The first perspective I presented in my blog on High Noon was that of the hero’s journey. Because the hero’s journey and the decision-maker’s path are important to my approaches to helping people learn more about decision-making, in this blog I show how the milestones of the decision-maker’s path help organize, by a series of questions, the inner plot of the story of a decision. In my blog on High Noon, I addressed the way that movie illustrates the hero’s journey.
So using It’s A Wonderful Life and Jimmy Stewart’s hero character, “George Bailey” as the decision-maker in this example, let me briefly suggest how the decision-maker’s path works.
1. Where are you coming from? George Bailey lives in the small town of Bedford Falls. The son of Peter Bailey, executive secretary of the local building and loan association, 12-year-old George saves his younger brother Harry from drowning. Saving Harry has the physical consequence of injuring his hearing and George becomes deaf in one ear.
Nevertheless, he is able to work in Mr. Gower’s drugstore where two young girls, Mary and Violet stake their claims on him, despite his early indication of his desire to travel the globe. Mary even whispers into George’s deaf ear that she will love him until the day she dies.
When Mr. Gower, overwrought with sadness at the death of his son in the war, nearly poisons an ill patient by dispensing the wrong medicine, George reads the all the signs (“Ask Dad – he knows”) and seeks out his dad’s help. But Peter Bailey is too busy fending off the continuing attempts of the richest, but handicapped, banker Henry Potter who is trying to take over the building and loan association. George defends his dad against Potter’s charges and then saves another family’s child by returning to the drugstore and responding to Mr. Gower’s mistaken accusations. Although Mr. Gower hits George on his sore ear, George shows deep Mr. Gower compassion, forgiveness, and a purity of heart well beyond his years.
2. Where are you wanting to go? So nine years later, when George prepares to pursue his dream of escaping Bedford Falls and traveling to faraway paradises in the world, Mr. Gower gives him a new suitcase embossed with “George Bailey” on it. George proudly walks home, carrying his luggage and meets with his family for one last meal before he leaves.
His tired father asks George if he is coming back to the building and loan association after his trips.
3. What are you waiting for? George wants to do something big and important and lead a different life than his father.
4. What are your wise ones generally advising? Rather than stay with his saddened father whom he belatedly admits is a great guy, George goes to his brother Harry’s graduation and high school reunion.
There Mary’s brother urges George to dance with Mary, despite the protests of another young man. When George and Mary see each other across the dance floor, they exchange looks of budding love across the dance floor. When George and Mary enter the big Charleston contest, they are so taken with each other and their dancing they fail to realize that the young Othello is getting his revenge by activating the device that splits the basketball court dance floor in half. George and Mary fall into the pool, followed by others and eventually even the principal in a display of spontaneous joy.
Once sufficiently dry, in borrowed clothing, (George as a athlete, Mary in a bathrobe), they make their way toward Mary’s home singing “Buffalo Girl, Won’t You Come Out Tonight?” (“…a dance by the light of the moon.”) George stops them in front of the old Grandville home. Making his wishes by the hatful, he successfully throws a rock through a window. When Mary accomplished the same feat, she does not reveal her wish. George, thinking she is the prettiest girl in town, carries on saying he would lasso the moon and give it to Mary if she wanted it. A neighbor, hearing this effusive offer, asks George why he doesn’t just kiss Mary. But when he tries, Mary turns and runs off. But George accidentally steps on the bathrobes belt which forces Mary to hide herself in a nearby bush. Though Mary asks for the robe back, George debates with himself over this opportunity.
5. What are the pros and cons of the issue being decided? But before he can act on his thoughts about Mary, word arrives that his father is suffering from a stroke. George gives up his trip abroad to help straighten out his father’s business.
At a meeting of the board of the building and loan association, Potter makes the case for closing the association now that Peter Bailey is dead. George makes an impassioned plea for them not to do so to save the townspeople from Potter’s miserly grasp. Out of George’s presence, the Board sides against Potter and agrees not to dissolve the association on the condition that George succeed his father as the executive secretary.
6. What are “The Powers That Be” saying? So while Harry goes off to college and becomes a football hero, George stays in Bedford Falls and runs the building and loan. The next time George sees Harry, Harry is coming home to present his new wife Ruth to the family and tell them of his plans to go work for her father. This dissolves George’s hope of Harry taking over and letting George follow his dreams.
Seeing Harry happy with his new wife, George’s mother encourages George to strike up a relationship with Mary again. George goes over to Mary’s house where she has “Buffalo Gal” playing and a picture of George lassoing the moon. George’s discomfort brings them to fighting words. When he leaves, Mary breaks the record.
Then their old friend Sam Wainwright calls. Mary’s mother wants Sam to win Mary’s hand, but Sam is only playing. When George comes back to retrieve his hat, Mary alerts Sam and Sam pitches a deal to him, a chance of a life time. But standing so close to the phone together, the power of love between the George and Mary becomes irresistible. They pull each other in and take another chance. (George’s “I want to do what I want to do” becomes “I do.”)
7. What is your real agenda? Their wedding, on a rainy day, is shortly thereafter. After the wedding, with a handful of saved cash, George and Mary head for their honeymoon and a trip to paradise, only to be stopped by a run on the banks and the building and loan.
Potter calls his loan to the building and loan association and Uncle Billy pays him all the association’s cash. Again reading a sign from his father (“All you can take with you is that which you can give away.”), George faces the shareholders and explains how their money is invested in each other’s homes and cannot be paid out. They must have faith in each other.
But it is Mary who saves the day by providing their honeymoon money to George so he can help everyone get past the bank closing. At the close of business, George takes the last two dollars to the safe in a mock bedding ceremony where he encourages the two bills to propagate overnight.
Then he remembers his new wife. He rushes to 320 Sycamore, the address where the rocks were thrown and their wishes made. Mary and their friends have decorated the walls with posters of various travel destinations. There, in the leaky home, he finds Mary waiting for him with a romantic dinner and the revelation that this home with him is what she had wished for many years before.
8. What facts and reasons are you contending with? So successful is George’s effort that he is able to help Mr. Martini move out of Potterville where he was renting a house and into Bailey Park. Sam Wainwright and new wife arrive to see this home warming and invite George and Mary to come with them on a car trip. But George and Mary know that’s not in the cards.
Potter’s advisor presents the facts of the growing attractiveness of the new homes. So Potter invites George to his office. Smokes cigars with him. Flatters him about how well he’s doing. Seems to know what George wants out of life and the trap that Bedford Falls represents. Offers George a job for $20,000 a year for three years if George will sell out. When George hesitates, Potter suggests George is afraid of success.
9. What insights and oversights are emerging? Then George shakes Potter’s hand. Feels something strange about it. Realizes he’s touched a “scurvy spider” and rejects the offer.
George returns home and discovers Mary is pregnant with the first of four children: Pete, Janey, Zuzu, and Tommy.
Throughout these child-bearing years, Mary proceeds to work on renovating their home. While Harry goes off to war and becomes a hero, winning the Congressional Medal of Honor, because of George’s loss of hearing, he becomes the air raid warden for Bedford Falls and the leader of the paper drive.
10. How are you going to tell your decision? On December 24, 1945, at 10:00 AM, when the local newspaper arrives with the front-page headline about Harry’s winning the award, George in contrast is confronted with Carter the bank examiner. In a celebrative mood, George jokingly tells Carter “We are broke” as they go into the examination.
Meanwhile, George’s Uncle Billy takes the $8,000 in a deposit envelope to Potter’s bank. There, while bragging to Potter about Harry’s award, showing him by grabbing Potter’s paper, he accidently hands over the money envelope to Potter in the fold of the paper he returns to him. Potter rolls away in his wheel chair and discovers the money in the paper. But he does not intervene when Uncle Billy can’t produce the envelope while in line to make the deposit.
George goes with Uncle Billy to retrace his steps, all the while Potter is watching. George, desperate, calls Uncle Billy a “silly, stupid old fool” because he can’t remember where he misplaced the money.
George goes home and comes unglued with the children, especially with Janey who’s practicing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.“ He does accept Zuzu’s flower petals when she offers them from her sick bed. Then he chews out Zuzu’s teacher for letting her get sick. George even questions whether he and Mary have a happy family. But when he knocks stuff off a table, all know “something is wrong with Daddy.” He says he’s sorry but does not reveal to Mary what’s pressing him. His scaring the family has an impact. Mary asks the children to pray for Daddy. George leaves.
11. What are you willing to risk in order to gain what you can only hope for? George goes to Potter, explains the situation, and offers him a life insurance policy as collateral for a loan. George appears to be worth more dead than alive since his equity in the policy is minimal in comparison to the value of it should he die. Potter refuses and instead says he is calling the police. (”No help from a warped, frustrated old man.”) He tells George that the District Attorney and local reporters are looking for him.
George leaves and goes to Martini’s Bar. Drinks. Prays to his “Father in heaven” to show him the way. But when he is interrupted by the husband of Zuzu’s teacher slugging him for talking that way to his wife, George sees that as the answer to his prayer. (“That’s what I get for praying.”)
Drunken George drives off, runs into a tree, and then makes his way along a bridge on foot. At this juncture, 10:45 PM, on Christmas Eve, George is considering throwing himself off the bridge.
Up to this point, this entire story has been shown to Clarence Oddbody, George’s Guardian Angel, by an invisible person called Joseph. Clarence is being sent in answer to the prayers of the community who are worried about George’s out-of-character behavior.
Clarence jumps into the river. George immediately jumps in to save him. Drying out in the watchman’s office, Clarence not only reveals that he is an angel, but also that his strategy of having George save him was so that Clarence could save George in the process.
The bridge watchman notes that it’s illegal to commit suicide and Clarence agrees that it is illegal where he comes from too, meaning heaven.
Clarence says it’s ridiculous to kill oneself over money.
None of these arguments are persuasive to George. So Clarence tries another, asking George to think about what would have happened to people if George hadn’t helped them. George again is not persuaded. Wishes he was never born. Clarence grants the wish.
12. How do you determining that the decision you are discerning is the right one? Clarence then shows George what would have happened if George hadn’t been born and did not exist.
George would have no identity. There would not have been a car wreck because George would have not had a car. Martini’s Bar would be Nick’s, an uncomfortable non-family environment since George wasn’t there to help Martini. Bedford Falls would have been Potterville. Bailey Park would have been a cemetery. Harry would have drowned. All those he saved during the war would be dead because he wasn’t there for them. There would be no building and loan association and Uncle Billy would be in the insane asylum as a result. George’s mother would not recognize him. George’s home would be empty; no family. Mary would be an old maid librarian.
When George is overwhelmed at the thought of Mary not recognizing him, he runs from the police and cries out to Clarence that he wants to live again. Immediately his deepest desire is granted.
Nothing bothers him. George returns home to face the bank examiner, the DA, the Police, and the Reporters, but without a care. Then Mary arrives with the news that the community has come forward to help George out with cash donations that easily cover the lost money. Harry arrives to join the celebration and toasts George as “the richest man in town.” Sam wires that he is prepared to wire $25,000 to help George out. Janey plays “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and George opens a present from Clarence. It’s the Tom Sawyer book with the inscription: “…Remember, no man is a failure who has friends…”
© 2007 John Darrouzet
So using It’s A Wonderful Life and Jimmy Stewart’s hero character, “George Bailey” as the decision-maker in this example, let me briefly suggest how the decision-maker’s path works.
1. Where are you coming from? George Bailey lives in the small town of Bedford Falls. The son of Peter Bailey, executive secretary of the local building and loan association, 12-year-old George saves his younger brother Harry from drowning. Saving Harry has the physical consequence of injuring his hearing and George becomes deaf in one ear.
Nevertheless, he is able to work in Mr. Gower’s drugstore where two young girls, Mary and Violet stake their claims on him, despite his early indication of his desire to travel the globe. Mary even whispers into George’s deaf ear that she will love him until the day she dies.
When Mr. Gower, overwrought with sadness at the death of his son in the war, nearly poisons an ill patient by dispensing the wrong medicine, George reads the all the signs (“Ask Dad – he knows”) and seeks out his dad’s help. But Peter Bailey is too busy fending off the continuing attempts of the richest, but handicapped, banker Henry Potter who is trying to take over the building and loan association. George defends his dad against Potter’s charges and then saves another family’s child by returning to the drugstore and responding to Mr. Gower’s mistaken accusations. Although Mr. Gower hits George on his sore ear, George shows deep Mr. Gower compassion, forgiveness, and a purity of heart well beyond his years.
2. Where are you wanting to go? So nine years later, when George prepares to pursue his dream of escaping Bedford Falls and traveling to faraway paradises in the world, Mr. Gower gives him a new suitcase embossed with “George Bailey” on it. George proudly walks home, carrying his luggage and meets with his family for one last meal before he leaves.
His tired father asks George if he is coming back to the building and loan association after his trips.
3. What are you waiting for? George wants to do something big and important and lead a different life than his father.
4. What are your wise ones generally advising? Rather than stay with his saddened father whom he belatedly admits is a great guy, George goes to his brother Harry’s graduation and high school reunion.
There Mary’s brother urges George to dance with Mary, despite the protests of another young man. When George and Mary see each other across the dance floor, they exchange looks of budding love across the dance floor. When George and Mary enter the big Charleston contest, they are so taken with each other and their dancing they fail to realize that the young Othello is getting his revenge by activating the device that splits the basketball court dance floor in half. George and Mary fall into the pool, followed by others and eventually even the principal in a display of spontaneous joy.
Once sufficiently dry, in borrowed clothing, (George as a athlete, Mary in a bathrobe), they make their way toward Mary’s home singing “Buffalo Girl, Won’t You Come Out Tonight?” (“…a dance by the light of the moon.”) George stops them in front of the old Grandville home. Making his wishes by the hatful, he successfully throws a rock through a window. When Mary accomplished the same feat, she does not reveal her wish. George, thinking she is the prettiest girl in town, carries on saying he would lasso the moon and give it to Mary if she wanted it. A neighbor, hearing this effusive offer, asks George why he doesn’t just kiss Mary. But when he tries, Mary turns and runs off. But George accidentally steps on the bathrobes belt which forces Mary to hide herself in a nearby bush. Though Mary asks for the robe back, George debates with himself over this opportunity.
5. What are the pros and cons of the issue being decided? But before he can act on his thoughts about Mary, word arrives that his father is suffering from a stroke. George gives up his trip abroad to help straighten out his father’s business.
At a meeting of the board of the building and loan association, Potter makes the case for closing the association now that Peter Bailey is dead. George makes an impassioned plea for them not to do so to save the townspeople from Potter’s miserly grasp. Out of George’s presence, the Board sides against Potter and agrees not to dissolve the association on the condition that George succeed his father as the executive secretary.
6. What are “The Powers That Be” saying? So while Harry goes off to college and becomes a football hero, George stays in Bedford Falls and runs the building and loan. The next time George sees Harry, Harry is coming home to present his new wife Ruth to the family and tell them of his plans to go work for her father. This dissolves George’s hope of Harry taking over and letting George follow his dreams.
Seeing Harry happy with his new wife, George’s mother encourages George to strike up a relationship with Mary again. George goes over to Mary’s house where she has “Buffalo Gal” playing and a picture of George lassoing the moon. George’s discomfort brings them to fighting words. When he leaves, Mary breaks the record.
Then their old friend Sam Wainwright calls. Mary’s mother wants Sam to win Mary’s hand, but Sam is only playing. When George comes back to retrieve his hat, Mary alerts Sam and Sam pitches a deal to him, a chance of a life time. But standing so close to the phone together, the power of love between the George and Mary becomes irresistible. They pull each other in and take another chance. (George’s “I want to do what I want to do” becomes “I do.”)
7. What is your real agenda? Their wedding, on a rainy day, is shortly thereafter. After the wedding, with a handful of saved cash, George and Mary head for their honeymoon and a trip to paradise, only to be stopped by a run on the banks and the building and loan.
Potter calls his loan to the building and loan association and Uncle Billy pays him all the association’s cash. Again reading a sign from his father (“All you can take with you is that which you can give away.”), George faces the shareholders and explains how their money is invested in each other’s homes and cannot be paid out. They must have faith in each other.
But it is Mary who saves the day by providing their honeymoon money to George so he can help everyone get past the bank closing. At the close of business, George takes the last two dollars to the safe in a mock bedding ceremony where he encourages the two bills to propagate overnight.
Then he remembers his new wife. He rushes to 320 Sycamore, the address where the rocks were thrown and their wishes made. Mary and their friends have decorated the walls with posters of various travel destinations. There, in the leaky home, he finds Mary waiting for him with a romantic dinner and the revelation that this home with him is what she had wished for many years before.
8. What facts and reasons are you contending with? So successful is George’s effort that he is able to help Mr. Martini move out of Potterville where he was renting a house and into Bailey Park. Sam Wainwright and new wife arrive to see this home warming and invite George and Mary to come with them on a car trip. But George and Mary know that’s not in the cards.
Potter’s advisor presents the facts of the growing attractiveness of the new homes. So Potter invites George to his office. Smokes cigars with him. Flatters him about how well he’s doing. Seems to know what George wants out of life and the trap that Bedford Falls represents. Offers George a job for $20,000 a year for three years if George will sell out. When George hesitates, Potter suggests George is afraid of success.
9. What insights and oversights are emerging? Then George shakes Potter’s hand. Feels something strange about it. Realizes he’s touched a “scurvy spider” and rejects the offer.
George returns home and discovers Mary is pregnant with the first of four children: Pete, Janey, Zuzu, and Tommy.
Throughout these child-bearing years, Mary proceeds to work on renovating their home. While Harry goes off to war and becomes a hero, winning the Congressional Medal of Honor, because of George’s loss of hearing, he becomes the air raid warden for Bedford Falls and the leader of the paper drive.
10. How are you going to tell your decision? On December 24, 1945, at 10:00 AM, when the local newspaper arrives with the front-page headline about Harry’s winning the award, George in contrast is confronted with Carter the bank examiner. In a celebrative mood, George jokingly tells Carter “We are broke” as they go into the examination.
Meanwhile, George’s Uncle Billy takes the $8,000 in a deposit envelope to Potter’s bank. There, while bragging to Potter about Harry’s award, showing him by grabbing Potter’s paper, he accidently hands over the money envelope to Potter in the fold of the paper he returns to him. Potter rolls away in his wheel chair and discovers the money in the paper. But he does not intervene when Uncle Billy can’t produce the envelope while in line to make the deposit.
George goes with Uncle Billy to retrace his steps, all the while Potter is watching. George, desperate, calls Uncle Billy a “silly, stupid old fool” because he can’t remember where he misplaced the money.
George goes home and comes unglued with the children, especially with Janey who’s practicing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.“ He does accept Zuzu’s flower petals when she offers them from her sick bed. Then he chews out Zuzu’s teacher for letting her get sick. George even questions whether he and Mary have a happy family. But when he knocks stuff off a table, all know “something is wrong with Daddy.” He says he’s sorry but does not reveal to Mary what’s pressing him. His scaring the family has an impact. Mary asks the children to pray for Daddy. George leaves.
11. What are you willing to risk in order to gain what you can only hope for? George goes to Potter, explains the situation, and offers him a life insurance policy as collateral for a loan. George appears to be worth more dead than alive since his equity in the policy is minimal in comparison to the value of it should he die. Potter refuses and instead says he is calling the police. (”No help from a warped, frustrated old man.”) He tells George that the District Attorney and local reporters are looking for him.
George leaves and goes to Martini’s Bar. Drinks. Prays to his “Father in heaven” to show him the way. But when he is interrupted by the husband of Zuzu’s teacher slugging him for talking that way to his wife, George sees that as the answer to his prayer. (“That’s what I get for praying.”)
Drunken George drives off, runs into a tree, and then makes his way along a bridge on foot. At this juncture, 10:45 PM, on Christmas Eve, George is considering throwing himself off the bridge.
Up to this point, this entire story has been shown to Clarence Oddbody, George’s Guardian Angel, by an invisible person called Joseph. Clarence is being sent in answer to the prayers of the community who are worried about George’s out-of-character behavior.
Clarence jumps into the river. George immediately jumps in to save him. Drying out in the watchman’s office, Clarence not only reveals that he is an angel, but also that his strategy of having George save him was so that Clarence could save George in the process.
The bridge watchman notes that it’s illegal to commit suicide and Clarence agrees that it is illegal where he comes from too, meaning heaven.
Clarence says it’s ridiculous to kill oneself over money.
None of these arguments are persuasive to George. So Clarence tries another, asking George to think about what would have happened to people if George hadn’t helped them. George again is not persuaded. Wishes he was never born. Clarence grants the wish.
12. How do you determining that the decision you are discerning is the right one? Clarence then shows George what would have happened if George hadn’t been born and did not exist.
George would have no identity. There would not have been a car wreck because George would have not had a car. Martini’s Bar would be Nick’s, an uncomfortable non-family environment since George wasn’t there to help Martini. Bedford Falls would have been Potterville. Bailey Park would have been a cemetery. Harry would have drowned. All those he saved during the war would be dead because he wasn’t there for them. There would be no building and loan association and Uncle Billy would be in the insane asylum as a result. George’s mother would not recognize him. George’s home would be empty; no family. Mary would be an old maid librarian.
When George is overwhelmed at the thought of Mary not recognizing him, he runs from the police and cries out to Clarence that he wants to live again. Immediately his deepest desire is granted.
Nothing bothers him. George returns home to face the bank examiner, the DA, the Police, and the Reporters, but without a care. Then Mary arrives with the news that the community has come forward to help George out with cash donations that easily cover the lost money. Harry arrives to join the celebration and toasts George as “the richest man in town.” Sam wires that he is prepared to wire $25,000 to help George out. Janey plays “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and George opens a present from Clarence. It’s the Tom Sawyer book with the inscription: “…Remember, no man is a failure who has friends…”
© 2007 John Darrouzet
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