Lin Manuel Miranda’s mega-hit Hamilton has created a new blueprint to achieve success. It has taken everything that we thought we knew about the concept, threw it out the window, and paved the way for a brand new definition, a brand new standard. We are often content with the good enough but we usually do not force ourselves to go that extra step, the step that takes us where no one has gone before. Miranda’s choice to take that extra step, resulting in the creation of Hamilton, can teach us five important life lessons
1. Be patient.
Miranda did not write Hamilton quickly by any means. It took Miranda a full year to write the first song, “Alexander Hamilton”, and another year to craft one of the most popular songs from the show, “My Shot.” He took a total of six years to write the show, knowing that he needed to give this project the time and attention that it deserves. Miranda became a historical expert on the topic, reading all of Hamilton’s letters and other works. Hamilton did not become a phenomenon overnight. In the words of Aaron Burr he needed to “wait for it”. Perfection cannot be created in the snap of the fingers. Genius cannot be fostered by taking shortcuts. Hamilton teaches us that patience and persistence can produce a new level erudition that is well worth the wait.
2. Be open to inspiration everywhere.
Hamilton was not written simply by Miranda allotting several hours a day to sit at his piano and write lyrics. Miranda got out, explored his surroundings, and lived his normal life just with a new and different perspective. He wrote King George’s song “You’ll Be Back” on his honeymoon, and wrote “Wait for It” on the subway going to a friend’s birthday party. Inspiration can be found anywhere and everywhere-we just need to be aware of the possibilities. If we actually look up from our phones and take in the sights around us, we will find that there is so much to learn from the people and places that we touch everyday, as well as from the people we have not yet met and the places we have not yet gone. We literally have the world at our fingertips.
3. Think outside the box.
Something so fresh, vibrant and unique was in no way created by someone who was thinking inside the box. This rare cultural phenomenon is the result of wild creativity and a passionate determination to go beyond the norms of society. Sometimes get too comfortable with the comfortable. Miranda saw a story that he wanted to tell in his own style and in a way that had never been done before. Being the first to try something—a trailblazer—is frightening and oftentimes filled with rejection and failure. If we dare to try something new, large or small, everyday, we are bound to each create our own personal Hamilton. Hamilton tells us that the risk of thinking outside the box is not easy but is well worth the reward.
4. Believe in yourself.
When Miranda first performed the opening number to the musical, “Alexander Hamilton” at the White House in 2009, he told the crowd, including President Obama, that he wrote this about a man he thinks “embodies hip-hop”. To this, everyone laughed. No one got it at first. A rap musical about the founder of our financial system? To many people, this sounded ludicrous. However, Miranda knew what he was doing and had full faith in his project and in himself. There will always be doubters, people that do not see your vision as clearly as you do. Step by step, Miranda started to prove his skeptics wrong and what was once an innovative vision, became the show of the century that completely changed the entire entertainment world. We must stay true to our values and what we believe in, even if our wild ideas are dismissed by those arounds us. It will be easier to believe in yourself if you have worked hard, been persistent and patients. Confidence is part attitude, part preparation.
5. Define success in different ways.
Hamilton’s success should not be measured by the money that it earned, but by the risk taking and creativity of Lin Manuel Miranda. His path to the creation of this groundbreaking musical can inspire us all to achieve our success no matter how we define it. While money is one way to define success, success can also be measured in the number of people you have touched and lives you have impacted for the better.
