5 Lessons to Learn from Batman

So today I went with Terrence to see The Dark Night ... the new Batman movie.  I saw Batman Begins and I was quite impressed, and I must say that the sequel lived up to the hype for me.

There are many lessons we can learn from Batman in these two new incarnations of a legendary comic book hero.  I have picked 5 for you to think about:

1)  Be humble.  In both movies, Commissioner Gordan says "thank you" to Batman.  In both films, Batman replies with "you don't have to thank me."  In the first film he even said "and you will never have to."  Batman's refusal to be thanked for what he perceives as his duty is an inspiration.  How refreshing it would be if everyone just worked out of pride of a job well done.  I'm not asking you to fight crime ... but next time you do your job, think about if you are doing it because you WANT to do it, or because you HAVE to do it.  If it is the latter ... find a way to make it the former.

2)  Serve Others. As we all know, Batman fights crime.  He doesn't do it for fun.  He doesn't even get paid.  He does it because he believes that the people of Gotman City can be saved from the criminals that have overrun the city for far too long.  He fights crime because he puts the needs of the citizens of Gotham above himself.

3)  Stick to your morals.  No matter how far the Joker pushed him, Batman never killed him.  That is what the Joker wanted.  Batman believes that criminals needs to stand for their crimes, and he stuck with that through the very end.  Yeah it is a pain in the ass for the bad guys to keep coming back.  But remember ... you either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain.

4)  Never perform magic tricks.  It's just mean.  (If you don't know what I am talking about ... see the movie).

5)  Don't be so serious.  No, I don't mean if you are too serious you will end up like the Joker.  I mean that you need to have some fun.  If the things you are doing stop being fun, take a step back and re-evaluate it.  Take a break if you have to.

Well ... Those are my 5 Lessons from Batman.  I invite your feedback.