In celebration of a new "House of Cards" season release, or lack thereof, I decided to re-watch the entire show completely over. Again. For the 3rd time. Quite obviously, I have a problem with this show, or maybe just the awe-inspiring fantasy of Kevin Spacey as our POTUS. After all, he is a very wise, creative and powerful leader, and after a release from Netflix leaking the release date for season five to be May 30, it seems appropriate to look over seven wise lessons from President Frank Underwood.
1. "The nature of promises, Linda, is that they remain immune to changing circumstances."
It is always important to keep your promises, or otherwise refuse to make them unless you can follow through. Like swinging a bat at a baseball, if you're going to try to hit it, don't pull back, ever.
2. "There is no better way to overpower a trickle of doubt than with a flood of naked truth."
I am not always an honest individual although I really try to be, but what it all boils down to is your ability to lie and get away with it or your ability to realize the truth will benefit more than a lie ever can.
3. "Even Achilles was only as strong as his heel."
Just like "Every team is only as strong as its weakest link," you have to build your worst defenses up to be constantly efficient. If your castle has 8 walls, and 7 of them are Trump tall but one of them is a chain link fence 3 feet in height, your 7 Trump walls don't matter.
4. "If you don't like how the table is set, turn over the table."
My favorite out of all of Frank's lessons, no choice or no issue has just 2 simple options. Everything exists on a tangent, or gray-scale, if you will. If you don't like the way the table is set, you initially have 2 options: redo the entire set up, or deal with it as exists. But, what if you just turned it over, or completely changed the table itself? There is always a 3rd option, you just have to be able to see it.
5. "Treading water is the same as drowning."
Remaining constant and not giving into and accepting change can keep a man stuck in place for a very long time. For almost 2 years, I was stuck in the same routine everyday, and I went from a very happy, lively individual to something much less than what i truly am. Change is growth, and without change, you're stuck in a vicious cycle, possibly until your demise.
6. "What is the face of a coward? The back of his head as he runs from the battle."
Fear, although powerful, is a vice. A strong man fears not, and braves whatever he must to get where he desires to be, but someone who is knowingly not well equipped or chooses not to rise to a challenge cannot climb their metaphorical mountain of success.
7. "What a martyr craves more than anything is a sword to fall on."
It's easy for an unsuccessful person to find excuses for their continuous failures, or a fail-safe for their demise to rest on, especially if it is not on the fault of their own. I had a friend in high school who was a very creative, fun guy to be around, but he could never follow through on anything he ever wanted to do, and when he tried to do some of these things, he failure was never his fault somehow. He was a failure and chose to find any reason to prove me otherwise, besides accepting his failure and learning to be truly successful.
