Say what?!?! Let’s be bad? No, I don’t think so. We want to be positive, uplifting, impactful – a good guy.
In a previous series on this blog, we had a look at some popular hero characters and the important life lessons and skills they can teach us. But guess what? Even villains can teach us something useful. They can provide useful warning lessons BUT sometimes villains can teach us positive skills as well. Here are 5 well-known villains from movies, comics and tv. Each one has a valuable life lesson for us – our method of application might need some tweaking but the essential lesson is one we definitely would do well to apply.
Emperor Palpatine
There is no doubt that Palpatine is a bad guy – he does seek to subjugate the entire universe after all. But have you ever stopped to properly notice how he seeks to accomplish his goal? Sure, the emperor is powerful and can certainly use the force to get things done, but he doesn’t try to do everything himself. He utilises the skills of others to help reach his ultimate goal. His most famous off-sider is, of course, Darth Vader who brings power to the table. He also has entire armies at his disposal and seeks to use the leadership and orating skills of members of parliaments, manipulated in the direction he wishes.
We do not endorse going down the path of manipulation, intimidation or brute force. However, we do want to take away the lesson of understand the worth of others. We are more than likely surrounded by knowledgeable, skilled, trained and charismatic individuals who can do things that we can’t, can enhance and amplify our talents and can provide much needed support. No one accomplishes anything alone – not even a villain. Let’s be like Emperor Palpatine and see all the richness in the people around us and be someone who reaches out freely to work together to achieve a goal.
The Collector
Taneleer Tivan owns the largest collection of interstellar fauna, relics and species in the galaxy. The Collector might not seem like the same outright villain the Emperor is but let’s be real, a good guy does not collect living, sentient creatures and lock them in cages solely for his own amusement. One of the most interesting things about the Collector is that he does not always fully understand the item he is putting away. At first it may simply be a curiosity. Perhaps someone else is seeking it so, although he doesn’t know why, he knows it has some measure of value.
From Taneleer Tivan we learn to be patient and play the long game. Not every piece of knowledge is immediately applicable, not every contact seems at first relevant, not every skill has a direct application. But you never know right? We don’t know what may or may not happen in the future of our business. It’s true that our resources of time and energy are finite and so we cannot do everything all at once. However, be careful not to dismiss opportunities or people simply because we cannot see an immediate value. A great example is the plethora of newsletters, blogs and free webinars that can drop into our inboxes. Do we automatically delete them? Or do we fit a few moments into our schedule to absorb some new information? You never know what may come in handy in the future.
Loki
As the God of Mischief, one of Loki’s powers is his ability to shapeshift and project illusions. I’m sure many of us have seen that scene in the first MCU Avengers movie where he tricks Thor into entering his cell by projecting an image of himself.
Loki teaches us that things are not always as they appear. Think of an avocado – it can look fine and healthy on the outside but inside is all brown and squishy. Similarly, an opportunity could appear useless but actually prove to be suffering from a case of bad marketing and be chock-full of valuable information. A wise person will observe and think before making a decision or taking action.
Voldemort
It can be difficult to say who is the most villainous of all time but Voldemort would have to be a contender because he tries to kill a baby. An innocent, defenceless baby – it doesn’t get much more evil than that. Almost everything about Voldemort’s character and actions is to be avoided like the plague – pride, malice, murder – but we can take away one positive – don’t be afraid to be yourself.
Voldemort is who he is – no hiding, no shame. He knows himself, he knows what he wants and he owns it. Given that most of us have goals that are much more palatable, we should be like Voldemort is finding our distinct style, our voice and owning it. As long as our path doesn’t cause harm to anyone, there is no reason to listen to negative comments about you and your business. Find your voice, build your brand and be proud to be you – in all your unique and individual glory.
The Joker
Ah, the Clown Prince of Crime. His every plan, word and action is accompanied by that maniacal laugh. No matter what he’s doing – robbing a bank, eluding a police chase, crafting a plot, taunting Batman or escaping from Arkham – he’s having a marvellous time doing it.
Like the Joker – enjoy what you do! We spend a lot of our lives working and it is so much better if we can find joy in doing so. It is true that there will always be some aspect of our work that is not our favourite – a disagreeable task, an annoying colleague or customer, a stressful project. But, even in these circumstances, we control our mind and our attitude. Focus on the aspects of your work and your day that you do enjoy, the parts that are good – the grateful email that was in your inbox this morning, the coffee break with a colleague who made you laugh, the team member who really supported us through a project, the satisfaction of checking something off our to-do list. It may only be a small moment, but by focusing on the small moments we will gradually realise they are more numerous that we initially thought and our daily enjoyment will grow.
I confess, the title of this post as deliberating baiting. We don’t really want to be villains. Not completely. But it wouldn’t be a bad thing if we took just a few lessons away from these characters…