The Founder
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This is an updated version of a story originally published on December 27, 2017 on Blogger.
I watched The Founder two times. The movie was a recommendation from a co-worker that spends so much time in airplanes he’s seen the majority of the in-flight movies. I knew The Founder had to be good to get a recommendation from him.
Michael Keaton is the lead actor in The Founder. Keaton has had a tenacious career. Loved him in Gung Ho three decades ago. Enjoyed his performance in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. He has career longevity.
My personal keyword for the past couple of years has been grit. Last year, I read Angela Duckworth’s book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. What I lack in talent, I hope to make up for with personal grit.
As I surpassed 42 years of age, I begin to relate to someone like Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds. He didn’t experience a great deal of career success until his 50’s. Ray had flaws, but he also had grit.
To be good at anything you have to stick with it. Some call it grit. Ray Kroc referred to it as persistence.
Here’s a snippet from The Founder’s final scene that summarizes Ray Kroc’s focus on persistence.
RAY KROC:
How the heck does an over-the-hill
52-year-old milkshake-machine
salesman build a fast-food empire
with 1,600 restaurants in 50 states
and five foreign countries, with
annual revenues in the neighborhood
of $700 million? It’s quite simple:
persistence.
He turns to the next card.
RAY KROC (CONT’D)
Nothing in the world can take the
place of good old persistence.
Talent won’t. Nothing’s more common
than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius won’t. Unrecognized genius
is practically a cliché.
His words have a familiar ring… They’re lifted straight
from “The Power Of The Positive” by Dr. Clarence Floyd Nelson
(the record from the beginning of the movie), with just a bit
of rephrasing to make it “his own”.
RAY KROC (CONT’D)
Education won’t. The world is full
of educated fools.
(MORE)
111.
RAY KROC (CONT’D)
Persistence and determination alone
are all-powerful.
He pauses a beat to let his words of wisdom sink in.
RAY KROC (CONT’D)
There’s no obstacle under the sun
that can’t be overcome with honest
hard work and determination. It’s
these core principles that enabled
me to rise to the top of the heap
at a point in life when most men
would be thinking about retirement.
