Human beings are like sponges – the second we are born we start acquiring general knowledge of things from everything around us. It is a natural process.
When it comes to intellectual knowledge, however, we tend to make our own choices. Some people read Pynchon, others prefer Sports Illustrated. Some go to see Black Swan, while others would never miss a new Transformers installment.
It gets even more selective for specialized knowledge - higher education, professional publications, technical books, etc. Even with the subjects of human psychology, relationships, our understanding of the world around us (all frequently featured in The Frustrated CFO's posts), people are more likely to go for books written by "specialists."
But the truth is that the nature of human interactions and the principles of emotional response to life do not change from industry to industry and from trade to trade. They are universal and I have learned long time ago that the knowledge of things pertaining to human experience can come to us from anywhere. There is a reason I frequently present my topics by referring to books, TV programs and movies – the best examples of these art forms pursue the truth of life; that is why we can relate.
Those who have seen Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman's "Adaptation" may remember the screenwriting guru character played by Brian Cox. Well, he is a real person – one of the best theoretician's of creative writing in the world Robert McKee. After several decades of writing for theater and television, Mr. McKee found his true calling in formulating a set of fundamental principles for compelling storytelling, which became the framework of his world-touring STORY seminar. He also compiled them into a bestselling book by the same name.
I happened to know a young screenwriter who attended McKee's seminar twice and described it as a life-changing experience – not just as a writer, but as a human being. You see, Robert McKee teaches how movies should be written so that they penetrate straight into the audience's soul. So, inevitably he touches on the subjects that reach far beyond cinematic matters. That, together with the fact that his films recommendation list pretty much matches my own roster of favorites, persuaded me to buy his STORY book.
What can I tell you? This is a very brilliant man. Anyone who loves movies should read this book… And everyone who considers himself a student of human nature should read this book. It is impossible to convey all the wisdom Robert McKee generously shares, but his study of "the principle of antagonism" is particularly invaluable.
He goes beyond the conventional knowledge that antagonistic conflicts are at the basis of existence (and a story, of course). He concludes that there are three primary antagonistic forces for any positive value, progressing from contrary to contradictory to "the Negation of the Negation," which, unlike in math where two negatives make a positive, is "a force of antagonism that's doubly negative."
He further constructs illustrative charts for such values as love, truth, consciousness, wealth, communication, success, bravery, loyalty, justice, wisdom, and freedom. I find the last three absolutely universal and applicable to many conflicts we encounter both in our professional and personal lives. They are reproduced below. It's mesmerizing: you look at them and it's like a reel of your life's events, fitting perfectly into these diagrams, unspools in front of your eyes.
The Frustrated CFO 