6 Leadership Lessons from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Destruction of Personal Property
Keep focused on your commitments instead of your problems.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently ripped his iron driveway gates off of their support columns — by hand. He wasn’t having a meltdown. He wasn’t performing a stunt for his latest movie.
He was late for work, and a power-outage had trapped him inside his estate.
He first tried to release the hydraulics on the gates, but that didn’t work. He called the gate technicians, but it would take them forty-five minutes to free him. He knew that he would be late to the movie set, so he took matters into his own hands — literally:
“By this time, I know I have hundreds of production crew members waiting for me to come to work so we can start our day.
So I did what I had to do.
I pushed, pulled and ripped the gate completely off myself.
Tore it out of the brick wall, severed the steel hydraulics and threw it on the grass.“
Ripping a wrought iron gate from its brick moorings may seem extreme, but you can’t argue with the effectiveness of his solution. Aside from being an impressive feat of human physical strength, there are some lessons we can learn from both what The Rock both did and did not do that morning.
1. He didn’t complain about his loss of power.
I had a power outage that lasted for four days last year, so I know how inconvenient it is. Electricity is one of those things we take for granted until it’s gone. Life kinda sucks without power.
We may never know all of the difficulties Johnson experienced while getting ready for work that morning. He didn’t complain about them, apart from mentioning that he was trapped inside his estate. I can’t know what thoughts crossed his mind, but he did not fill the social media airwaves with tales of woe and hardship.
Many things in life are beyond our control, and that can cause us to feel powerless. It’s easy to complain about the lack of fairness in the world. However, complaints do not help us overcome what stands between the life we have and the life we desire.
It seems apparent that he was frustrated, given that he physically ripped apart his iron gates. But he didn’t allow frustration to hijack his life. Johnson channeled his frustration into finding a solution to his problem instead of being victimized by it.
2. He focused on his commitments, not his problems.
One look at Johnson’s career, and it’s apparent that he has participated in a team environment his entire adult life. He began his career as a football player before becoming a wrestling icon. He was still a wrestler when he launched an acting career with his first leading role in The Scorpion King.
All those activities require the concerted timing, coordination, and effort of an entire team. But being part of a team does not automatically translate into being a team player. The Rock could have focused on his bad morning, but his thoughts were on showing up on time for his team.
It’s natural to think about our problems from the viewpoint of their impact on us — we are by default at the center of our experience.
But Johnson realized hundreds of people on the production crew would be standing around and waiting on him if he were late. He didn’t think, “I’m a huge star, and I’m having a horrible morning so everyone can chill until I get there.”
A loss of power did not render him powerless because of his commitments to the production crew and to getting to work on time. He knew when he was due to arrive on the set, and he was willing to do whatever was necessary to keep that commitment.
Have you ever been walking and something to the left or right of you caught your attention? Did you notice that the longer you kept your gaze on that object, you began to drift in that direction?
A similar phenomenon can happen concerning our goals. Our life will drift from one problem to the next if that is where we set our attention. Focusing on our commitments allows us to make steady progress toward our goals.
3. He kept on failing until he found something that worked.
The power outage was the first failure. Johnson then tried to override the gate’s hydraulic system, which was something that worked in prior power outages. The override didn’t work this time, so he called the gate technicians who would arrive too late to help — another failure.
It would have been tempting to stop right there. He had tried what previously worked, and then called the experts, who were on their way. Johnson could have notified the production team that he had done everything he could, but he was trapped and would be late.
But that’s not the attitude The Rock adopted. He took 100% responsibility for the way his life went that morning. That’s why he’s “The Rock,” one of the highest-grossing actors and greatest wrestling stars of all time — because he has mastered ownership of his life.
Being responsible doesn’t mean taking on blame. It means taking action to meet your commitments even when what’s blocking you is not your fault. Johnson’s focus was on showing up to work when he said he would, and nothing was going to prevent him from keeping that commitment.
He was on a mission more significant than his troubles. That mission, combined with his focus on others, propelled him through his problems.
4. His strengths limited the actions he saw to take.
Dwayne Johnson has a reputation for having an incredibly strong work ethic, and his physique shows his dedication to strength training. Johnson’s commitment to weightlifting allowed him to perform a feat that most people could not.
However, there may have been a better way to arrive at work on time without destroying his front gates.
Our expertise and experience in life can limit the actions we see to take. Everything begins to look like a nail if all you have to work with is a hammer. Realizing how our experiences skew our view of the world helps us consider other viewpoints.
A January 2020 article in Forbes Magazine cites numerous reports, studies, and business reports showing that having a more diverse team produces better results. It’s okay to rely upon your strengths to overcome problems. Still, you will likely have better outcomes when you include a diverse group for input.
5. He was willing to pay the price to meet his obligations.
The thought probably crossed Johnson’s mind as he began to rip down his gates that it would be expensive to have them repaired after destroying them.
According to his Instagram posts, Johnson’s security detail met the gate technicians and a welding crew to repair the gates. It surely was not cheap for three crews to come in and clean up after him. Johnson ripped down his gates despite the personal cost of keeping his commitment.
A lack of knowledge is not preventing your success. The truth is, you already know what commitments are necessary to achieve your goals. The key to success is your willingness to pay the price of keeping these commitments. What is preventing your success is your unwillingness to pay the price of those commitments.
6. He took time to reflect, acknowledge others, and learn from his experience.
Dwayne Johnson is a busy man. In addition to his movie career, Johnson created a tequila brand, released a clothing line with Under Armour, and purchased the XFL with his ex-wife. He’s got a lot on his plate.
He still took time to reflect on the now-somewhat-infamous destruction of his gates. He repeatedly acknowledges that his actions were not his finest hour. He admits that a better course of action may have been to jump the fence and take an Uber into work.
It’s easy to ignore other people’s feelings and experiences when our problems consume our attention. Instead, Johnson recognized that he inconvenienced people with his actions. He acknowledged and thanked those who cleaned up in the wake of his destruction.
Sometimes, all we want is to be seen and understood. Our expressions of empathy can completely disappear the upset that others feel. We also benefit by practicing empathy toward others. Recognizing others’ feelings shows us that our problems are not personal and that others experience the same frustrations we do.
You get to choose your own adventure.
Your life is a story that you create. You don’t get to choose all of your circumstances, but you are the only one who gets to decide how you respond to them.
You may never be strong enough to tear apart iron gates, but you can still rip through the metaphorical gates that have you trapped. Remain focused on your commitments instead of your problems, and you’ll be on your way to success before you know it.
