Is Your Heart in the Game?

“He thought he was going crazy. He was running out of money. His friends thought he had lost his mind, yet he kept filming.”

Last week I viewed a film that blew me away. I was struck by the fact that it is an amazing metaphor for life overall. The film, The Heart of the Game, captures the passion and the energy of what happens to a girls high school basketball team in Seattle, Washington when an unorthodox coach takes over, using cutting edge leadership techniques to take the team from Roosevelt High School to win the State Championships.

In the film we learn that the coach, Bill Resler, a college tax professor, applies for a coaching job on a whim. To his amazement, at age 50, he gets the job. We watch as he meets all the challenges dealing with difficulties on and off the court. We are lead to believe this film is about basketball, and it is. But the film illuminates so much more . . . the stuff that life is made of . . . people! As with anything worthwhile doing, Resler’s journey with the team is met with highs and lows. We watch in anticipation of how he will meet each challenge, and it becomes clear early on in the film that this man has something that guarantees wins . . . heart. In one scene, a girl misses the shot to win the game. She’s flat on the floor sobbing, devastated and her whole body is shaking. Coach Resler gets down on the floor with her, just lies on the floor with her, comforting her.

What struck me the most about this film, a true story of courage and perseverance, was when I learned that the director, writer and producer, Ward Serrill, planned initially to film a documentary about girls basketball. His plan was a one year project, however, the film took on a life of it’s own. After 68 edits and finishing the film, circumstances kept happening that caused him to keep filming. He thought he was going crazy. He was running out of money. His friends thought he had lost his mind, yet he kept filming. At the end of the film we understand why. In the middle of the film it gets really interesting, and as the story evolves we become the intimate participants in Coach Resler’s and the girl’s lives. The wins keep happening. The challenges keep happening, and Serrill keeps filming. And in the end, it catapults every single person involved with this film to success.

The creative process has a life of it’s own. This is how life is! When I ask the question, “Is Your Heart in the Game?” I’m talking about . . . The Game of LIFE! So many of you may be at a cross roads in your life wanting a new career, a new relationship, a new project to sink your teeth into. Watch this film, and you’ll see what it’s all about. Joseph Campbell, writer and professor, said “Follow Your Bliss.” Some of you who may be familiar with Campbell’s works may not know that he was also George Lucas’ mentor. The whole Star Wars trilogy came out of conversations that George had with Campbell. Dr. Deepak Chopra had no intention of being the prominent Spiritual Leader, writer and teacher that he is today. All he wanted was to be a doctor of medicine practicing in New England. What Chopra did was follow his bliss. The rest is history.

When I watched the film, The Heart of the Game, I understood on a deeper level the importance of staying true to your creative process. You may not know where it will lead, but if it feels good, keep doing it. When I left my corporate job 17 years ago and went on my own, I had no idea that I would work with hundreds of people coaching and helping them develop lives and careers that would give them purpose. I had no idea that I would lecture on subjects of Spirituality in the Workplace or that I’d write volumes of material on the subject. I had no idea that I would work with brilliantly gifted people, collaborating with them on projects that make a real difference in the world. And yet, here I am, loving every minute of it, evolving beyond what I knew was possible.

Be sure to watch the interview with Producer, Ward Serrill, after your watch The Heart of the Game. His story about how this film took on a life of it’s own is compelling. His vulnerability about the whole process will inspire you to go to the next level, whatever that is for you. It’s truly amazing to realize that all we need to do is follow that feeling of passion we all have deep inside of us. I am so grateful for films and projects like this because they remind me once again; that all we have is the present moment, and how we choose to use it is everything!

The Heart of the Game is a metaphor for life. Ask yourself, “Is My Heart in the Game of Life?” We are all here to create something meaningful in our lives. The creative process is everything. We are not here to solve problems. We are here to expand on opportunities. When you really understand that, you find yourself in the “jet stream” of life. So, just start - start where you are and get into the game of life!

For more information about this film:
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0478166/

To purchase the film:
http://www.joybroughton.com/booklist1a.html

More information about Ward Serrill, writer and producer of The Heart of the Game:

Director • Writer • Producer • Director of Photography
Ward Serrill's mission is to tell stories that inspire and heal. He has written, directed and produced independent feature documentaries as well as films, multi image productions and publications primarily for cause oriented and nonprofit organizations.

A former C.P.A., Ward is executive producer of the film and video department for Pyramid Communications, a social cause public relations firm that works nationally on issues ranging from the environment to health care and the arts.

He has written, directed or produced over 30 short films. He was executive producer for Wild America, narrated by Sissy Spacek, to generate protection for the last remaining wild lands along the Lewis and Clark trail. He co directed and produced Building One House, narrated by Robert Redford about empowering Indian tribes to build straw bale homes on America's reservations and which was instrumental in the film's central character winning Oprah Winfrey's Use Your Life Award and appearance on her show. Serrill's film Esther Shea: The Bear Stands Up about a leading Alaskan Tlingit elder was broadcast nationally on PBS stations. The Heart of the Game is Serrill's first feature length film.

Ward lives on a house barge in Seattle and is a tango dancer and harmonica player.

(For more information on Joy’s Coaching and Teleclasses on the Law of Attraction, contact Joy at Joy@JoyBroughton.com or call 707 963-4453.)

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