Outside of the brilliant animation work and the lovable characters, The Lion King (the first one primarily), highlights valuable lessons people, particularly leaders, should always work to remember. Yes, it might be a Disney movie, but these African animals represent so much more. WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Future
Simba, the future king of Pride Rock, has quite the predicament on his paws. His father Mufasa is a great King, revered throughout the plains. Simba at a young age needs to learn how to live up to his father’s legacy. Simba is so focused on the future, he takes his present moment for granted. The young lion cub literally sings and boasts how he, “Just can’t wait to be King”. At this point there is peace in the Pride Lands. The grass is green and the circle of life is so ever present. Simba fails to see the current prosperity of the environment around him. Instead of enjoying the life and virtue of that moment, he focuses on his insecurities as an undersized lion with a quiet roar.
Comparatively, we as people are always looking at what we aren’t and what we don’t have. We have these dream jobs and future aspirations that effectively define our motivations. People work so hard to shape every moment into something that will eventually benefit their future. We compare ourselves to others and effectively become our own worst critic when our expectations aren’t met. That leads us to question our own abilities and significance. It becomes a cycle detrimental to our own character and success.
The Past 
[SPOILER ALERT] After Simba loses his father to an untimely wildebeest stampede, he runs away. After living out his teenage years as a lion with his new best friends, Timon and Pumba, his childhood friend Nala stumbles upon Simba’s new home. Nala implores Simba to come back to the Pride Lands and take his rightful place as the Lion King. Paralyzed by the ghosts of his past, Simba refuses to face his fears and accept what happened so many years ago.
We have all been through strife and hardship. Everyone faces challenges capable of crippling our confidence and pacifying our passions. These moments in our past can either define us or motivate us. Too often, people run and hide from these life altering obstacles. The fear of our past reoccurring overtakes any positive change we could have made the most of. People will torture themselves over little moments and honest mistakes. Living in the past renders people incapable of making the most of our current opportunities.
The Present
Simba finally accepts the past for what it is, and moves away from the future he thought he was supposed to live. All of this made acceptance and living in the present moment possible. Simba rises as King, not because that’s what his father expected of him, but because that’s what Pride Rock needs most.
Club Presidents, ambitious professionals, dedicated student scholars, people of Earth, all want to be successful. We, unfortunately, are not always capable of doing that alone. Find those who keep you grounded in your current objectives. Look for support from friends and mentors when your past feels like too much to bear. Experience everything the present has to offer and share it with those we care about most.
As the wise baboon Rafiki says, “Change is good, but it’s not easy”. We can achieve and appreciate everything this moment in time has to offer us. Your personal leadership has the capability of being so much more impactful with the right mindset and the right choice of movie.
