certainty is the entrenched feeling that going back into a world devoid of a true path of purpose is no longer an option.  Chasing false idols of short term materialistic pleasure seems redundant and meaningless. Cravings of a soul filled path to quench the thirst of a CALLING still looking to express itself as and through you, becomes top of mind. 

CIRCLING YOUR LIFE'S CALLING:

At this juncture on your Superhero's Journey of spiritual awakening, you may find yourself slowly circling back toward your precious CALLING through re-visiting many of your pre-awakened passions. For some the list will be small but intense. Yet others may find they have collected a mountain of interests that will now serve as a blueprint toward uncovering the once in a delicious 'Cosmic Cornucopia of Calling's' only they have the ability to fulfill!  Yep! That's how important you are. Yes....   YOU!! 

Your unique mission on blue 'planet possible' is as divine as anything you may have previously allowed yourself to believe. Or admit. After all, being blown from the earthly womb of creation, to once again accept your earthly CALLING can initially be unfathomably uncomfortable. Let's keep it real for a just a moment; most have been living a life utterly entrenched under the illusion of  SEPARATION. Feeling as though you are doing it all alone. An existence that has left you weak and tired. Simply going through the motions, punching in and out on the time card of life. With little to no motivation in self improvement. The unexamined life Socrates called "not worth living." Ultimately, leaving you feeling as a victim to your life's circumstances. Would'a, could'a, should'a becomes the calling cards used to begin your verbal tantrums. Both internal and external monologues of pleasure-less diatribes. Pushing you further and further away from the TRUTH! The remembrance that you are a tried and true SUPERHERO! A unique emanation of GOD! A heavenly slice of Universal mojo with access to super powers that would make Superman himself jealous; in complete AWE and wonderment of your strength, tenacity, and most importantly, your ability to LOVE!

This years long constant struggle of trying to 'arm wrestle God' has undoubtedly left you bereft of strength. And yet, now, you feel reenergized. All the veils of illusion have finally been brushed away from your no longer barren brows. And chances are you have been blessed with a new, innate sense of synchronicity wrapped within the super sense of intuition. As the saying goes, 'when the student is ready, the teacher shall appear.' And suddenly each movie, book, and song you come across seems to hum a similar tune. Containing the eact wisdom the current challenge is seeking. Not to mention the new found burst of opportunities that suddenly arise from folks who desire to teach, mentor, and/or coach you - wink. Your once Yoda-less life becomes inundated with like minded friends and cohorts who desire no thing less than to assist you on your Superhero's Journey. 

And the life you have now left behind, in retrospect, becomes a 'scratch and sniff' outline toward the path that now stands before you. You come to understand that every single thing you have experienced happened FOR YOU AND NOT TO YOU! Please read that last sentence again. For its understanding will unlock within you a supremely powerful sense of connection towards your inner truth. Slowly, you will begin to connect the dots of divinity engulfing your daily experiences. And that frown will start to turn upside down. (lol) As you realize that nothing in your previous unconsciously lived life was pure happenstance. No! In fact, it was there all along, providing the wisdom, and spiritual based skill sets that shall assist you in finding and fulfilling this mystifying CALLING you are still trying to uncover. 

You were never flailing about or drifting through this earthly experience after all. You were just CIRCLING YOUR CALLING. No harm, no foul! That divorce taught you how to stand up for yourself! And understand that by loving YOU first and foremost will always serve everyone else in the picture, just as it served you. And that illness, that brought you to your knees, taught you how to lean into your faith, until you were comfortable and trusting enough to allow your beliefs to belie any previous fear of falling- or failing ever again. (Failure is simply an illusion. Once again, you are a divine spark of energy cut from the same spread of the One God Mind. And would you not agree, that God cannot fail. And so neither can you! Failure is simply Universal feedback. Instructive in its nature. So you can begin again; this time with much more knowledge and wisdom than before.  Hoo-hah!!  We do not succeed in spite of our greatest challenges, but rather because of them...........

Just as Mr. Glen Holland reminds us in the phenomenal film Mr. Holland's Opus: 

Glenn Holland: [playing Beethoven's Seventh Symphony for his class] He couldn't hear. Of all people. Not a thing. And because Beethoven couldn't hear, the thought of him conducting, let alone composing, was pathetic to most people. And so to answer them, he composed and conducted the seventh symphony. Just try to imagine; Beethoven standing on that podium, holding his baton, his hands waving gracefully through the air. The orchestra in his mind is playing perfectly, and the orchestra in front of him, trying desperately just to keep up. There is a story, that in order to write his music, Beethoven literally sawed the legs off of his piano, so that the body would lay flat on the floor. And he would lie down next the piano with his ear pressed to the floor, and he would hit the keys with his fingers in order to hear his music through the vibrations of the floor.

That's right! One of the greatest musical minds of all time was DEAF! And yet, what he lacked in auditory precision, he more than made up for in his stubborn perseverance and the KNOWINGNESS the Universe always purrs the same message.......
Relax, for all is well...... Know I bring you nothing but angels!  

SUPERHEROES IN TRAINING TAKEAWAYS:

When working with coaching clients, my favorite teaching module has to do with assisting them in both finding and fulfilling their personal CALLING/MISSION! After all, upon close to 30 years of reading, studying, and coaching mentorship, if there is but one thing I know, it's the following:

The most precious path toward a life of eternal JOY is finding and fulfilling your personal CALLING. It's the very reason that you decided to incarnate into the human condition. And in a world currently on the precipice of pure chaos, I know that just as Luke Skywalker had but one shot at destroying the Death Star, we have but this one shot at saving our planet from Universal destruction! All the ills (Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, the deep disparity between the have and have-nots, social injustice, and now an unprovoked war from Russia) of this world already have the answers meant to solve them. AND THEY RESIDE WITHIN EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US! 

No pressure, but this is not a dress rehearsal. We can no longer afford to sleep our lives 
away through unconsciousness. We are much too precious and powerful to do so, as are our collective CALLINGS! If you are currently reading this, chances are you have already awoken from the Matrix-like illusions that first envelops each of our conscious minds upon entry into this earthly playground now under attack on so many fronts!

So as a suggestion, if you are still trying to decipher what your own 'once in an eternity' CALLING happens to be, start with your passions. List them out on a piece of paper. You may be surprised with how long the list may be. And the longer that list, the more you've been blissed (blessed actually, but bliss just sounds so much better, right! lol) 

After some serious reflection on your earthly passions, circle back and put a star before any of them that have become an obsession. If you are still in the process of discovering those truths, fear not! It's one of the most juicy experiences life throws our way. For passion is truly God's way of saying Hi!) And by obsession, I mean which of your passions would make life unlivable if taken away from you? Once again, to quote Carroll Shelby in Ford V Ferrari, 

"It's a truly lucky man who knows what he wants to do in this world. 'Cause that man will never work a day in his life.

But there are a few. A precious few. And hell, I don't know if they are lucky or not. But there are a few people who find something they have to do! Something that obsesses them. Something that, if they can't do it- it will drive them clean outta their mind."  

Once you have your own list culled, try and connect the dots. Which of them fit together to form some aspect of a whole? For instance, perhaps writing and music are your personal jams! (my top two are spiritual philosophy and modern myth/story) And if so, what problems (or what I call pain points) could you potentially solve through these obsessions. 

For when you can find a common pain point to solve for others, I promise that you will never go a day without a client or money in your pocket. And the byproduct to finding and fulfilling your CALLING will be unleashing the answers to solve all the 'Pain Points' now facing the entire world! Cause at the end of the day, even Superman ain't got nothin' on any of you!

BOOM!

And with this knowledge, I am asking all of my fellow New Age Nerds to keep your hearts and minds open to the possibility towards a NEW EARTH! A space that breeds kindness and compassion; where unity reigns supreme. Our planet is shouting out to be loved back into the healing light that was always its birthright. Now dependent upon unleashing our collective super powers with the understanding that we are all one!

BE SUPER HEROIC!
BE LOVE - SERVE ALL - INSPIRE ALWAYS

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez