Eddie the Eagle

This is not just an ordinary movie for the simple reason that is based on a true story, the story of Eddie, a kid that grew up with the goal, the desire of participating in the Olympic Games even if he was far from even a decent athlete. His dreams were huge, but that is the only type of dreams one can have so he never stops from growing, he never stops improving himself and always has to keep persisting so one day can get close enough to make them come true.

Disclaimer: I have to note that these are my opinions, what I took from the movie, but I advise you to watch it yourself, maybe you will feel differently or pick up on something I missed.

Never Give Up

Since his childhood everybody told Eddie to give up, no one ever really believed in him besides his mom. They even tried to stop him one way or another, but he had a vision. You might think that he was crazy, that he dreamed of accomplishing something impossible given his circumstances, but you need to be mad enough to actually do something of this magnitude.

His dad tried to stop him, to pull the plug and take him to work in the hope that Ed would give up, settle down and go on with a life of regret but he never did it and more than that, he stumbled upon better that day, the Winter Olympics.

He started skiing, he was never the best, but he still trained even if the head of the British Winter Olympics committee tried to stop him by taking him out of the squad. Eddie still didn’t give up.

A true Olympian was not just about a God-given skill set, it's about never giving up, no matter what. Knowing that doing your best is the only option...even if it results in failure.

When he got on the ski jumping slope, he got bruises, he broke his bones, people laughed at him, and no one believed in him. People thought he was crazy, and everybody told him to go back home, but he kept on pushing, he kept on getting better.

Trial and Error

He had a problem with his leg, and he was never built for sports, but despite that he always tried new things, he kept on experimenting until something clicked for him.

In life, very few people know what they want to do from the beginning. Most of us have to try all sorts of things only to have a basic idea of what we like, and because it seems like an endless amount of work, most people just give up and take up something more accessible. I know it might look frustrating having no idea what you want to do when you’re comparing yourself to all these artists, business people and happy people that live the life they want but the only way to get there is by trial and error.

As Eddie tried countless sports all the time to see what he'd be good at, you will have to do the same if you want to be part of the 3%, the people that enjoy their work and wake up with an enormous smile on their faces every day. Also, I know that I said above that you should never give up but if something’s not right for you, if something doesn’t click for you, if it’s not making you happy, then you should certainly find something that matches your personality better and stick with it.

Finding a Mentor

If I said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times; if you want to succeed in a specific field, you need a mentor, a great mentor that already accomplished what you wish to do and Eddie had the best coach he could’ve had. He started from nothing, he had no idea what he was doing, but with the help of a great mentor, he qualified to the Olympics contrary to what everybody believed and said about him.

Without his mentor, Eddie would probably not only have failed, but he could have even died, trying to jump on his own. Thanks to his mentor, he had all the proper tools to succeed, and so he did when he overcame the 90m jump and impressed the whole world.

Back then, technology wasn’t so advanced, so the only mentors one could've found were real-life ones, offline. But in today's world that is not necessary anymore since we have so many tools, we can take full advantage of, like movies, online coaches, youtube and, of course, books.

Lessons Learned

One of the biggest lessons this movie is sharing is that if you have a vision, you should keep on going and learning even if everybody’s telling you that you are wrong and if you’re playing all the cards right, one day, you will be in a position to prove them wrong.

Also, you shouldn’t do something just because you want to win, because you want the money and the fame, but because you love that thing and if you do, you will be able to find happiness even if you lose, as long as you give out your best.

Succeeding is not just about proving people wrong, that shouldn’t be your motivation to do something even if sometimes it might work, but it is about proving yourself that you were right this whole time because that’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Good luck on your journey.