Episode Details

“Laser not a flashlight.” - Mark Kerr

I had the chance to see the movie The Smashing Machine with Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie this quote came about. I was sitting in the movie theater, literally by myself so I pulled my phone out and I wrote down this quote.

For those who don’t know what the movie is about. It is highlighting a three year span of the life of Mark Kerr, a pioneer MMA fighter. At this point in the movie and in his life, Marc had not lost an MMA fight so he had a very high energy and supreme focus on winning. When Marc says I’m gonna be a laser not a flashlight, the journalist that he’s speaking with asks him to explain that further. Mark let him know how a laser’s energy is focused on one specific point. Whereas a flashlight has a broad focus, illuminating a larger area.

Both of these light emitting objects have the ability to illuminate whatever they’re showing. However, the laser is used for things that the flashlight is not and vice versa. In your work as a creative there are times where you need to be the laser and there will be times where you need to be the flashlight.

Be the laser when you need to get into your flow state. When you need to hone in on exactly what you’re doing at exactly that moment, that’s when you need to be the laser be the flashlight when you need to gather information, when you need to gain an understanding of something you don’t understand, when you need to be open to new and exciting things. Be the flashlight when you are going through a frustrating time or a dry spell.

Marc was focused on being the laser because he needed to be the laser in that moment, right before a huge fight for him. In Marc‘s life now I’m making an assumption, but I would bet you he’s more focused on being the flashlight to take all the wonderful things in his life.

Figuring out when you need to be the laser and when you need to be, the flashlight is simply living life.