Everyday Series | Season 1 | Significant Lessons Saturdays | 006 | Iron man

In this episode, we unpack lessons from Iron man.

Robert Downing Juniors Ironman is an epic, interesting and well-rounded character. He is the genius, billionaire playboy philanthropist who made his fortune in creating weapons of mass destruction. Subsequent to a hostage situation, he developed a greater sense of mission that led to the creation of the Ironman suit. Portrayed by Robert Downing Junior a fast-talking, highly confident and likeable character, there are a number of great lessons I believe we can learn from him.

Sometimes you just have to just do it

"Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk"

Iron man has a strong activist nature where he cannot wait sometimes to go after and complete a project. There is a time we should take time to think our decisions through but there are times we should just jump into the deep end and hit the ground running; sometimes don't take too long to make a decision.

Know who you are

"Big man in a suite. Take that off and what are you? - Genius billionaire, playboy philanthropist"

Tony Stark is a man who knows who he is and has a high level of confidence that even snide remark from one of his college could not dent his confidence. Know who you are and regardless of whoever tries to dent your confidence.

Have a greater sense of mission

"I had my eyes opened up. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things to blow up"

After a hostage situation where he saw the wide reach of destruction his weapons had wrought, Tony decided that there is a greater cause to contribute to than making money while others suffered. We may all have our own pursuits of greatness and legacy that may only benefit a few. As Tony did, we should realize that we can have a greater sense of mission that can better benefit the world.

Resourcefulness is key

"Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps"

Tony was able to create and build the first iteration of the Iron man suit in the cave while he was in captivity. He was able to use his ingenuity and resourcefulness to create the first Iron man suit outside the environment he was used to. Learn to be resourceful and creative and don't make excuses for not having enough to complete the job.

A great and diverse team will take you further than you could take yourself

"The Avengers. That's what we call ourselves; we're sort of like a team...let's do a head count here: your brother the demi-god; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins"

Ironman has Ms Pots as his assistant and he helped save New York from an alien invasion with the diverse team of the Avengers. Each of his allies and team members had qualities and strengths that he did not have that allowed him to achieve more. Surround yourself with a diverse team that will make you better than you could be by yourself.

Be open and honest

"I am iron man"

Unlike Batman and Superman, Tony revealed his 'secret identity to the world. By doing so he fostered openness and transparency in what he does and why he was doing it. Such openness and honesty can help us build rapport and trust with people we deal with. Remain open and honest with issues that may affect those you deal with.