Never Give Up: A Lesson From Animal House

One of my favorite movies of all time is Animal House.  I have watched this movie so many times that I can recite almost the entire movie from memory.

It’s one of those all-too-rare films that figured out the right formula of cast, story and inappropriateness to make a truly funny movie that is as relevant today as it was the day it opened at the box office.  Anyone who has been to college can relate to the antics of the Delta House fraternity brothers simply trying to have as much fun as possible while getting an education.

Okay, they weren’t really trying too hard on the academic front, but that’s why it’s so funny. 

The late John Belushi played a lead character named Bluto who lived college on the edge, not a care in the world, sort of rabble-rouser who was always at the center of trouble – usually as a leader.   The group wreaks so much havoc on campus that eventually the fraternity is stripped of its association with the university.  Reality comes crashing down on Bluto and his pals as university officials take possession of everything in the fraternity house.

Sitting in an empty frat house, everyone is completely down in the dumps as they realize that the partying is over.  While the fraternity members are lamenting their fate saying, “It’s over; there’s nothing else we can do”, Bluto, in a rare moment of true leadership, stands up to give an incorrect yet invigorating speech.

“Over? It’s not over!  Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”

His well-intentioned speech is so passionate that the entire fraternity is energized into action, taking control of what they can.  The message was: Never Give Up.

We won’t go into the chaos that ensued due to this passion.  Rent the movie to see for yourself.

I was thinking about Bluto’s speech recently.  Overwhelmed with so much to do – career, writing, mentoring and family – it was like I hit a road block and could not figure out how to manage everything.  Everything was caving in on me with no escape.  So intense were my feelings that I could not think of a solution to turn things around.   It felt like I was sitting in the ill-fated Delta House; with no solution as to how to get out of the mess.

How many of us experience similar feelings throughout our career?  In speaking with friends and colleagues, it seems like this is more common that we’d like to believe.

Sometimes we feel trapped in a job, with no way out.  Other times we can’t figure out how to find the positive in a situation.  Many times we become mired in negativity; paralyzed and unable to think or move.   We think that there is no viable solution.  So we sit and do nothing; thinking  it’s over.

But it’s not over.  (This is where the “Germans bombing Pearl Harbor” speech comes in) We should never give up.

It’s easy to get lost when we are so close to the problem, isn’t it?  Sometimes what we need is a great impassioned speech – or maybe a swift kick in the rear – to help get us back on track.  We can either do it ourselves by taking two giant steps back from the situation to think about whatever the real problem is, or we can enlist the help of a friend who is objective enough to help point us in the right direction.

Hubby did this for me as we walked the dog.  Close enough to care about me but objective enough to not get caught up in the details; he was able to look at the problem differently than I had been.  And it was immensely helpful.

Just like Bluto’s plea in Animal House, Hubby’s speech was passionate, offering a unique plan of action that I had not thought of myself.   He reminded me to never give up; that it’s not “over”.

And luckily, Hubby knows his history, so I didn’t have to listen to a well-intentioned but incorrect history lesson.   Although such a speech would have made me laugh.