As a kid, I loved watching Cartoon Network’s animated teen heros fire lasers, deliver killing blows, and break through the destruction from the villians. When I recently rewatched the series, there was one episode that was particularly eye-opening called “The End-Part 3”.
For a short synopsis, the Teen Titans are battling an all-seeing, powerful demon called Trigon, who happens to be Raven’s father. Robin, the unofficial leader of the titans, undergoes a quest to find Raven, who disappeared once Trigon took over the world. Meanwhile, the other titans are fighting against dopplegangers of themselves, created by Trigon. Raven’s maturity becomes the key to defeating her father in this ultimate battle of good vs evil. Let’s take a look of some of the most powerful life lessons amidst the ghoulish fire demons, underground lava caverns and evil commands from Trigon.
1. Be all-seeing
Trigon’s autocratic rule derived from his omniscient power to sense all the threats of the titans’ futile attempts to stop Trigon, Robin’s mission to find Raven, and Slade’s (another villian) journey to seek revenge on Trigon, as Slade was cheated out of life. Littlefinger from Game of Thrones similarly remarks “to fight every battle, everywhere, in your mind.”
Businesses need to always be on guard for any emerging threats in their ecosystem from competitors. While you may not be dealing with threats, being all-seeing is remaining open to new experiences and seizing opportunities throughout life.
2. You are your own worst enemy
This is exemplified when the titans, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were fighting their own dopplegangers of themselves. Each of their doppleganger preyed on their individual weaknesses and teased their insecurities of failed relationships with love interests and family members.
Once Starfire brillantly thought of battling each other’s doppleganger, were the titans able to leverage their own unique supernatural powers to defeat the dopplegangers. In business, this is equivalent to complementing one’s particular skill set to others for overcoming challenges with more creative solutions.
3. Inspire those when they feel stuck or hopeless
Upon discovering 7 year old Raven, stripped of her powers and hopeless to defeat Trigon, Robin comforts her, saying that he and the other titans will keep fighting anyway.
Robin is an exceptional leader who understands the value of hope and inspires others to take action, no matter how bleak the circumstances are. Once Raven saw that the titans actually had the potential to defeat Trigon, she embodied their fighting spirit to finish him off. Helping others during their difficult times creates immense value and a long-lasting relationship.
4. Power comes from the strength of family and friends
Following up from #3, Raven literally regained her powers from the interconnected strength and grit from Robin and the other titans who was her adopted family rather than her biological father. In life, we invest in our unique network of personal and professional relationships (not those 1000 Facebook friends) to support our careers, create value for each other, and enjoy life.
5. You are not beholden to any prophecy; you craft your own destiny.
Since she was born, Raven felt powerless in knowing that on one of her teenage birthdays, she was prophesized to be the portal for Trigon and bring doom upon the world. Robin helped Raven rediscover that she had the power to defeat Trigon and rewrite her own story.
Nothing in life is fully planned. Yes, there are uncontrollable situations and outcomes, but the more you are able to take control, the more you can aspire and influence your destiny.
6. When you know yourself, you are the strongest.
Despite her background being rooted in her father’s evil nature, Raven herself was not inherently evil; she fought against evil instead. Thanks to Robin’s hope, she discovers that she is not simply her father’s creation and portal. Her literal coming-of-age from a meek 7 year old to a teenage hero with supernatural powers came when she dared to hope to be a hero. The essence of anyone’s true power derives from being self-aware in your goals, priorities, and hardships. The difficult moments in our lives actually mold us into becoming the strongest.
7. There is no end, just new beginnings.
Contrary to the title of the episode, there was no end to Raven’s story, rather opportunities of discovery, renewal, growth and change. Every closed door is another opportunity for an open one. As Winston Churchill said, “Sucess is not final, failure is not fatal; it’s the courage that keeps us going.”
-Thanks for reading!
