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I recently rewatched Avatar: The Last Airbender and realized that Aang and his friends have quite a few important success tips for us.
If you like this kind of success tips from series, movies, and books, you have to check out these:
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1. Learn from your opposite
“It is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale.”
– Iroh
Humans are social beings. We instinctively try to find a group of like-minded people to fit into.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with that. With the right group of people that support and inspire you, you can reach previously unimaginable heights.
However, you miss out on so much wisdom if you don’t look outside your social circle for things to learn.
Prince Zuko’s uncle knows this and is fascinated by what he can learn from the other nations.
He even teaches his nephew how to use firebending more effectively and safely by applying water bending movements.
You can do the same.
Take a look at what you can learn from your political opposition, consider applying study techniques students from other college degrees use, and don’t disregard social media marketing tips as just applicable to these platforms.
2. Delegate but keep an overview
The King of Ba Sing Se let his advisor run the daily goings of his great city. As a result, he was kept entirely in the dark about the oppression happening in the town and the century-long war outside of it.
There comes the point when every successful person needs to delegate some tasks to increase their success further.
After all, the day only has 24 hours, and you only have a limited amount of energy. Therefore, you can’t become an expert at hundreds of different tasks and execute them to an extraordinary level.
You need help.
When hiring someone, it helps to make sure you still keep an overview of what they do.
Knowledge is potential power, so make sure never to lose yours.
3. Acting out of anger makes you vulnerable
Zuko is too emotional. He acts out of bitterness and desperately tries to prove himself.
This causes him to make rash decisions and act sloppily during fights.
Aang enters the powerful Avatar state in moments of great anger and anguish.
This state makes him exponentially more powerful. However, he is also at his most vulnerable during this time. Getting killed in the Avatar state would cause the entire Avatar line to cease to reincarnate.
In both cases acting out of anger can be detrimental.
The same goes for you. Be careful to act when you feel emotional, especially if that emotion is anger.
4. You are capable of more than you can imagine
Think of Katara blood bending and Tough metal bending – there are skills in you that you know nothing about yet.
You are capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.
You only need to keep working and trying out new things – soon enough; you’ll get stronger and stronger.
Right now, you might look up to celebrities, athletes, or entrepreneurs, envy them, and feel like they are miles out of your league.
But they didn’t start like that. Instead, they began as ordinary people that kept pushing themselves.
Why shouldn’t you be able to achieve the same?
5. Learn from a mentor
Katara has been struggling to teach herself water bending. She knew that getting a master would change everything, and it did indeed. Unfortunately, she only got to train a short time with her master at the north pole, but even that brief guidance elevated her skills massively.
Tough is the earthbending mentor Aang needed. Without her, he would have struggled to learn this bending skill that’s the natural opposite of airbending.
And of course, there is Zuko’s uncle, who trained and guided the prince for years.
If you’re not already fortunate enough to have a mentor in your life, the most straightforward way to get one is through hiring a coach.
However, as a student trying to build a business, I am very aware that that’s financially not necessarily ideal.
So what do you do instead?
You immerse yourself as much as possible in the energy and advice of successful people. This can be done through reading their books, listening to their podcasts, watching videos, reading blog posts, or even reading their Instagram captions.
Some entrepreneurs try to tell you that the real value lies in their products and that you miss out if you don’t buy them.
Sure, they provide you with value. But if you don’t feel like that investment is a priority right now, you can still gain a lot from their free content.
I know I benefit massively from it.
Here are two websites that accumulate great courses that can help you, as well: MasterClass and Mindvalley.
6. Practise beats talent when talent doesn’t put in the work
Zuko and Azula are the perfect examples of practice versus talent. Yes, Azula still practiced, but I feel like she rested a lot on her innate fire-bending talent.
Don’t get discouraged by others’ talent. If you put in the work and stay consistent, you will build the necessary excellence for success.
7. Spirituality can help you prevail through the darkest times
This is a rather uncommon tip for success, but one I have noticed in many successful people, and to some extent, I am starting to experience it as well.
There are always ups and downs in life. Especially the beginning of any journey towards success can be a long draught road.
Many people give up because they don’t see any progress, or it seems like they are taking steps backward.
When reality doesn’t look brightest, spirituality can be a powerful force to keep up your hope and continue working.
The people suffering from the war in Avatar: The Last Airbender remain hopeful because of an Avatar nobody has seen in a century.
Aang gains hope and support from spirits and his past lives.
Your belief in something can bring you immense comfort and help you to succeed.
8. Helping others can help yourself
“Sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else.”
– Iroh
I believe this is exactly what so many entrepreneurs experience.
By providing content and products for thousands of people, they gain the money and purpose to help themselves out of tough times.
Dealing with other people’s problems can also bring your ones into perspective.
However, be careful to notice the keyword ‘sometimes.’
Some people like acting like a martyr and always place others above themself.
They lend their time and money to others and don’t have the resources to level up themselves.
Always remember, you are most capable of helping others when you are in a good place yourself.
Poor people can rarely help poor people to get out of poverty; rich people can help much more effectively.
You need to find a balance between helping others and not acting like a martyr.
10. You don’t need a clear plan, just take action and have faith
“I didn’t know what or when, but I knew I’d know it when I knew it!” – King Bumi
What keeps most people from achieving their dream life (besides lacking the belief that it is possible) is their lack of a plan.
They think they need to know beforehand every step of the way before they can get started.
They are so used to the laid out path society tells them to take (go to school – study – graduate with good grades – go to a good university – study – get a good degree – find a good job – work your way up the ranks and safe money) that they are uncomfortable to have faith in an unclear journey.
Just start acting on what you can do now. For example, if you want a successful business but don’t know what kind of business that would be, why not try out blogging?
Start to move consistently in a direction that seems to bring you closer to your end goal.
I am publishing one blog post a week. In the beginning, I thought I’d never come up with enough content, but instead of worrying, I just started writing, and as it turns out, I can easily come up with over 100 blog post ideas.
After over two years of blogging, my idea of what business I want has already become clearer.
I’m still unsure about many things, but I have utter faith that the details will automatically smooth themselves out when the time is right.
11. Don’t let opportunities go to waste by being indecisive
“If I had been more decisive, and acted sooner, I could have stopped Sozin, and stopped the war before it started. I offer you this wisdom, Aang, you must be decisive.”
– Roku
Being decisive can be extremely difficult, and in daily life, it might not matter as much. But every once in a while, the universe presents you with a unique opportunity.
This opportunity won’t wait around until you’ve made up your mind.
I’ve learned that my intuition is really powerful and can help me a lot in these situations.
Switching your brain off and listening to your intuition can take some practise.
I recommend practicing with easy daily decisions that don’t have grave consequences.
What was your favorite Avatar: The Last Airbender tip?
And who’s your favorite character? I’ve always liked Katara and Ty Lee.
Until next time!
Sophie