Take your first big step in this Year of the Rooster. Happy Chinese New Year!

Hello, my friend! I’m your friend John Smagula, here to inspire, encourage, and accompany you on your journey forward.

Today is Chinese New Year, the most important holiday in the Chinese lunar calendar. We all look forward to what the Year of the Rooster may bring. This is a great opportunity to blend your dreams and drive to achieve a higher level this year.

Hollywood Sign, taken from Hollywood Lake Park

Last week I went to Los Angeles and hiked the Hollywood sign mountain. I met tourists from all over the world on the trail, and we all wanted to see the Hollywood sign with our own eyes. Many of the tourists I met were from China, and they were enjoying the day and taking lots of pictures. This caused me to stop and think. What is it about the Hollywood sign that we all find so inspiring?

Paramount Pictures Studio Tour

I think the Hollywood sign captures our imaginations. At the same time, many movies inspire us, helping us to see our own life problems from a different angle.

Here’s an example. On this trip to Los Angeles, I toured Paramount Studios and saw where Tom Cruise filmed Top Gun. Many movie critics believe this is one of his best movies. One of the key themes of the movie is striving to be Number 1. A “top gun” is “the best of the best,” someone who is the best at a particular activity.

Top Gun Special Collector's Edition

In the movie, Cruise played a pilot. His most famous line from the movie is, “I feel the need, the need for speed!” He has a positive attitude along with a goal to become the absolute best, stopping at nothing to get there. Along the way, Cruise had to overcome emotional stress, take big risks, and defeat others’ ridicule. As a pilot with great talent and intuition, he persevered from start to finish, and at the end earned the honor of being Top Gun.

"Top Gun" spirit in the Temple Law School lobby

It wasn’t easy. In one scene, the plane broke down in a training exercise, and he and his co-pilot had to use their ejector seats to parachute down into the ocean below. The co-pilot was Cruise’s best friend, who unfortunately died in the incident. This was a huge blow to Cruise, who blame himself for the whole thing. He almost abandoned his talent as a pilot and quit the job. While at this low point, another friend told him, “You’ve got to go on…To be the best of the best means you make mistakes, and then you go on.”

Los Angeles night scene, taken from Griffith Observatory

Rather than let this failure be the end of his story, he picked himself up and resumed his push toward his goal, returning to aviator training. Later, in a real-life flight, he expertly maneuvered through a challenging situation, which is finally what earned him the coveted title of Top Gun. He later reflected on the rocky road to get there, acknowledging that the first crash and burn situation changed him, causing him to have better control and skill the next time he faced a difficult flight situation. He didn’t give up, but rather learned some lessons, and just kept pushing beyond his mistakes and emotional valleys.

Although this is a movie, the story reflects a very important principle: we will definitely encounter difficulties as we grow. It’s rare to live a life of smooth sailing. Therefore, as we prepare our New Year’s plan, we have to be prepared to handle challenges.

Temple University Athletics slogan

Today is the first day of the Year of the Rooster. What dreams or hopes do you have for this New Year? Wishful thinking is not enough. You have to take action, as actions speak louder than words. First think of your dreams, make a specific plan, and take on a standard of excellence as you carry it out. In previous blog posts, I have shared some specific methods for making personal development plans. And like Tom Cruise in the movie, when you face failure, don’t become alarmed or go to an extreme.  Analyze the situation, do an evaluation, and then apply the lessons to your life.

Hollywood Sign, taken from Mt. Lee behind

My friend, do you want this year to be a banner year? Take action. Your dreams can come true, but you have to be determined, make a plan, take action steps every day toward your goal, and just go on when you encounter difficulties. There are no shortcuts. If you make the effort, you will have breakthroughs. Next year at this time, I really want to hear how you have become Top Gun in your field. Promise me that.

Best wishes to you in this Year of the Rooster!

Thank you for reading. See you next time.

Please subscribe to my WeChat blog!

__________________________________________________________

新年新气象，和老桑一起迈出鸡年的第一步!

Hello, my friend! 我是你的朋友老桑。给你启发，激励你上进，陪伴你坚持！

今天是春节，中国最重要的传统节日。我们每个人都很期待鸡年会给我们带来什么新的机会。在做新年规划时，也是一个把超越梦想和追求卓越的精神结合在一起达到新的高度的机会。

我上个星期在洛杉矶开会，顺便爬了好莱坞标志牌所在的后山。在上山小道上我见到了世界各地的游客，大家都想亲自看一看著名的好莱坞标志牌。一路上我碰到了不少中国人，有游客也有留学生，从稚嫩儿童到白发老人，都在很兴奋地拍照。我不禁思考，好莱坞这个标志牌为什么使那么多人感到激动呢？

我认为，好莱坞的精神能够激发我们的想象力。同时，很多电影故事能给我们一些启发，帮助我们从不同的角度看到自己生活中的问题。

据一个例子。我这次在洛杉矶参观了帕拉蒙影视拍摄基地。汤姆·克鲁斯著名的电影Top Gun《壮志凌云》就是在这里取景拍摄。很多影评人认为这部电影是克鲁斯最好拍的电影之一。电影中表现的一个很重要的主题是：追求第一。Top Gun毕竟是the best of the best（最好中的最好），是在某一个领域成为最优秀的人的意思。

《壮志凌云》特别收藏版

在电影里，克鲁斯扮演飞行员的角色，他有一句经典台词：“I feel the need, the need for speed! （我感到一种需要，一种加速的需要！）”他的性格很积极，同时，他有一个目标，他想当第一，就一直向目标冲刺。一路上，克鲁斯克服了不少情绪压力、冒了各种风险、打败了很多欺负他的人。他很优秀，更重要的是他始终坚持，最后如愿以偿得到了最佳飞行员Top Gun的荣誉。

他走的路不是特别顺。 他在和飞机副驾驶员排练时，飞机遇难坠落，他们两位弹出降落伞掉到海里去了。另一位飞行员是克鲁斯非常好的朋友，在落水过程中不幸遇难牺牲。这对于克鲁斯来说是一个很大的打击，以为是他自己的错，几乎选择放弃他始终坚持和深爱的飞行员事业。在生活的低谷时，他另外一个朋友给了他一些指导，“You’ve got to go on…To be the best of the best means you make mistakes, and then you go on （你必须坚持下去…要想成为精英中的精英，就是要在不断的错误中前进成长、坚持向前）。”

这个失败的故事看上去会是他故事的结局了，然而，他重新振作起来，重拾起原来的当第一的目标，回去继续练。到了最后关键飞行活动时，他的表现十分出色，技术娴熟， 终于获得了人人梦寐以求的Top Gun奖励。经历了大起大落后，他做了一个反思，正是第一次crash and burn（一败涂地）的经历改变了他，成为他第二次成功的很重要的因素。他没有放弃，而是吸取了一些教训，在错误和低谷中继续坚持前行。

虽然这是一个电影，但是反映出一个很重要的道理：我们成长的过程中肯定会遇到困难，真正的一帆风顺的生活非常的少。因此我们在准备今年的计划时必须做好迎接一切挑战的准备。

洛杉矶的棕榈树，拍摄于汉考克公园

今天是初一，农历丁酉年的第一天。新的一年，你有什么梦想或者愿望？被动的wishful thinking（打如意算盘）远远不够，必须采取行动，行胜于言。那先想出你今年的梦想，做一个具体的规划，再用追求卓越的精神努力实现它。我在以前的博文中提到了一些做计划的技巧。跟克鲁斯一样，面对失败时，不用惊慌、不用走极端。最好是分析一下情况，做一个评估，把教训用到现在的生活中。

My friend，你想在这一年过的更加精彩吗？采取行动吧。你的梦想能实现，不过必须下决心、做一个计划、每天做些跟目标方向有关系的工作，遇到困难时just go on （继续下去）。没有捷径，只要你努力，我相信你就会有一个突破。在明年的这个时刻，我很想听你在自己领域的当Top Gun的故事。Promise me that （给我一个许诺吧）。

Best wishes to you in this Year of the Rooster! 鸡年快乐！

谢谢收看《老桑说》。敬请期待下一集。