{"id":2662,"date":"2023-05-27T14:55:26","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T18:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/darth-vader-gets-a-lesson-in-stoic-philosophy\/"},"modified":"2023-05-27T14:55:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-27T18:55:26","slug":"darth-vader-gets-a-lesson-in-stoic-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/darth-vader-gets-a-lesson-in-stoic-philosophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Darth Vader Gets a Lesson in Stoic Philosophy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n

Forty years ago this month, Darth Vader made a very bad decision.<\/p>\n

No, it wasn\u2019t forgetting to put up a shield around that one part of the Death Star that just happened to allow it to be blown to smithereens (let\u2019s not pick hairs over the incredulity of that design flaw).<\/p>\n

Instead, Darth Vader made a $10 million mistake.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a step backwards, shall we?<\/p>\n

Do you remember when you first found out that Darth Vader was\u2026<\/p>\n

James Earl Jones?<\/p>\n

Neither do I. But we did. If only Mr. Jones knew what he was getting himself into.<\/p>\n

You see, in March of 1977 James Earl Jones recorded the Darth Vader voiceover for Star Wars. Unbeknownst to him at the time, and everyone else in the world (except perhaps George Lucas), his lines would go on to belong to one of the most infamous characters in movie history.<\/p>\n

Back then, Jones put little stock in his work. After all, he finished recording all of the menacing lines in a single day. In fact, he cared so little for his role that he asked not to be credited in the first two movies, A New Hope<\/em> and The Empire Strikes Back.<\/em><\/p>\n

Believe it or not, no one expected what would happen when this \u201csilly space movie\u201d hit theaters (it\u2019s earned over one billion dollars). But many people associated with Star Wars \u2013 including the actors themselves \u2013 thought it would flop. As a result, the movie was produced on a shoestring budget, costing under $15 million (a real bargain compared to the $445 million it cost to produce The Force Awakens<\/em>).<\/p>\n

In order to save money, Lucas tried to avoid paying Jones a salary. Instead, he offered Jones points (essentially equity in the movie based on the movie\u2019s future profits). But Jones, like Lucas and many of the other actors associated with Star Wars, was broke. He needed the money.<\/p>\n

Jones chose the dark side, demanding cash up front. Now don\u2019t feel sorry Jones. He earned $7,000 (about $27,000 today). That\u2019s not bad for a day\u2019s work if you\u2019re a starving actor.<\/p>\n

\u201c$7,000 was big money for me in those days,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI was broke and needed the money to pay rent and buy groceries!\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty-five years later on an episode of Regis and Kelly, Jones admitted his mistake cost him millions.<\/h2>\n

Exactly how much, we\u2019re not sure. Sir Alec Guinness, a man who believed in The Force and took the points, earned an estimated $95 million from his work.<\/p>\n

Now stop right there. What does this have to do with you?<\/p>\n

Jones isn\u2019t a broke actor anymore. He\u2019s been in hundreds of movies and plays. He\u2019s been the voice of CNN and The Lion King, and today has a net worth of nearly $50 million dollars.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s human nature to want more.<\/p>\n

Jones could be bothered by it\u2014 wringing his hands and thinking, \u201cwhat if!\u201d Just like you could rue \u201cthe one that got away\u201d, whether it be a fish on the lake, a girl at the bar, or a lotto ticket that came up two digits short of a 7-figure payout.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But Jones knew better. And whether or not he knew it, he followed the advice of a man who seemed to live in a galaxy far, far away, because he lived thousands of years ago. He was a real-life Yoda, you might say.<\/p>\n

This sage\u2019s name was Epictetus<\/strong>, and he was a teacher of Stoic philosophy.<\/p>\n

Stoicism, if you didn\u2019t know it, is a real life \u201cForce.\u201d And it may be with you at all times. Stoicism teaches that \u201cvirtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge, and that the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Jones, Epictetus would have said, \u201cMen are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters,\u201d Epictetus is on record saying. \u201cWhen something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what should you do in situations where you \u201cmissed out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Epictetus would give you the following advice.<\/p>\n